Xenoblade 2 will be the Wii U's Final Fantasy VII

Playeressence's Furious Francis discusses how Monolith Soft is the new Square Soft. And why Xenoblade 2 will be the Wii U's version of Final Fantasy VII.

[Godmars290]

So they're going to advertise the hell out of it?

No offense, this game was love at first trailer, but if Nintendo, or more to the point Nintendo fans, expect this to sell like gangbusters a lot of TV ad time is going to have to be bought. Get Crunchy Roll and Toonami involved.

Edit:
I wish Sony had bought Monolith.
I wish they had continued to directly develop JRPGs post the PS1 era.

[Theyellowflash30]

The game will sell, trust me. Online Marketing is more effective than TV marketing. Market the game on websites, and GameInformer, YouTube. There's all sorts of marketing you can do.

I don't think it will sell as much as Final Fantasy VII, I just think it will move a decent amount of Wii U's and show developers how to use the Wii U Gamepad right in an RPG.

Nobody though Fire Emblem Awakening was going to sell, especially after FE Shadow Dragon did so poorly selling 250K lifetime.

But Nintendo marketed the game, made it really good, and has already surpassed the sales of the first game. Mainly due to the eShop sales.

[Snookies12]

Fire Emblem Awakening was an amazing game though, no doubt...

[Qrphe]

His point still stands. Regardless of game quality, to be like FFVII, it needs to gain huge mainstream success and thus a ridiculous amount of marketing and hype just like VII did.

[DA_SHREDDER]

This is like Zone of The Enders mix with monster hunter owned by a Nintendo first part studios that made the best jrpgs of all time? Man so glad I got a WiiU. Its got online and everything? Wow!

btw, I liked this dudes opinion. Good show

[rainslacker]

I remember when FFVII first released. You couldn't turn on the TV, go online, open a magazine, or even go see a movie in the theater without seeing a FFVII trailer(That trailer was awesome on a theater screen I might add). It had one hell of a marketing campaign, and it was showing stuff that people had never seen before in a game.

Even with marketing, this title isn't going to give the same "WOW" factor that FFVII held for many. It'll likely be a great game, and I'm definitely buying it, but today's games have become mostly homogenized and the advancements to graphics(ie the "WOW" factor) aren't going to be as extreme as prior generations.

Outside of gamers, not many people know about Monolith soft or Xenoblade chronicles. With FFVII people knew about Square and FF. It was gamers excitement over the game, along with a huge influx of new consumers which helped make FFVII so successful. Nowadays, it seems everyone is too jaded to really be fussed over something really amazing.

I do agree though that there are ways to market without going to such extremes. They can also be more effective, and cost less money, sometimes showing better results compared to TV ads.

[3-4-5]

Yea FE:A was pure quality all the way through...that is why it sold well...yes marketing helps...

You can't tie a gold ribbon around crap and try and sell it though.

[Shok]

I agree FF7 is a bit of a stretch, but this game, which was a brand new IP at the time:

1) Sold 800,000 copies,
2) While being GameStop exclusive in the West
3) Had limited supplies (go see how much the game costs now)
4) And was pirated over 1,000,000 times.

So it would've sold A LOT more than just the 800k it sold, so it was a fairly popular game and is very critically acclaimed, especially in Japan.

[Theyellowflash30]

I'm not saying the game is going to sell as much as FF VII, I just said it will be the Wii U's FF VII, push a lot of consoles and redefine the RPG genre.

Obviously its going to be tough for Xenoblade 2 to sell as much as FF VII. I don't think it will get anywhere near the sales of FF VII, I just think it will help move a lot of Wii U's,

[Tapani]

@Theyellowflash30

So basically what you are saying it's NOT the Wii U's Final Fantasy VII.

Maybe you just wish it would be? :D

[Heavenly King]

It was pirated (as many other piece of media) because that 1M of gamers, did not think the game is worthy of the price tag.

