Square Enix goes hard with NFTs after Forspoken failure
Ah Forspoken. Well, that fell off fast, didn't it? Once tipped to be this year's answer to Elden Ring, the fantasy flop was squashed under the weight of its own ego.
As well as problems with gameplay and players thinking they were oversold on graphics, Forspoken was dragged over the coals amidst allegations it was too "woke." The latter is written off as a ridiculous complaint, but at its core, Forspoken just wasn't that good. Even Square Enix knows it.
What did Square Enix think of Forspoken?
Click to enlargeSquare Enix has released a tonne of RPGs in the last 12 months, with many of them failing to make much of an impact. To name just a few, Harvestella, The Diofield Chronicle, and Valkyrie Elysium have hardly made their stake as the next Final Fantasy.
In a new financial results presentation, Square Enix described Fospoken reviews as "challenging." Still, it added that there's been "positive feedback on its action features, including its parkour and combat capabilities."
Taking the smooth with the rough, Forspoken has apparently "yielded results that will lead to improvement of our development capabilities of other games in the future." While that all sounds like good news, those future games will likely have you rolling your eyes.
President Yosuke Matsuda said the magical title's sales were "lackluster," but confirming what we already knew, concluded, "We also hope that you will look forward to the blockchain games we plan to launch in FY2024/3 and thereafter."
Square Enix is going hard on NFTs
While most might think the NFT bubble has burst and the Metaverse was just a buzzword from 2021, Square Enix remains committed to the cause.
Square Enix's NFT obsession hit headlines in January 2022 when Matsuda implied he didn't care that you hate them. Back then, he said there would be "explicit incentives" to use NFTs, and yet, we don't know what they'll be.
Before Forspoken ended up in the bargain bin of your local gaming store, Matsuda promised NFTs would usher in "a new stage of growth in 2023." Still, there's no denying Square Enix is off to a shaky start.
Forspoken developer Luminous Productions has since been absorbed back into Square Enix, nixing hopes of a sequel (if there were any). While Forspoken is seemingly done for, we can't say the same for the publisher's NFT fantasy.
