Chocobo GP Is Another Live Service Disaster For Square Enix, Faces Backlash Over Awful MTX

[@YongYea]

Square Enix: "Things can't get worse after Marvel's Avengers and Babylon's Fall, we have hit rock bottom." Square Enix: "Hold my beer." SURPRISE MECHANICS (MERCH): www.yongyea.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/yongyea TWITTER: twitter.com/yongyea TOP PATRONS [CIPHER] - Joseph Lavoie [BIG BOSS] - Coopster - Devon B - Jonathan Ball - Sarano [BOSS] - Charlie Galvin - Gerardo Andrade - Joe Hunt - Michael Redmond - Peter Vrba - Time Dragonlord [LEGENDARY] - BattleBladeWar - TacoBell Call911 - Theron Webb

[@topramen3795]

No you

[@failedlifesupport3208]

.

[@CheesyNoodlez]

.

[@firelord1014]

. nooooooo

[@PedroARCruz]

.

[@SMBeech]

Yikes. Someone replace Square's Executives with people who actually understand what made Square great.

[@ohnosmoarlulcatz]

Doubtful. They forced out Square-Enix's old guard when Squaresoft merged with Enix. I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow twist FF16 to force out Yoshida.

[@syro2412]

@@DUDULALALALALALA I still can't believe they shut down the studio just because Sleeping dogs didn't sell well.

[@Druid-T]

@Diego C. Incompetency and Malice are two different things. None of those were made with the intention of preying upon people's psychological weaknesses

[@PATOfThePAT]

Yeah. It does look like a bad year for Square tbh.

[@RIELTURO]

The only good content from square is everything Yoshi-P been working on the rest not so much.

[@d00gz_]

Only Square could mess up something so unbelievably simple

[@kaelanirevyruun1676]

EA would like a word with you :D

[@scaryhobbit211]

@@kaelanirevyruun1676 Except people actually expect good things from Square.

[@genhgiskahn694]

@@scaryhobbit211 Yeah it's a shame to watch all my favorite game developers turn into trash the past few years tbh

[@jeffreyali1456]

@@genhgiskahn694 Square actually makes good games, it’s the PUBLISHING house that’s doing all this crap

[@scaryhobbit211]

@@jeffreyali1456 It's the worst of Square Enix combined with the worst of Eidos. Put 'em together into one single company, and you get THIS.

[@Hugelag]

I was actually looking forward to this one. The sheer audacity of them putting microtransactions in a paid game isn't what hurts me. What hurts is how I'm now realizing that they didn't just put this stuff in at the last minute. They designed all of this nonsense and were somehow able to hide how vile all of this is from all of the promotional material. This is beyond redemption. They have to completely start over. The sad part is that the actual game under all of the nonsense feels kinda good.

[@petervickers911]

yongyea are you streaming future game show on march 24th

[@RasenRendanX]

literally me. this comment describes me

[@ChrisMS0815]

I bought the full version and when I started it up I was like damn 2 characters, it still felt like it was a free to play game despite "buying" the game and if I wanted Cloud and Squall I'd have to pay more money and dedicate most of my gaming time to it in the meantime lots of other games have been releasing lately.

[@zid9611]

I feel you bro. It why many of us stay in the inde scene. Till a AAA is released it all smoke and mirrors. No point looking at it till it out.

[@kirara2516]

For me, its all of that, but also the face that Cloud's voice is Cody's and not Steve's. I like both voices, but they went back on their promise when they said the legacy cast for FF7 stuff would still voice the characters outside of the remake. This is not Remake related, and Cody is still Cloud.

[@lordmonochrome9735]

It needs to become illegal to hide monetisation, it goes to show they know its bad enough they NEED to hide it yet just don't care. On a side note I'm surprised these money hungry publishers haven't made a patreon or onlyfans yet.

[@joshuaxiong8377]

they're money hungry, not geniuses. but imagine if they did an onlyfans for lewd/ecchi final fantasy works. XD

[@eternalchamp3882]

in practice that's impossible. Who's going to pass that law not like these games only get released in one country

[@eternalchamp3882]

@@joshuaxiong8377 i'd be willing to bet square opening a Tifa only fans and releasing 2vids and 50 pics per month would net them more money than world of warcraft lmao

[@thetechconspiracy2]

It is a crime. It's called false advertising, and fraud. If I had bought Chocobo GP based on the trailers and ads, that didn't disclose the monetization, you can bet that I would be going back to the store to demand a refund, or to my credit card to get a chargeback. I'm just waiting for the day when a publisher ends up getting slapped with a class action lawsuit over this.

[@phosspatharios9680]

If they make a Patreon, they're gonna pull a Yanderedev move

[@soulnomad5231]

Having a fully priced game with currency that expires is like buying a car and having the dealership siphon the fuel from your gas tank.

[@SethJV]

Well technically when you buy a car, all parts will expire one day... That's not the best comparison you could have made haha.

[@joshuaxiong8377]

Actually, it's very similar to how car companies can create cheaply made parts that will fall apart quickly. One example from a while ago is Nissan having a badly designed transmission that broke down early and the customers would have to BUY a whole new one. They would even have these in their sports/luxury line-up, like the 370z or GTR, cars that are supposed to be performance vehicles. Lots of things are the same and similar where ever corporate is involved. Video Games, Cars, Computers/Laptops, Ink Cartridges, etc.

[@theazuredemon4854]

Was the dealership run by vegans?

[@ampkenryu7145]

Cool, another person I can call out for not having basic research skills. Alright so, as someone who has actually played the game, I can confirm that the free Mythril that is given out for events does expire; however, extra Mythril that the player purchases never expires.

[@rudeboyjohn3483]

@@joshuaxiong8377 lol I have one of those shitty Nissan models, inherited it from my pops when he passed. That POS was a pain in the ass for a year before he got a Kia.

[@meteor22]

There needs to be a new rule implemented when it comes to reviews. If a game launches and adds microtransactions after release the score should be revised.

[@nobody8717]

One could simply not buy stuff until someone you know does it. Or keep pre-ordering things, paying for the privilege, and still not getting what you want.

[@grindstone25]

@@nobody8717 it's not that simple. Many people have gotten screwed over even if they wait. They wait, lets say a week. The game looks good, no scummy microtransactions. They buy it and the next day they wake up and see that the game has added a store and well, you can see where that goes from there.

[@thesosoartist4458]

These weren't added after launch, they were there from launch. I tried the lite version and enjoyed the gameplay but the micro transactions were ridiculous so I deleted it. Edit: Didn't realize they weren't in the game for reviewers.

[@MrInsiipid]

@@sweet_sukeban4022 That only applies to physical copies, which many people aren't buying anymore.

[@AlexiaHoardwing]

@@sweet_sukeban4022 Aarrgghh! There's just one word that says it all: Aarrgghh! Argh when I'm happy! Argh when I'm sad! Argh when I'm good or bad! Argh! Argh to port! Argh to starboard! Argh from stem to stern! Argh! Argh, you swabbie! Aaarrrggghhh!

[@hit9819]

*Square Enix shoots Square Enix* Square Enix: How can someone do such a thing?

[@verack1616]

Square Enix shoots Square*

[@lechebeans9435]

10/10 reference

[@lechebeans9435]

@@verack1616 No*

[@TheEmperorHyperion]

Did Sephiroth do this? or... Such devastation! This was *not* my intention!

[@stupidragerantroastoftakes2981]

*Square Enix fire a gun multiple times at Square Soft* Square Enix: Who killed Square Enix?

[@countesschewi2399]

The worst part of all this is that apparently it's a good game under the absolute deluge of mobile game level monetization.

[@sarano4315]

I know, and it SUCKS

[@artyom5738]

Yeah the moment i saw their UI, i knew this game will have a really disgusting microtrancation But i didn't expecting it to be this bad honestly

[@nobody8717]

So what you're saying is it's a *bad game* then.