[rainslacker]

@TheYellow

The only way it will push consoles is if it has a marketing campaign that appeals to the masses. It may push consoles among gamers, but that is hard to speculate on right now given that we don't know when it will release, or what else it will be up against come it's release.

I also don't know if it will redefine the genre. That's a pretty bold leap. RPG's don't often get redefined, and when they do, they tend to be critical and commercial failures. Even FFVII didn't really redefine them from a game play standpoint, just on a presentation stand point. The original Xenoblade Chronicles also didn't redefine anything, so not sure why the 2nd one would.

As good as I think the game will be, there is nothing that I've seen so far that hasn't been shown in other games in various other genres.

@Heavenly
Many people won't pay over $100 for a game, particularly one on a system that isn't even on most people's radar. It is not a statement on the quality of the game itself, just that the availability of the game is extremely low, and demand is high right now.

[Qrphe]

The number of times it was pirated is of little indication since that is never an indicator of lost sales.

[Moncole]

Its more likely Nintendo will buy them seeing how they work more with Nintendo more and made more Nintendo games.

[Godmars290]

Nintendo bought them from Bandai. They're an exclusive 2nd party dev at the very least.

[Moncole]

I didn't know that. I didn't see it on their wiki page when I was on it.

[Godmars290]

You mean the bit where it says "Subsidiary of Nintendo" at the very top of their company profile?

Though I was wrong: they're 1st party.

[Moncole]

I didnt see that part when I was on their wiki page, I went on again and I see it,

[Dj7FairyTail]

Namco wouldn't let that happen why because
Sony never partnered up with Namco or Monolith Soft on Xeno series or exclusive game,

Nintendo partnered up with them on both Baeten Kratos
and Namco saw that Nintendo had interest in them.
Following 2006 all of Monolith Game came on Nintendo platform.

Namco then sold Monolith Soft to Nintendo in 2007.

Xenosaga 1 and 2 on DS Japan Only by Namco
Disaster Day of Crisis Japan Only by Nintendo Rated M
Xenoblade Chronicles by Nintendo

They also worked on
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Zelda Skyward Sword

working on this game for Wii U and maybe working on a new 3DS game.

Nintendo allowed Namco to publish Project X Zone even when Monolith Soft develop it only cause Nintendo revealed the secret 3DS game by Namco, Capocm and Sega.

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

That game looks so smooth...

[Optical_Matrix]

So it's going to call a huge resurgence of Japanese RPG's in the west? It's going to sell over 10 million copies? It's going to get a huge multi million dollar advertising campaign? I don't think so mate

[murkster-dubez]

Not gonna happen gaby

[socks]

Xenoblade was possibly my favorite game of the generation. However, I am rational. No way it sells even 5M.

I dream that it could though...

[rainslacker]

I would love it if it did.:) I miss the days of lots and lots of JRPG's being released on the consoles.

Other than that it is my most anticipated game for the Wii U. Hopefully Nintendo doesn't short supply the US this time.

[Jek_Porkins]

This game could help in Japan and certain other areas, but Nintendo wasn't even going to release the last game in North America because JRPG's aren't doing well at this time here.

It certainly looks promising, but there is no single one game that is going to be the "be all, end all" game for the Wii U, let alone the Wii U's FFVII.

[Hellsvacancy]

It looks awesome, should be a multiplat title if you want it to reach FF7 sales

[LAWSON72]

If this game delivers i will probably buy a wii u and maybe that would lead to some good jrpgs that arent ff. This will probably end up being my first next gen console

[contradictory]

a rpg? a Jrpg?
you can have my axe!

[FinalomegaS]

and my Sword!

[PygmelionHunter]

There is no time, your sword is enough.

[Gamer1982]

Sorry but that's a BOLD statement comparing it to possibly the greatest JRPG of all time.. FFVII wasn't all flash and action it was solid in every department that's what made it so great.. Don't think we will ever see another JRPG come any where near it again. Mainly because we moved on and devs seem to concentrate less on story etc.. Which made the game great.

