A New Blog
If you've found your way back to this site then take a good look around as its now part of Blankmind's museum. Blankmind has moved to a new server and has a new look at http://blankmind.org. Our days here have been happy and its for this reason we've decided to leave the old Blankmind up and running.
Men's Special Interest Literature
The last week has been highly productive if I say so myself. Yes, highly unusual I know. Amongst many things the most interesting has been the development of the new blog. Being well underway I can safely say it will be active sometime this month, which reminds me to announce that the RSS feed will be un-active, if such a word exists, until the new blog is published. While I don't want to go on too much about development, I must announce that Blankmind will be taking a new and interesting direction, which I'll leave for my collage to announce. But there is one clue in this part one of a post.
Not a Happy Bunny
For those who have seen the latest video from our YouTube channel (which I would be very surprised and worried if you did seeming as it still rests on my desktop waiting to be uploaded) I'm not a happy bunny. Specifically with Square Enix. Now I don't want to sound like an idiot ranting... but I'm going to continue with this anyway and run the risk. And for the record I apologies if I sound like I'm starting an anti camping. But let's just say their PR or business mindset, whatever you want to call it, for a lack of words, is shit. This defiantly puts me at odds ends. On one hand I'm slating the company that makes one of my favorite gaming series, but on the other I have a company that cannot see further than it's own stocks. But this got me thinking. Were things always like this? Or am I just glorifying my childhood years by thinking things were better back then. I'm not naive in thinking that I haven't just described most of the companies in the world, but surely wasn't there a time when this gaming company focused on making a quality game than profit? This is a brief article on what I found. While reading this bare in mine that this no way a professional article and is only intended to for at best light reading.
Part 1 of A Brief History of Square Enix and Where it went Wrong
Introduction: Reformations and Revelations.
"Square Enix's Corporate Philosophy
1. ProfessionalismWe shall exhibit a high degree of professionalism, ensuring optimum results in the workplace. We shall display initiative, make continued efforts to further develop our expertise, and remain sincere and steadfast in the pursuit of our goals, while ultimately aspiring to forge a corporate culture disciplined by the pride we hold in our work."
When Final Fantasy XIII was released in Japan December 2010 and later in March 9th for Europe and North America markets many critics and players around the world were astounded. The game was a graphical marvel. Again the series seemed to have pioneered in RPG battle mechanics and the company had shown it still maintained a high caliber of artistic creativity and graphic technicality that the series and company are renown for. If anything Final Fantasy XIII was confirmation. Confirmation that Square Enix holds some of the industries best artists and technological prowess in the world. Though despite the hype and instant sales success that come with any popular gaming series (over 5.7 million copies were sold worldwide and became the fastest selling game in the UK) it was not without its pressure. Final Fantasy XIII had a lot to live up to. It was to become the first game in the series to be made for 7th generation consoles. The last time such a project came around had been 8 years ago when Final Fantasy X was made for the Playstation 2. It had cost roughly 32 million dollars in the making and went on to become a critically acclaimed success, so much so that it went on to have its own squeal, a first for the series. It seemed like a fitting outcome. First time the series made a cross to a new platform was when Final Fantasy VII was made for the Playstaion in 1997. Back then it pushed the boundaries or RPG mechanics, making the genre popular once again to the mainstream gamers. Even today many fans hold it as being the pinnacle of the series. A lot of pressure indeed. Final Fantasy XIII was not only being made for one one console, but was and still is a part of the on going Fabula Nova Crystallis project that will eventually see 3 independent games over 4 very different platforms. But there was a bigger and not so obvious importance for Square Enix on a corporate level. It was not only on whether the game would live up to these legacies, but whether the corporation could carry the same success as Square. Whether wanted or not Final Fantasy XIII would be a true test, a test on a corporate and administrative level. While Final Fantasy XII was technically the first in the series to be publish by Square Enix, it was Final Fantasy XIII that would challenge the reformations since Enix merger with Squaresoft in April 2003. Final Fantasy XIII would carry a relatively large success, yet it was soon to be over shadowed by controversy and public relation blunders. Final Fantasy XIII would certainly be remembered, but partly for the wrong reasons. In all the hype it would be its own limelight that would reveal a corporation that some where along the line cared more about profit than its fans. The question was, when?