[@artyom5738]

Very extremely bad when i saw it on the first glance On top of their poo poo graphics compared to the MK8 deluxe

[@Syntherus]

@@nobody8717 That has the potential to be a really good game if they weren't so greedy.

[@Rpground]

"Look, kids! Get your mommy's credit card and SPEND SPEND SPEND!" Absolutely disgusting. As if the FIFTY DOLLAR ENTRY FEE wasn't enough.

[@KadeemG61]

I don’t trust Square Enix. One day, the President of your company brags about the “didn’t meet our expectations” trope (Guardians of the Galaxy) and the next you got a New Year’s Day open letter to focus on live-service games in the future. Marvel’s Avengers = Fail Babylon’s Fall = Fail Chocobo GP = Fail

[@12ealDealOfficial]

Outriders = Who cares (is that game still online?) Project Athea = Lame/ Annoying Square's western push is shaping up to be one big bust.

[@Drilbit]

Meanwhile triangle strategy sold 1 million copies because its actually a good game.

[@KadeemG61]

@@12ealDealOfficial Project Athea is now Forsaken. The game is now delayed to October.

[@KadeemG61]

@@12ealDealOfficial Outriders wasn’t really that bad. I gave it an underrated game. But Square really needs to fire some people who is responsible for the live-service nonsense.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Yes but Triangle Strategy is good.

[@dragon1130]

Between their support of nft's, Babylon's Fall, and Now this, it really feels that Square-Enix is becoming the Shinra of the Video game industry. All we need them to do now is drop a section of the city on top of another section of the city. And don't think they wouldn't if they could get some money out of it.

[@64bitmodels66]

not just support of nfts but also marvels avengers. they're on a roll with failing live services, hopefully the next one puts them out of business

[@stupidragerantroastoftakes2981]

By these events. They would implode.

[@xXFlameHaze92Xx]

NFT's Support, Epic Game Store Nomura exclusivities, Babylons Fall, Marvels Avengers and now this. WTF!

[@lionheart4109]

They also pledged to support wokeness in their future endeavors. I've never seen a company that has everything and everywhere falling apart so intensely.

[@stupidragerantroastoftakes2981]

@@lionheart4109 💢It's like they hate us. and also has the nerve to say "Go away. We don't want you".💢

[@von4297]

Ugh. My son was interested in the look of the game (it’s advertised in the news section on the switch), but NONE if this monetization is in that advert for the parents to be aware of…. Thank you telling us about this. This degree of monetization in a kids game is disgusting. Babylon’s Fall also looks like it took design inspiration from mobile games. This must be the push to test if console gamers will be as loose with their wallets as mobile gamers. Trying to capture some of that FIFA “magic” money machine.

[@drachenzahne9262]

if you're able to, get him to play the first game on PS1. It's free of microtransactions and has a lot of heart put into it

[@Hauntaku]

@Von You should try to get a copy of Mario Kart 8 or Gensou Skydrift. They're good racing games! Gensou Skydrift is like Mario Kart Double Dash and you can save replays.

[@paulcarmi8130]

We’re literally getting every Mario kart track ever in like a week, won’t that keep him going?

[@ricardohoang8452]

Von Square Enix are trying to learn EA lol

[@uglybad4]

@@paulcarmi8130 the *start* of every Mario Kart track ever, but hey, that's still something

[@SuperWHIIITE]

I think Pat from Castlesuperbeast described it perfectly. Its hilarious and depressing that Square steals all the money from the cash cow that is ff14 only to invest in projects that are meant to imitate its success for no reason and constantly fail, instead of making games that people actually give a shit about and will buy. A case can be made for which game company deserves the most evil of the year award but when it comes to Square, there is no contest on who is winning the category for the most incompetent and stupid.

[@kidoren1395]

At least they cant take FF14 away from Yoshi-P, even though yeah they probably siphon earned money from their side.

[@Syntherus]

@@kidoren1395 Bless Yoshi-P for making a good game and making sure it's player friendly.

[@tehbeernerd]

Someone else on KZbin said that the new FTP YuGiOh mobile game is very generous with its premium economy. As you may know, Konami is responsible for that franchise. Square Enix is doing a worse job at this than KONAMI!

[@undead2481]

@@tehbeernerd I was noticing that as I was playing, you don't earn a crap ton but if you play at least a few games you'll be able to at least build yourself a decent deck at the start, mind you I've only played for an hour and a half.

[@pokehybridtrainer]

@@tehbeernerd Played for 100 hours, got all achievements, and built decks I own IRL without spending a dime. I'm shocked that it's actually a quality game from Konami.

[@towdyfehrias5835]

Paving the way for Yoshi P to end up getting to CEO of Square Enix. The dude saved FF14, keeps 11 with more than 400k subs and is also director for 16. Meanwhile, the other idk% of the company keeps making bs after bs things and pretty much ruining their brand as a publisher/developer. This is the level of incompetence you'd expect from these so called "Executives" that "understand the market". Makes me happy seeing these suckers getting what they deserve, not to mention that finally people are learning to not simp for big corporations.

[@gateauxq4604]

I don’t think YoshiP would want to be CEO, he loves making games too much. The CEO and board should either stand up to stockholders and state intentions to make real games again or step down. At this rate they will milk CBU3 for everything they can to pay for the mountain of MTX games they keep trying to pop out until they go bankrupt…again.

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

Seeing this just makes me really glad that Yoshi P actively fights this level of greed in FF14…..while also making me increasingly worried about its state when he eventually has to leave.

[@TheAsj97]

He's not leaving, it's his life's work. He'll leave when it's over.

[@Nirual86]

he doesn't have full control over the cash shop though, and with that NFT announcement on new years I'm honestly worried they'll manage to ruin FF14 anyway.

[@calimantis]

Yoshi P is like the only thing keeping Squeenix alive at this point

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

@@Nirual86 the cash shop is the one concession he had to agree with so that he had full control and he has already denounced NFTs

[@Qladstone]

That's why I don't get people saying FF14 is the best final fantasy when it isn't even finished yet and nobody knows what its final state will really be.

[@mismismism]

It's wild seeing the huge divide between the people at Square working on FF14 vs the rest of the company now, it's like they aren't taking a note from their own cash cow that is printing money for them without any of this B.S., not to mention Square got to this level in the first place by being known for great RPGs with amazing stories and visuals, not this shameless mobile game trash.

[@theotherjared9824]

FF14 pays for the entire company and then some, but they want more. If they keep rolling the games as a service dice, eventually one will be a success. None of them have been successful so far with tons of lost money and a mark on their reputation every time, but it's all worth that short term profit.

[@smgofdvld]

Well it's the same with their mobile games opera omnia and ffrk are awesome everything else is exactly like this can't speak for saga or dq games but yeah.

[@mattstansbeary3068]

The Future in Moble but at $50/$60 Jeeze over kill much.

[@mismismism]

@@theotherjared9824 It's not really worth it though, their reputation is going down the drain and they're eventually gonna make people apprehensive to buy these games when making good games has actually been WAY more financially successful for them ironically. Going for short term profits at all costs makes sense if the big titles don't make you money but the opposite is true for Square.

[@mismismism]

@@smgofdvld I mean, that's the issue though, these are full priced games, not freemium mobile games where that is expected.

[@blackblizzard5771]

Notice that none of the promotion and trailers mention anything about locking everything behind a paywall. Their marketing team knew what they were doing. Freakin’ a-holes. At least Nintendo is doing better than Square with how they are promoting Mario Kart 8. And at a fair price too.

[@scaryhobbit211]

Ironically, I'm actually okay with the new tracks being simple ports from MK Tour. Because there is no way in hell that I am playing mobile shit - so putting those tracks into a real MK game is good for me!

[@Hauntaku]

Mario Kart 8 is already full of a lot of stuff and for just $25 more you'll be able to have like 48 more courses, so it's kinda a no-brainer.

[@yyygyy1]

To be fair, the first hint of this was them talking about the lite version of this game

[@ricardohoang8452]

BlackBlizzard And copyright soundtracks! Oh wait ... But obviously, FF and KH miracles can't save Square Enix this one!