[phantomexe]

Sells yes but greatest rpg of all time....err no. That honor is still ff6 aka 3 in the states. i agree tho todays developers focas very little on story. I do think that nintendo is on to something great with X2. I don't own a wiiu yet and i want to play this. I hope we here more about it at E3.

[prettyboy12]

a game called kingdom hearts come to mind buddy

[Nevers0ft]

Oi! Secret of Mana wants to have "words" with you ;)

[FinalomegaS]

everything you said.. OK

But just this little part is a No GO
this -> possibly the greatest JRPG of all time <-

[delboy]

In seven years,I played ONLY ONE really good rpg's on ps3, NiNoKuni.
God bless the PC, yes I played DeamonSouls on PC, and Skyrim, and Witcher and the first Xenoblade.
So I'm pretty excited about Xenoblade 2.

[Darth Stewie]

Demon Souls is a PS3 exclusive it isn't on PC.

[Neonridr]

he's probably referring to Dark Souls..

[Redempteur]

Not even close. not in sales or in mass appeal.

I'm waiting for this game and it will be good but let's not blind ourselves.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

with wiiUs install base id say this game sells a million maybe even 2.

[Neonridr]

it could move that many units just in Japan alone. People over there eat this stuff up..

I think the numbers will be solid, and by the time this game releases, the install base will have doubled..

[Old McGroin]

Now that I have Monster Hunter this Xenoblades game is the only solid upcoming game for the Wii U I'm excited about. Never had a Wii so missed the first Xenoblades but the new one looks class and I'm a sucker for online co-op with a bit of depth so this will be a day one for me.

Dunno if it will live up to FF 7's lofty standards though, that was the first true "next gen" RPG of the time so it broke ground and set all kinds of standards and bars for every RPG to follow. Not to mention it was a fantastic game, I remember picking it up day one, my PSone was wrecked at the time so brought it over to a buddies and that drew a small crowd of our class mates to check it out. You don't see that happening anymore.

Any more details emerge about the Xenoblades game since THAT video? Is it definitely an online co-op game?

[deafdani]

Seeing how you never had a Wii, piece of warning: the first Xenoblade game plays NOTHING like Monster Hunter, so don't expect that about this new game.

[TuxedoMoon]

It's probably going to be the next Xenogears. The mech battles and over world especially gives off a very Xenogears feel. It may not be as popular as FF7, but it will have a large fanbase that will easily support this game.

Xenoblade was a great game that no one seemed to have played simply because it was a Wii game. Xenoblade 2 might have the same problem. It might be a great wii-u game that no one played. It's really sad when Mario Wii-u, the half-assed mMrio game, beat out Xenoblade on the VGAs.

[Dj7FairyTail]

Square Enix owns Gears
Namco owns Saga
Nintendo owns Blade

This is Xenoblade 2
don't let the mech fool you.
Xenoblade had Mechonis and Mechon

Xenoblade Ending hint at it even when Monolith Soft said Blade was an experiement but that can change.

[MasterCornholio]

It could be a very good game but it will be extremely difficult to top the impact that FFVII had when it came out.

I wish them the best of luck.

@Neonridr

"it could move that many units just in Japan alone. People over there eat this stuff up.. "

Yeah like Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter on the 3DS.

[lilbroRx]

I hate when people put labels on things like this.

If Xenoblade is anything, it will be the new Xenogears, not FFVII. I love FFVII but I wish people would stop trying to make everything good out to be another version of it.

[wheresmymonkey]

As much as i love Monolithsoft i wouldn't call them Xenoblade 2 the wiiUs finaly fantasy VII that honour will go to The Last Story 2. Mystwalker ARE the folks behind classic Square games.

[twilightlink]

FF7 was bad in fact it was the beginning of JRPG and Square decline first moral and then commercial, they became megalomaniacs as Sony is, then the FF Movie almost bankrupted them and around the time many great developers left.