[@GrandmasterArk]

On the Japanese Nintendo Direct last month, they showed Chocobo GP and announced that Cloud and Squall would be in a season pass. Most people would expect the DLC kind where you pay for the season pass and get these characters as they are released. However, what Square Enix meant upon release was a Battle Pass type and yeah… nobody wants that anymore. And funny enough, with Mario Kart 8 DLC coming soon, and how Nintendo released F-Zero X sometime while Chocobo GP was released, Nintendo really wanted to give Square Enix their bad timing-itis by casting Doom on the game’s release, which should reach Zero by MK8D’s DLC.

[@PokeMaster22222]

I absolutely despise "seasonal" events like the Cloud/Squall thing, as it encourages playing through repetitive and otherwise-valueless tasks just to get something in a limited time window - while DOOM Eternal doesn't have monetisation, the same seasonal flaw is in it, with time-limited cosmetics gained by doing a bunch of weekly 'achievements'. I just find it appalling and fun-ruining, since FOMO is psychological exploitation. Just make things like this standard unlockables, so I can get them at my leisure.

[@ShinyUmbreon106]

But that stuff is mobile game microtransactions that’s how mobile games make money this is a non free game on a console

[@drachenzahne9262]

I remember when Squall and Cloud were secret unlockables in the original Chocobo Racing

[@Hauntaku]

@@ShinyUmbreon106 Those types of schemes should never be in any game under any circumstances.

[@valletas]

I love doom but man the monetization sucks so much even if they are just cosmetics Well at least it doesnt have loot boxes like quake champions Its like the whole reason why people didnt give a shit about it (also making a niche online game need expensive hardware especially for the time is not a good idea

[@blackenedtiamat2807]

Ill never forget the games where you found "extra content" items hidden throughout the game, as well as this crazy concept called "unlockable hidden characters." DD Kong Racing 64 with the clock dude was soooo fun to unlock xD. Plus all the other hidden gems in that game (big keys iirc. Etc.)

[@Raziel312]

If you're a FF14 player and want to race chocobos, can't you basically do that at the Gold Saucer no additional purchase required and no microtransactions (beyond your subscription)?

[@vicc6790]

sure if you want to be bored to death

[@Ch4pp13]

You can. The Golden Saucer is basically just a bunch of mini-games to play for fun. The free trial also gets access to this, so you don't even have to pay anything. There's also Mahjong in there for some reason. Not some dumbed down version of Mahjong. No, a Mahjong version so good, a professional Mahjong player started the game because it was the best version available. That Mahjong.

[@motorolasamurai1635]

Yeah, but Chocobo Racing is a much more simplistic iteration of the OG game, its not a full reskin

[@akesan2374]

@@Ch4pp13 Wait is that mahjong thing true?

[@Ch4pp13]

@@akesan2374 Before actually diving in, the only thing I could find was a tweet from someone showing the guy's FF14 character, Donnyoku Mahjong. The character is still currently only a lvl 18 Gladiator, but I did find Donnyoku's actual Twitter account where he did share a screenshot of him playing Mahjong in the Golden Saucer and reaching Mahjong Master, of which you need 2000 Mahjong points. I haven't delved into FF14 Mahjong much so I don't quite understand the point system, but when a Mahjong professional comes to a game where Mahjong is 100% optional side content and only has a total of 3 achievements tied to it, and shares them reaching Mahjong Master, I think that's a sign that it's a really good version of Mahjong.

[@analystduelist571]

I remember being interested in this when it was shown in a Nintendo Direct, but seeing the final product, definitely saving my money for something else, like the Mario Kart DLC.

[@courage1363]

Same here.

[@300IQPrower]

My favorite thing about Square Enix is how they don't advertise their real games while blasting out garbage like this. They won't put out a single advertisement for Neo The World Ends With You to the point I didn't know a game I was excited for had released until MONTHS after it was out, but they'll trip over themselves to force upon us ads for Babylon's Fail. They'll make Triangle Strategy so low profile I only know it's out because an artist I follow started drawing its characters, but they'll gladly fart out this thing that plays about as well as its PS1 counterpart (which itself was criticized as a soulless cash in to capitalize on the recent success of an FF7 game. The more things change.) They're probably gonna point at NTWEWY as proof real games don't sell...even as their heavily advertised live services do even worse.

[@ShinyUmbreon106]

At least it’s not as bad a Nintendo with advertising xenoblade chronicles definitive edition they didn’t advertise it after its announcement till like a month before it’s launch because they were so obsessed with animal crossing

[@Yu__Narukami]

@@ShinyUmbreon106 what do you mean, Xenoblade did well

[@scaryhobbit211]

@@ShinyUmbreon106 Yu Narukami has it right. Xenoblade 1 DE outsold the original Wii game - which in comparison was crippled by N Of America of that era being very gun-shy about JRPG's. Plus it's riding the coattails of Xenoblade 2 - the best selling game at over 2 million copies. Oh, and DE only came out 2 years ago - the original is 12 years old.

[@enthiegavoir5955]

I mean Triangle Strategy is every second youtube ad for me at this point

[@deepmind5318]

I wish Neo world ends with you had sold well. It's not a game i really enjoyed, the original one was much better in my opinion, but it's a franchise with potential. I don't get why Square Enix thinks that their games will sell by themselves with no advertising.

[@prof.laytonfan764]

You would think after the Avengers fiasco that Square Enix would’ve learned their lesson about live services and egregious micro transactions.

[@N79621]

That’s the odd thing, it seems they’ve like doubled down in it? Such bizarre business decisions

[@EldritchErik94]

You forgot they released Babylon’s Fall which is said to be a special kind of bad.

[@ericmeiring2512]

They did learn they changed their tactics lol

[@Eonflare55]

Let's all laugh, at an industry, that never learns anything, tee hee hee.

[@amyhoard1222]

Although I doubt it, maybe 3rd time will be the charm. Avangers failed, Babylon’s Fall failed and now they failed again 🤔

[@gyozasauce8707]

This is gross. Just when you think they can’t go any lower, they bring out the shovels. I’m expecting FF pachinko machines next.

[@ashleyallison6205]

Oh god don't say that they'll hear you. Though I'm sure they've already considered it. Or at least discussed it.

[@dbfzato-1327]

I'm guessing its probably already a thing in Japan lol

[@odatatsunobu]

About that…

[@dejiko]

already a thing !!! hahaha

[@ashleyallison6205]

Eh. Somehow I'm not terribly surprised. Anything to keep the ledgers in the black and the execs able to keep cramming yen in unholy places because it's the only way they can be stimulated. Sub American coin of your choice for the US offices. And it certainly doesn't stop me from thinking about Yahtzee's comment back in 2018 about gamers conceding too much ground.

[@facepwnagewtf]

Companies like EA, Activision, Ubisoft get a lot of backlash for their nefarious business practices in the gaming space. SquareEnix should almost be added to that shit list. Over the past few years they have increasing implemented the same greedy practices of microtransactions, live services, NFT's, etc.

[@JoeyCannoli]

Almost? Hell, I say this stunt they pulled should secure them a permanent spot on the shit list.

[@svartrbrisingr6141]

Add nintendo up there as well.

[@dale7326]

Add Bandai, Sega, and Idea Factory on that as well.

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

@@svartrbrisingr6141 Nintendo wouldn't do NFTs. That'd be their customers actually permanently owning something, regardless of the nebulousness of what's being owned.

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

-almost-

[@atdynax]

I played Chocobo Racing and was really intersted in this iteration, but i won't get it as long as it has microtransactions in it.

[@Hauntaku]

I thought about this Chocobo GP game back when it was announced but I knew there was something seriously unsettling going on.

[@DracosKasurani]

Why brother anyway, we all know that the superior kart racer update in 2 days XD

[@TommyDeonauthsArchives]

@@Hauntaku We should have known better.

[@TommyDeonauthsArchives]

I never played the PS1 game, and was hoping to have Chocobo GP be my introduction to this Final Fantasy flavored Kart Racer... and instead I got a mobile game that somehow costs the same as a regular video game...

[@mocharoll3486]

Same... I was legit very excited for this game and they just HAD TO ruin it too. I'd rather stick with good ol' Chocobo Racing instead

[@Ushiwakamaru_BAU_BAU]

Remember those times when you just had to play to unlock characters, stages, songs, karts, accessories, weapons, summons and other content from games? Guess I'm too old for this new era of gaming.

[@KnightRaymund]

yeah, it's called Mario Kart 8. Yeah they added DLC afterwards but the base game had a good amount of content for a kart racer. Course then Nintendo went mobile with that other Kart and monetized it to hell.

[@fluidwolf]

Honestly the discourse around this game is insanely hyperbolic. The game itself DOES have unlockables through its story mode, time trials, series races, etc. There's a bunch of stuff in the game to unlock and play with from characters to unlock to alt karts to colors, etc. The GP stuff is basically what would be DLC and we have been given enough free currency to never have to spend a dime past purchase for like half a year at least.

[@introvertedwall44]

I remember when DLC wasn't even a thing. The Golden era of gaming. But then Horse Armor happened... And here we are. That day, gaming as an Art has fallen. Rest In Peace.

[@zovinchen3281]

Basically the original Chocobo Racing on PS1. Hell, Squall was an unlockable character back then instead of a character you have to buy

[@ceshmate1953]

@@KnightRaymund sonic racing game

[@electroshock58]

All they had to do was make a simple, fun Kart game based in the Final Fantasy world. It was literally that simple. Somehow, they managed to even screw that up.

[@kuroki9114]

hell i would have paid for 60$ just for a remake/remaster of chocobo racing

[@ericmeiring2512]

They screwed up crystal chronicles as well like for real how did they fuck that up. It was even cross play across everything and they fucked it up.

[@pandamonium9255]

Theyre a group of individuals who sweat when theyre given 3 balls and need to place a single ball into a circular hole. And somehow mess it up...

[@JobeStroud]

It is a remake. It already exists.

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

Dude, it’s even simpler then that, they just had to literally copy and paste the thing they made 20 years ago with new graphics.

[@Devilsblight86]

Square: *releases another live service "game."* gAmers: How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?!

[@drunkendevil]

I was looking forward to a chill nostalgic racer and was crushed when I heard about the overly monetized direction SE went with. Sad to see a publisher I love stoop this low.

[@PerseusClassic]

If you STILL love them, you're clearly a masochist.

[@Hauntaku]

@@PerseusClassic I guess I can't really give my two cents on the matter then

[@Hauntaku]

I'm a masochist

[@Toxxilicious]

Nothing gives me more joy than watching live service games flop hard.

[@arthurpendragon8192]

there can be good live service games....what i think is better for the community is to rally around terrible live service games flopping hard. just because its life service doesn't not mean its automatically bad. Just because a game isn't live service also doesn't mean its automatically good either.

[@gaswe9236]

@@arthurpendragon8192 what's your favorite live service game

[@Laneous14]

@@arthurpendragon8192 What's a good live service game that wouldn't be as equally good if it was just a regular game with occasional paid DLC?

[@terra9226]

@@arthurpendragon8192 Out of curiosity, what would you say is a an example or two of a good live service game? I ask b/c I'm not as well versed in the gaming world as most.

[@joeshroom8482]

@@terra9226 Monster Hunter World and its Iceborne Expansion did them very well, the base game was huge and fun and the title update monsters added new fights, armors and weapons, which were free

[@85futureshock]

To me this is even more disgraceful then Babylon’s Fall because this is a game that’s clearly aimed at families and children and the fact that they would pull this micro transaction garbage on a game that supposed to be family friendly fun is not only appalling but disgusting and even sinister. Everyone involved should be shamed out of the industry. I don’t wanna see the industry die because there so many wonderful development teams not doing this BS like M2, Insomniac and From Software but it can’t continue at this rate. It just can’t.

[@carloscampos5860]

Dont worry, it won't, the ones in danger are Square, EA, Ubisoft etc. From, Imsomniac, Naughty dog and all the others that are making awesome AAA games will thrive in this and continue making a buck from all the gamers that are getting tired of this bull***t. But yes, conpanies like Square are in a real danger of going out, there is only too much the fanbase is gonna to take before going to greener pastures.

[@RelentlessOhiox]

EA put basically full blown gambling in FIFA. You're really acting like this is a surprise?

[@Neoniq41]

Nd is not making good games anymore tho lol

[@kriskater]

The only hope is us… gotta vote with our wallets and remind all our friends and family to do the same

[@darkhaven9119]

@@Neoniq41 yes they are bro

[@Hit_by_a_Parked_Car]

It’s almost like Square Enix knows they can try to get away with more now that Blizzard and by extension WoW is shriveling up

[@BaltaBueno]

And we are doing a good job at letting them know that they can't get away with it

[@mr.ilikespammobileedition592]

No, 14 makes so much Money that they can waste money trying to get another cash flow nothing to do with Blizzard

[@khazura]

I feel like I need to add, Cloud himself is at level 60. But the Battle Pass goes up to 200. And the Vehicle Options for Cloud are much higher in the pass. (Clouds' baseline stats are rather mediocre, the bikes you need to be competitive online are at the end of the level 200 pass.) Cloud himself is fairly early, and with the level of XP required increases-with- each level, Level 200 is -exceedingly- difficult to attain without spending money on 'level skips'. : Subsequent Edit: Launched the game today to find that the kart variations for cloud had been moved down to level 100, and that the 'special' colors had taken their place at the end of the pass.

[@AegixDrakan]

Oh gods, so it's even WORSE than we all think? -_- UGh...

[@ToastyMann]

Jesus christ why? Why does a kart racer have purchasable upgrades that buff your stats? That's just putrid.

[@toblerone1729]

Square themselves released a statement some time ago, where they supported people who "pay to invest" rather than the people that want to buy quality games...so this isn't surprising, though it's incredibly disappointing

[@inspirit77]

can we go back in time when these companies aren't greedy ? as much as i love to hear about the chocobo racing getting a remake, this issue is just unforgiveable.

[@NewHollowEarth]

Square Enix just doesn't stop to amaze me how tone-deaf they are, I just love seeing these type of projects fail just so it can get through with them.

[@gleipnirrr]

they're not tone deaf. that means they were trying to do good by the community, but it missed the mark. Considering they hid microtransactions from the marketing, and they were patched in after the reviewers made their reviews, they were greedy, manipulative scammers.

[@Hauntaku]

@@gleipnirrr They are 100% tone-deaf. They're idiots who want your money and don't care how they trick you into giving it to them.

[@Kratos263]

You know what I like about this? It’s so easy to just not buy it and go elsewhere. The more these greedy companies do this, the stronger indie games become

[@Hauntaku]

I just bought a new indie game today for $70 and it came with a ton of physical goodies! It's "The Cruel King and the Great Hero".

[@Hauntaku]

Storybook edition of course.

[@kyonbrace5487]

Forza Mario Kart Gran Turismo You cannot afford to mess up a racer or forever be cast into the shadows under the three kings of it

[@RelentlessOhiox]

That's great but I surely don't want the majority of my games to be Indie. If you do great but you are the vast minority. I like supporting devs. A better idea is just these companies get their fucking shit together.

[@64bitmodels66]

@@kyonbrace5487 *4 kings, since SRB2Kart is a thing now

[@FlorenceFox]

I swear, it feels at times like literally every competent person in Square Enix is working on Final Fantasy XIV. FFXIV continues to knock it out of the park again and again, while literally everything else Square Enix craps out is a dumpster fire of incompetence.

[@Mind_Crimes]

But Triangle Strategy just happened?

[@yourface2464]

That's because yoshi P has free reign over how 14 works. The square execs are only in charge of the mog station, which the game itself does nothing to promote.

[@ProjectTony]

@@MegaManJake oh you have no idea buddy

[@grimhellscythe6998]

Id say its mostly SE's live service games are their failures. Everything else they released has been good to great honestly.