Today the entire Japanese gaming industry became nothing but shadow of their former self, no wonder even Japanese customers don't give fuck about console gaming, handhelds are now mainstream.

No chance the X to move nearly 10M units i expect close to 2M, the launch of Xenoblade in west was one of greatest blunder in entire NoA history, it showed Reggie as incompetent clown.

i fear the console gaming no longer exist it's a joke flushed by demented mob i call them Rambo crowd.

Politically brainwashed scum

[socks]

The Western release of Xenoblade outperformed JP, late as it was.

Anyway, you are nuts and not worth arguing with.

[twilightlink]

the sales of Wii in the west outperformed sales of Wii in Japan.

So what is exactly your point?

[jc48573]

you know Xenogears was supposed to be the next Final Fantasy (7th) game, but Square changed it into a new IP.

[MilkMan]

YES< YES, and YES.
Cant wait to get my sweaty palms on this.

[My_Name_BTW_Is_Dante]

No.

[Ck1x]

People are taking his comment way to literal really! If you were gaming back in the day, FF7 being on the PS1 was the game that solidified its reason for being in Japan. Sales aside, I've seen many people after that Nintendo Direct say that X2 is what makes them want a WiiU. So he's stating from games that make a console relevant in the marketplace, this could be the WiiU's equivalent to a FF7. Not to mention that Monolith has openly stated that they want to become Nintendo's Bethesda of Japan. So they clearly want this game to have a very mass market appeal and not so much of a barrier like most JRPG's of old...

[Theyellowflash30]

^^^THIS!!!!
Thank you, I think you were one of the people who actually read the article and watch the video.

Because I never said Xenoblade was going to equal FF VII in sales.

[Hicken]

I don't think it will be.

Don't get me wrong: if there's a game on the Wii U that makes me want one, it's this(followed closely by the FExSMT game).

But I don't see it managing to have the impact that VII did, neither commercially, nor in its genre. It'll be hard, even with a large marketing campaign, for Project X to be close to VII in importance. One problem is that the Mario and Zelda games will ALWAYS overshadow it on a Nintendo console. Another is that I don't know how big of a system seller it will be. I mean, sure, it's just about enough for me, but has Nintendo captured the attention of enough people like me that they'd want the Wii U for this game?

I think it'll do well, and if Nintendo does right, it'll do VERY well. But there hasn't been a game since VII that's been its console's VII.

... as a side note, why is it being called Xenoblade 2? If it were definitively that, why wouldn't they have just called it that? I'm sure it'll be a Xeno-title, but will it be exactly Xenoblade 2?

[WiiUsauce]

IT'S NOTHING LIKE MONSTER HUNTER -___-
I'm sick and tired of people saying this game is like Monster Hunter. Anyone who has played Xenoblade Chronicles and also played any Monster Hunter game can easily see that the two battle systems are drastically different from one another and nowhere near the same.

[Theyellowflash30]

The video didn't say Xenoblade 2 and Monster Hunter have the same gameplay.

It just said they both have huge Monster battles

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

We will see.

FF7 fan base was 7 prequels in the making with added hook of an exciting new format call CD's :O.

I know that the game is great and has the potential to be even HUGER for Nintendo BUT:

The Quality has to stay consistent-
They can't rest on their laurels. Treat each game like it is the 1st impression.

The Hype has to be consistent-
All Year round even in between games. Just like the movies do.

The Advertising has to be consistent-
Everywhere.

The Releases have to be consistent-
2-3 years.

The Innovation has to be consistent-
Even if Incremental.

Seems like they are off to a great start so far- "Got a ways to go though"

Now if they can only get back to making a decent/great 1st (2nd) Party FPS.
Like:
Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, or a better Geist.

[iplay1up2]

The game looks great. Xenoblade was a great game on Wii, one of quite a few that were written off by "core gamers". Xenoblade scored extremely well with a metric score of 90. If this game expands on the strengths of that game all I can say is WOW.