[@Druid-T]

@@MegaManJake I know this is tempting fate, but no one can be *that* stupid, right? There's no way sticking microtransactions into the 3make or 12 would present itself anything but a recipe for disaster

[@captainjustin]

Sad to remember that there was a time that I'd buy every Square game and know that it would be quality. I've become so cynical about the company that I barely paid attention to Chocobo GP and Babylon's Fall. Now I feel like I dodged two bullets.

[@adamdenardis5438]

Well up to the PS2 era, games were sold as complete. Even on GBA and some DS titles. Square Enix was good. They were really good.

[@KMartin1311]

Wow. Sad part is I was really looking forward to this game. Good news is, after seeing the massive backlash from the community, I'm saving myself $50. This is horrible. How SquareEnix could fuck up a classic so monumentally is honestly mind numbing.

[@OniMunchi]

So sad to see how badly these companies continue to shoot themselves in the financial foot by not only having the audacity to have rediculous MTX pricing and all that jazz, but to have the gall to hide it? OH, I can't wait to see how the mighty falls in terms of the video game giants.

[@Ese1Pac]

They’re straight up becoming late 2000s - 2010s Capcom. Hopefully they’re able to make a complete 180 just like Capcom did and go back to releasing quality games.

[@tokiomiller9896]

Have you heard about SF6?

[@hayato1886]

@@tokiomiller9896 Yeah the division that handles SF is not doing very well. The others are though. Division 1 has DMC and Resident Evil, both are doing great, 2 has Sengoku Basara, Monster Hunter and Phoenix Wright, which are doing fantastic. Meanwhile Division 3 has... Street Fighter and MvC, which haven't been doing very well at all

[@LasagaMan]

@@hayato1886 What about the other divisions that Hand other properties like Mega Man or Ghosts N' Goblins?

[@hayato1886]

@@LasagaMan I'm not entirely sure about Ghosts n Goblins but Mega Man is also handled by Division 1.

[@seekertosecrets]

That was a horrible era for Capcom! That version of Capcom was a dickhead!

[@OmgYourKittyCat]

Always weird to think of them doing this crap and then think back to when they were squaresoft and how they were back then

[@junlim7330]

I genuinely miss the old square where they mostly focused on JRPGs. I still don't get why do they have to fuck things up so bad when they alr have good formulas for their games even from 2-3 decades ago.

[@KKarkatVantas]

@@junlim7330 Because they only care about money, its not the old good formulas that make the billions they see EA and other shitty companies make

[@Carnage7209]

They'll have all my money and then some when they release part 2 of the ff7 remake

[@tokiomiller9896]

Racing Lagoon was legendary. A squaresoft JRPG game but with cars. They never made a game like that afterwards.

[@edgyzackyt-edgelordzackari4889]

You know what the biggest shame is? Chocobo GP I could see being a good party game that you bust out with friends every now and again. Heck, I'm certain people who love FF would get a good kick out of it even though other Kart races do the formal better. As someone who played it at a buddies place, I can say that it does have that fun factor to it. Unfortunately, Square is blinded by the success of FFXIV while forgetting the fact that it is technically a live service that is designed like a single player game because Yoshida actually knows what he is doing. I hope that the shadyness over at Square isn't harming XIV at all...

[@Ladywizard]

and it's getting more single playerness with trusts becoming backwards compatible since most arr will be trustable in 6.1

[@dante8506]

Glad to see all their live service games failing so hard. The funniest part is that FF14 is so successful because of the way Yoshi-p treats the players, you would think they would know how to copy that, but alas, they want to go the way of activision and EA at all costs.

[@DaFro3713]

And it doesn’t need to be this way. Square still gets sales for FF, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Triangle Strategy, and their back catalogue. Just make games like the ones people know you for and the money will always flow. Screw what the hack reviewers say.

[@Ladywizard]

@@DaFro3713 Heck release 4-9 DQ on switch it probably will print money since people want to see full series(right now most people are importing the 1-3 bundle since it's on cart not digital from playasia and 11 sold well enough they rereleased the switch version on steam)

[@AbyssalPlague]

Not to long ago, my Father, a long time FF fan, says the square enix have really lost their touch. Hell, this proves it further.

[@setsers1]

He was ahead.

[@13nohead]

It's true. I've loved square since i got final fantasy 1 in the 80s. Man they used to be great, but no longer

[@hayato1886]

They still have good games, like Octopath Traveler, Nier, TWEWY, Dragon Quest and a few other titles, but god damn they've been putting out some real stinkers lately

[@nocfox3050]

Soooo, the "premium currency" that's included with the $50 version has an expiration date even though you still paid for it? What? Even that was too valuable for Square Enix?

[@InsanoRider777]

No, the mythril you actually buy never expires; the mythril they gave you, though, expires. They've been pulling this shit with all their mobile titles recently, where there's "paid" and "free" premium currency and the "free" currency can't really be spent on anything, Worst part is they're just as stingy with the "free" currency as if it weren't separate from the "paid" currency.

[@seralucii]

Yeah, the earned mythril expires after a month so you can't even safe up for anything worthwile

[@MrProg-ey3tl]

@@InsanoRider777 wooooow lol

[@Hauntaku]

@@InsanoRider777 Meanwhile, Jala never expires in western Ninjala.

[@gellarcon]

This breaks my heart, having played the original Chocobo Racing to hell and back I was so excited for this game.

[@As5Hat]

How has law not caught up to this and introduced and enforced fraud charges and jail time against game executives for false advertising?

[@Risen548]

Is it me or just the shear amount of Square Enix titles over the past month and a half has been ridiculous? 1. Life is Strange: Remastered, February 1st 2. FF6 Pixel Remaster, February 23rd 3. Babylon's Fall, March 3rd 4. Triangle Strategy, March 4th 5. Chocobo GP, March 10th 6. Final Fantasy Origin, March 18th I'm sure Im probably missing something too Some people just can't afford to buy multiple games in a month, even if they really want to play them. They have screwed themselves over not just by making their games compete against themselves, but also games like Elden Ring and Gran Turismo 7. Honestly I'd love to play Triangle Strategy, FF origins and FF6, but I also want to play elden ring and Gran Turismo 7. It's not only the microtransactions that is making Square Enix look terrible. There is something very odd going on with Square Enix. If I was a share holder i'd be really upset with SE making their own products their own competition.

[@lionheart4109]

It's wokeness. It's only going to get worse in the near future, for SE and AAA japanese gaming in general.

[@paperluigi6132]

@@lionheart4109 what the hell does wokeness have to do with bad business decisions that don’t involve politics in them?

[@kleberson777]

Square Enix release a ton of game in 2022. 7. Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden, Feb 18 8. Chrono Cross the radical dreamers edition 9. The Centennial Case : A Shijima Story, May 22 10. Live A live, July 22 11. Forspoken, October 11 12. Star Ocean: The Divine Force 13. Diofield Chronicle 14. Valkyrie Elysium 15. Front Mission 1st 16. Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis it seems like they bite more than they can chew

[@lionheart4109]

@@paperluigi6132 This kind of storm always happens, during their transition. That's exactly what happened in the Western side of the industry. Ever noticed how FF7 Remake had a LGBT reference? Granted, it was a pretty small and ignorable one, but it's there regardless. Also, Bandai Namco already started with pushing "Body type A" and "Body type B" in Elden Ring. Even though it's also a small thing and doesn't actually hurt the game, it's a sign of things to come that will. And it's not going to stop there, just like in the West. Expect all japanese companies to follow suit and the quality of their games to drop heavily, because it's an affordable excuse to reduce costs by removing quality and increasing profits as consequence. Those people always find ways and, well, those "bad business decisions" are always motivated by politics. Just to say: "hey, our profits were hurt and we are ostracized by our fanbase; how can we make up for it?". Another thing: don't forget that Sony and Microsoft support this heavily, and they have the power to deny publishers of their highly profitable platforms, if they don't submit to their narrative. Do you see how it all comes together, even if it does not seem to be political at first glance?

[@Hauntaku]

@@lionheart4109 Coward

[@freedantheeternal]

One guy at Square: Running one of if not the best MMO in the world with incredible characters, story, community, and consumer friendly practices like giving away free game-time when players couldn't log in during the over-congestion of the expansion launch. Another guy at Square: "Gimme your wallet."

[@adamdenardis5438]

MMO games since the 2010s charge money for everything. 😂 i miss the old days of the original Phantasy Star Online. That was the best!

[@justsomespice3053]

Square Enix hit rock bottom and, to no one's surprise, they started digging.

[@Carnage7209]

Lol because ff 14, remastered 1-6 releases, and ff7 remake part 1 are just awful. They need to ditch their cellphone division and pump out jrpgs again

[@staticshock4239]

@@Carnage7209 Final Fantasy 14 (specifically A Realm Reborn and the expansions) and Final Fantasy 7 Remake were actually well liked.

[@ubermaster1]

@@Carnage7209 FF14 is literally their biggest seller atm, 1-6 are good if you don't mind their lack of GBA content, Remake is the only thing that can really be argued.

[@TheEmperorHyperion]

@@Carnage7209 Final Fantasy XIV is the *only* reason they even have money. And they waste it on trash such as this and Life is Strange.

[@17Watman]

They delved too Greedily and too Deep

[@Nicomanism]

Glad I saved money and look into something. This game is pretty much a middle finger to all gamers. It looks fun, has charm; but its plagued with locked out content. Square Enix, you're a disgrace

[@elhazthorn918]

It's a massive middle finger to fans of the Chocobo spinoff series, like Chocobo's Dungeon 1 and 2 on PS1.

[@thestraycat69]

Worse it's a feeder of nastigla

[@KopperNeoman]

@William T. Or, you know, Chocobo Racing.

[@Ladywizard]

@@elhazthorn918 Well we should have known it was coming... they have each job chocobo for your companion in the remake of mystery dungeon as $2 each(no bundles) and ff14 basically did backdoor ad for that game with the omega raid series

[@arekusudino1545]

I was legitimately excited for this-- disheartened when I have heard the news about how it is monetized. It's sad that for every step forward they take (Triangle strategy) they take 5 steps back (Babylon's fall and Chocobo GP; yes, it's so bad I count those 2 games as 5 steps) Chocobo GP gave me the same feeling of disgust as what I've had with War of the Visions. What's worse than a bad game? A Good, nostalgic game that was grafted a monetization scheme it never needed. It's like your childhood friend suddenly asking you to join his MLM scheme.

[@akesan2374]

To be 100% fair WOTV is an actual gacha game and was advertised as such

[@daffanier]

hoping new valkyrie is like triangle strategy, hehe

[@arekusudino1545]

@@akesan2374 well, yeah. I still feel bad tho, because they had the potential of making something like FF Tactics with that set of graphics/system, but they grafted in a shitty monetization scheme-- granted that it's F2P. Thank God for Triangle Strategy, tho

[@akesan2374]

@@arekusudino1545 Honestly, WOTV is still pretty enjoyable in terms of story and gameplay. Of course, you shouldn't expect a masterpiece, but it's still pretty good. But also yeah i agree i wish they just made it be closer FFT and FFTA.

[@theshadowdirector]

The biggest tragedy about this game is that it's a really good game at its core but it's been vandalised in the name of Games as a Service.

[@KnakuanaRka]

Yeah, it could have been great if not for people being greedy.

[@Yarharsuperpirate]

At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if they WANTED everyone to hate them

[@MySpartan94]

Idk why people still have faith in Square anymore. After that NFT bs move and mention of "Games not supposed to be fun". I dropped my support for them

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

Mostly because there are still goods sprinkled in there literally beating the corporate execs away with a stick, ie, Yoshi P with FF14

[@LasagaMan]

There's very little things that people support them for, such as the music channel (Which anyone can open up in an afternoon keep in mind) that people immedatly acted like all of square's mistakes were written and how Nintendo and every other game company ever should, leaving thier guards down to something like this.

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

Well then, I guess Kingdom hearts is heading off to a bad direction

[@Hauntaku]

The goal of every real game is to have fun playing it. If a game isn't fun, it's a bad game.

[@Hauntaku]

Even fun games can have MTX (microtransactions) but it's always better to have NO microtransactions.

[@decusq]

This REALLY hurts because I downloaded the Free version to give it a try. And the second I get into the game i am hit with GATCHA ADS! And at first i was like "Ok there are no lootboxes so it's not all scummy". But boy was I wrong! Turns out in order to "Unlock" Cloud this season, you have to pay $8 for the CHANCE to unlock him when you level grind to level 60. OR Square-Enix made it so that you buy PREMIUM CLOUD PACK, so you can buy Unlock Cloud AND the additional 60 levels to unlock for $20. So not only did people pay $50 for the base game, some were so impatient to get cloud they paid additional 8 to 20 bucks on top of that in order to unlock him. There are people who have tried to defend this as "Player Choice" I call it SCUMMY AS HELL! They didn't need to ad gatcha mechanics to this game to make money, they just did it because they knew thy could milk nostalgia and the occasional child stealing daddy's credit card. The sad part is there is a GOOD racing Kart game under the gatcha pay wall! YOU WERE SO CLOSE SQUARE! YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO BEING GOOD AGAIN! I cannot recommend this game, don't even download the free version.

[@SnivyTries]

"Player Choice" is the biggest flawed argument supporting MTX.

[@Cadychan]

Man, when I saw this at the Nintendo Direct, I was going to get it just for the FFIX characters, but now I'm glad I've been able to save my money. How heartbreaking. :(

[@Max44321]

SE has already got a golden goose yet they keep trying for more, only proves even when big companies get what they're after, it'll never be enough

[@KageTact]

Nothing like teaching children how to pay for every aspect of the game early on. It’s like they’re trying to condition a whole generation of gamers.

[@amyhoard1222]

That's exactly what they are doing, which is sad. I miss the days when games were released finished and polished 😭 Now we get 1/2 baked games, that are broken on release, making gamers wait for monthes or more to get a vaguely finished game.

[@kriskater]

Yeah … and it’s working 😓

[@zzz43344]

Yeah...

[@13nohead]

Right

[@Hauntaku]

@@kriskater Because of bad parenting

[@phish4203]

After going back to old school gaming, & looking at what the industry is doing now, Only hurts my soul even more 💔

[@anthonycomeaux1804]

Reviewers should have a backup score ready for if/when game developers and publishers add bullshit like this after-the-fact. So like a 75 would be as-reviewed, but an automatic loss of 40 points if they turn on MX/battle passes after reviews are done. They wouldn't even have to go back and re-review. Even if what they added isn't the worst, the same auto-subtraction applies just for the shady practices.

[@Ragnarok540]

The score should just become 0 if they do this kind of thing.

[@logicalfundy]

Problem is, Metacritic has a policy of not updating the score for a publication once it's up. If you change your score afterwards, the change still won't be reflected on Metacritic.

[@anthonycomeaux1804]

@@logicalfundy I see. Metacritic needs to get with the times. Games are not static anymore. They are fluid and ever-changing, even if not technically a "live service"

[@Nikolai508]

It's like when my boss tells me I need to do more work and I reply "Sure, I'm listening, I'll take your feedback and look to make improvements", and then I rotate my chair back to my desk and hit play on the YongYea video.

[@Fourtytwo4242]

Consumer: "hey Square what you doing?" Square: "we had to stop the sale of ff14 to help the Consumer" Consumer: "that good" Square: "but we are thinking about doing NTFs" Consumer: "that bad" Square: "but we also put all of our music online for anyone to listen to for free" Consumer: "that good" Square: "but we made another bad live service game" Consumer: "...can I go home now?"

[@rezonance4937]

Honestly tho, the dissonance between all of squares move are so sad its funny

[@valletas]

What is funny is that NFT's are very likely the reason why they stopped selling ff14 They probably removed dedicated ff14 servers to dedicate theyr hardware for nft's Well in any way you slice it creating nft's and crypto is a hardware and energy expense that could be better used to keep selling your most popular game

[@oliverpease6719]

@@valletas the big reason is they legit had to stop selling FF14 because they SOMEHOW (I've never seen this happen ever) ran out of digital copies and their servers were having a mental breakdown. Though perhaps they did allocate server space to NFTs

[@camillegrinnaux879]

@@oliverpease6719 Naoki Yoshida said no NFTs, and I'm inclined to believe him. If he ever leaves the project though, it's over.

[@valletas]

@@oliverpease6719 its not that they ran out of digital copies because thats literally impossible to happen (unless its an nft) its that they run out of servers to put people into Though this suspicipuly happened at the same time square started to push real hard for nft's in their games Just saying i wouldint be surprised if a few years from now we see an ex square developer talking about taking resources away from ff14 for nft's

[@BodoppelS10]

I miss the era when games had no microtransactions and where just great games. It gets more and more rare these days

[@alpha34098]

That's why you should look at the Indie Scene

[@Hauntaku]

@@alpha34098 Yep, indie games are gems.

[@Hauntaku]

I just bought "The Cruel King and the Great Hero" (storybook edition) and it's going to be great.

[@Hauntaku]

Update: It's awesome!

[@svartrbrisingr6141]

@@alpha34098 indie games are nice. But big AAA titles do have some advantages over them. If you find a company not being greedy then good chance they are releasing at least decent games. Its just the fact that there is no form of regulation on microtransactions. If even very simple regulations got put down a lot of these companies would be forced to back away from microtransactions and actually try making good games

[@emma6648]

Bro remember it’s just Elden rings fault, that’s why it failed, obviously 🙄 y’all just don’t get it man

[@draw2death421]

Indeed! Elden ring with its horrible hub and its lack of loot boxes and Microtransactions! its just atrocious! Its unfair! Games like Fiva 22 should be praised not this insult at players! Players dont want chalange! They want to pay their way to victory! Pride and Accomplishment people!

[@franciscodetonne4797]

Yeah, it's always the fault of better-made and player-friendly games! Down with games that were made with passion!

[@artyom5738]

Literally every single new horrible games out there from now on might gonna pinned the blame on elden ring Its not even gonna surprised me anymore at this rate lmao

[@smgofdvld]

A premium pass on a 50$ game isn't new but I think the fact square has been doubling down on games like this is the worst part. This has been going on since 2016 about the time ffbe dropped

[@svartrbrisingr6141]

Premium passes should not exist in paid games. They are scummy to begin with let alone in a $50 game

[@PinkAgaricus]

Also I feel like FFBE's recharge model shouldn't really be blamed on square though, maybe on Gumi/Alim who also run Brave Frontier of which the latter has all three versions of it being taken offline next month. I know probably BF I and II probably have a similar scheme to FFBE, but as soon as the server shutdown was announced BF ReXONA took down their microtransactions and you can no longer do that, but the former two probably still have mtx open until shutdown as I keep seeing in game notis (those big notification screens) showing packages.

[@TheChampionLion626]

I was about to put this game on my wishlist, thanks for saving me the money on such a good looking game ruined by something paid games should *NEVER* ever dig into

[@Dragon_Screamer]

I love how they give you mythril "for the trouble", which you can't use unless you pay the full game in the first place.

[@brainfriiz2351]

I love Square's IPs, but they need a new CEO. It's good to see their JP studios crashing, too (I mean, of course it's bad, but you know), because now it can't just be seen as it just being their western studios failing.

[@AceLoveheart]

You know they are not going to fail just because of one game.

[@brainfriiz2351]

@@AceLoveheart You know that I know that. The company as a whole failing is not what I was talking about.

[@linksbro1]

The only instance of anything similar to a live service implementation I've liked was DOOM Eternal because of how ignorable it was, and how you could gain "event XP" even while using cheats in single player levels.

[@pommybomber]

The other nice thing is say you didn't bother with a season and you want some of the stuff in one you skipped. You can just buy a $9 DLC to get the whole thing. It's relatively cheap, doesn't make you feel like you "have to", and like, it really is optional. It's just skins as opposed to full on characters like this.

[@KopperNeoman]

@pommybomber Money to skip the grind is how they get you. In the old days, skipping the grind was a code you could share and remember.

[@linksbro1]

@@KopperNeoman Technically you can't pay to skip the grind because you can only purchase a cosmetic pack after the window to earn them is closed. There were some sets you weren't able to buy because they would eventually bring those specific cosmetics back to earn.

[@costazoumboulis1649]

I’ve played the game, it’s pretty fun (not even joking). That’s what makes it more sad, at least Babylons fall was bad.

[@Jetwarren123]

yes it's fun. but the monetization is down right awful. make the game free if you want to make your game mobile like monetization.

[@AcerSense]

@@DUDULALALALALALA damn, it hurts for that, i enjoyed the first game a LOT

[@AceLoveheart]

@@Jetwarren123 Who the heck cares about the monetization and just have fun with it. That's the whole point of games.

[@Jetwarren123]

@@AceLoveheart If you enjoy then fine by me. this game is not for me.

[@KPX01]

@@AceLoveheart not when they paywalled the fun part, also defeat the fact that you already PAID for said game. This is like going to a burger joint and it only give you the bread and say the patty is an add on while paying a normal price burger.

[@Swordslinger-hb1ns]

You’re going down the wrong path Square-Enix. The same path as Konami. Change coarse. You can still do the right thing……

[@pommybomber]

It's infuriating. They have an $82 dollar "Micro"transaction for this game, there's literally no way to earn enough gil to buy some of the items from the shop even if you do grind all the way to 200 on the pass, and not even offering 4 player local in a party kart racer it's just baffling how they thought this was a good idea while games like Octopatch Traveler, Dragon Quest 11, and Kingdom Hearts have all done so well. They literally have proof that they don't need this nonsense yet they keep doing it anyway.

[@durandlewis1382]

I was actually thinking about getting this game. The macrotransactions made me change my mind.

[@Hauntaku]

That's no typo.

[@RaidenKaiser]

As always these are a reminder no company should be trusted and should always be a warning never to be atatched.

[@Hauntaku]

The only good companies are small indie game companies like Wayforward and Gears for Breakfast.

[@kingjamesbond4009]

They literally didn't show any of the microtransaction stuff when it was announced I call that deceptive advertising

[@DawnOfTheOzz]

Releasing a full price game with predatory microtransactions? That's a paddlin'.

[@Aizucita]

Chocobo Racing (the PSOne original) was my absolute favorite racing game of the 90s!! Squall was unlockable but free. Everything in that game was perfect and there was no need for anything extra. It was fun to play, fun to replay and fun to revisit. It's seems like the executives at Squeenix want to kill the FF franchise and burn it to the ground... So sad 😢

[@tehbeernerd]

Putting out this glorified mobile game an entire week before Nintendo rolls out the first part of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe $25 expansion is undeniably a choice that Square Enix chose to make.

[@akiranatsume3501]

If you thought Chocobo GP having micro transactions was bad enough, wait till you see Gran Turismo 7 's micro transactions. They make Chocobo GP micro transactions look consumer friendly.

[@nightday2030]

GT has micro? I thought they only sell DLC.

[@artyom5738]

@@nightday2030 on GT7, their microtransaction is basically just for topping up your in game credits with your own real money Which is a real shame thing to do

[@MrKing-qd7gi]

@@artyom5738 Dang I was looking forward to getting it too... how is it when ignoring them? Is there more grind than 6?

[@akiranatsume3501]

@@MrKing-qd7gi I think so. It sure as hell is a lot grindier than Gran Turismo Sport.

[@SoldMySoul45]

@@akiranatsume3501 Man this is really sad to hear. I was honestly thinking of playing the new Gran Turismo since I haven't played one of their games since the PS2 days, when I was a kid. It's a real fucking shame.

[@aidenquinn19975]

Imagine not only screwing yourself over like this but also releasing next to the Mario Kart 8 DX dlc expansion

[@dustman820]

At least that is a one time purchase and you will get everything over time or get it for free if you have the Expansion Pack of the Nintendo Switch Online.

[@aidenquinn19975]

@@DUDULALALALALALA ???

[@gabor3432]

The only way to stop these kinds of disgusting practices is to make global video game laws, which makes gambling with real money and monetization with predatory tactics illegal. The point of video games is to make human lives better and provide enetertainment and NOT about how to exploit people for more money....

[@mroptimism]

The currency that expires if you don't use it is what gets me... stop. Don't do that SquareEnix. This game is ridiculous enough.

[@etl6967]

At this point I feel bad for Square Enix, wish this was happening to Ea or 2k

[@etl6967]

@@DUDULALALALALALA yeah

[@X-Cactus]

Why feel bad for them when they're doing this to themselves? No one asked for nickel and diming. They're not getting criticism they don't deserve, so your comment is just dumb.

[@thehunterjk2521]

Life is Strange 4 will be a live service where you pay real world money to make your character a little less depressed and angsty.

[@thejman5683]

No, Life is Strange should never come into existence ever again.

[@laginbehind7759]

They released a gem in Triangle Strategy, but they couldn't help themselves from releasing 2 crappy live service games to sandwich it.

[@Mac_Omegaly]

It honestly might be the last S-E game I buy.

[@kumori9940]

Diofield chronicles? Idk it seems promising. Checkout the trailer

[@MrBucksfan03]

Exactly. They should leave the live service alone

[@MoostachedSaiyanPrince]

I've been saying for a while that Square Enix is steadily shaping up to be the next EA or Activision Blizzard. And the evidence just continues to pile up. And what really hurts is that this is a publisher that's made it's fortune and reputation through single player JRPGs that are nothing short of legendary. I used to be a huge fan, but now I legit hate them.

[@alexandermartinez732]

I loved chocobo racing as a kid with my brother, especially since we had a ps1 and not an n64. So to see this 2 decades later be remastered but monetized to hell and back on a game that already has a buy price of 50$ is disgusting. I hate to say it but this is like raping the title for all it’s good for. This is so sad for me. I didnt know many others knew about the original game and then this is what theyre gonna remember it for

[@TheRPGenius]

The only shocking thing to me is that after 20 consistent years of carelessness and incompetence, somehow people are *still* surprised each time SquareEnix creates another disaster, as though shortsighted tone-deaf failure hasn't been the defining quality of this company for almost half of its existence. How can YongYea shake his head in disappointment and ask SquareEnix what it's doing? It's doing _what_ _SquareEnix_ *_does_* .

[@Drstrange3000]

I think it is because they do make some gems as well. In the past decade, they have published Dragon Quest XI, Life is Strange series, Neo: TWEWY, Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Nier Automata, FF7 Remake (before they kept adding cash grabs onto the FF7 name) and the Bravely Default games. They also are still going strong with FFXIV. I do think their quality overall is going down though.

[@martinde-serres8724]

@@Drstrange3000 you do know they made cash grabs onto FF7's name BEFORE they eventually started the remake, right? it's called the Compilation of FF7, which has a PSP prequel, a Japan-only flip phone prequel, a CGI movie sequel, a PS2 sequel and several novels and Ultimecia books yeah, that was a thing between 1997 and 2020 then, with the FF7 ''remake'', they did a Disney and pretty much RETCONED everything related to it and started another Compilation of FF7 from scratch for said ''remake'' that's also including shoving FF7 stuff down our throats in pretty much EVERY GAME they've made since the release of the original FF7 back in 1997 who's to blame for that? Tetsuya Nomura, the 1 guy who almost lead SE to their 3rd dark hour and look at the current state of the FF7 Remake project as of late: it's not looking good when they're STILL in planning phase for a PART 2 of the REMAKE of the 23-year-old overrated game the whole project started in 2015 and 7 years later, what do we got out of it so far? 1 Part that only covers what looks like the first 10% of the original game's story and a mobile battle royale prequel... plus an upcoming mobile redo of the WHOLE Compilation of FF7 1.0 if you thought SE did bad with Chocobo GP and Babylon's Fall, they're NOTHING compared to the FF7 Remake project

[@Drstrange3000]

@@martinde-serres8724 Yeah, I'm aware they made other FF7 related games in the past. I was trying to stick with things more recent. I thought Crisis Core was a solid PSP title and wasn't as bad as something like FF7 First Soldier. I also think the release schedule of FF7R is a mess and seems like they are stringing fans along.

[@martinde-serres8724]

@@Drstrange3000 FF7 didn't need to be THAT big of an overhaul tbh what it really needed was updated graphics and translation, QoL improvements to the overall gameplay but KEEP its turn-based combat system basically, take the HD remaster and just put on better visuals and QoL improvements and BOOM! you got yourself a remake done RIGHT lol

[@Kwatcher100]

After that letter from their CEO, none of this surprises me.

[@louberry1512]

Chocobo Racing on PS1 was one of my favorite games back in the day. It's a shame to see this has received the modern "gaming" treatment

[@richardrussell7082]

The only thing that surprises me about this story is the fact that people were actually surprised this happened. The whole thing is a sham cash grab but can we take a moment to note the fact that someone was complaining online that after an hour they ONLY got to 7 of 60 ..... in one hour 🤔🙄

[@dhgmrz17]

When I thought no company could be worse than EA when it comes to monetization.

[@auraleedivinus]

Remove Final Fantasy, and SquareEnix's basically nothing. They really need to get their act together. 🤦‍♂️

[@paperluigi6132]

Dragon Quest in Japan: am I a joke to you?

[@ZOKUMUSTD1E]

FF isn't square's only IP my guy.

[@GanRPG]

Square Enix is just a hit or miss meme. When they hit, they really hit hard When they miss, they give us Babylon's Fall.

[@SnivyTries]

Hit: Bullseye Miss: The lawyered up neighbor's dog

[@ekzsuncz7610]

It is very disappointing to have one of my favorite childhood racing games to be badly monetize. I thought it will be just a simple remake.... What's more sickening is that Cloud and Squall were SECRET UNLOCKABLE CHARACTER in the original game! It's like a middle finger to fans of original chocobo racing on PS1....

[@drachenzahne9262]

Ikr! Can't believe they went and did that considering the original game.

[@Hauntaku]

There is no Chocobo GP. There is only Chocobo Racing on the Playstation released in 1999.

[@Hauntaku]

To clarify, Chocobo GP is not worthy of being considered a remake or sequel. Certainly not a remaster.

[@Hauntaku]

Not even a pecking spinoff.

[@Hauntaku]

Freaking worthless wannabe mobile racing game.

[@FlareFoot57]

They did the same thing as what was done to the remake of Crash Team Racing. It's a huge shame. It was such an incredibly well-controlled, content heavy, and aesthetically bold game. It's like buying a huge delicious cake that so happens to have a bit of shit touching it. One can cut around it and avoid it, but it could never truly be ignored.

[@zanbamon4162]

Not the same thing. In CTR you could earn everything by playing the game and it wasnt that grindy either

[@FlareFoot57]

@@zanbamon4162 Everything can be earned by playing and there isn't much grind if you're playing online. In offline modes, you can get around 45-50 coins per race. Online races add a multiplier so you can get upwards of 400 per race (double that on weekends). A character skin costs 2500 coins. Unless you're hitting people up in a discord server, finding a match in 2022 is its own herculean task. So you're basically stuck with a drip-fed progression system offline or stuck with microtransactions. So you're right in that it's not the same as Chocobo GP, but they know what they're doing, dangling that focus group test carrot. Slightly modified scum is still scum.

[@georgie_86]

Back when they were squaresoft you used to associate their name with quality. Every release felt like such a monumental event. To think how far these companies have fallen. Please square don’t do a Konami! Before the internet gaming was so pure 😫