Grave Gamer News & Views — square enix

Sony’s Selling All of its Square Enix Shares to Return to Profitability

But, hey, the PlayStation 4 is still killing it

Japanese juggernaut Sony, most famous for the globally known PlayStation brand – and for also making, I don’t know, headphones and a few movies now and again – is dumping its entire financial stake out of publisher Square Enix.

Sony holds 9.52 million shares in Square Enix, a sensual tryst that began in the early 2000’s. Once upon a time ago, before the word “timed” preceded “exclusivity,” Square’s Final Fantasy brand was nearly synonymous with PlayStation, especially helping Sony claim the dominance in Japanese households it still enjoys to this very day.

Sony’s equity is priced at ¥4.8 billion yen, or $47 million. The deal is expected to be closed as soon as tomorrow. The decision is the next of several moves the company has made to return itself to profitability. Since 2014 began, Sony has laid off thousands of workers, sold two corporate offices, and has even axed its PC division.

On the upside, the Sony PlayStation 4 has reveled in sales success, having sold 7 million units worldwide since launch, surpassing its next-gen competition, the Xbox One, by a slim margin. As an aside, I am currently a happy member of that 7 million club and I sing my PS4 into a gentle sleep, nightly.

Kingdom Hearts II is Getting HD-ified for PS3

Gangling Goof Troop! Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 has barely had time to get cold on the shelf before this announcement dropped on our laps. Square Enix has confirmed the second major act in the Disney/Final Fantasy mash-up (why is that still ridiculous to say aloud after all these years?) is receiving a high-definition polish and being re-released as Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

The disc includes Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix – a reformulated edition of the sequel previously unavailable on Western shores – and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix, which was a PSP exclusive prequel to the original Kingdom Hearts but focuses on characters featured in Kingdom Hearts II. So, basically, Kingdom Hearts because Kingdom Hearts when Kingdom Hearts.

Additionally, the HD set also features every cinematic from the Nintendo DS title Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, newly treated in that there HD you kids go so bonkers over. KH HD 2.5 Remix is launching globally in 2014. Two back to back re-releases could signify that Square Enix is hinting at its fans that it needs funding for Kingdom Hearts III, meaning that not purchasing it is the same as destroying dreams.

Put your eyes on the first official trailer hereabouts!

Final Fantasy XV - TGS Trailer

Does returning Final Fantasy to its former throne mean ditching its turn-based legacy? The few glimpses we’ve gotten into the reformulated Versus XIII – now promoted to a main series title – has been stupidly impressive.

Final Fantasyalways had a breathtaking scope about it, but the view just went panoramic. It’s like Square Enix finally decided to let the player...

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut Hacking into the Wii U

I know I don’t pay enough attention to you Wii U loyal out there.  It’s not you, it’s me…and also partly because of Nintendo’s gimmicky cobbling of a console to which you’ve sworn allegiance.  Video gaming is a war of preferences, though, and one gamer’s paperweight can be another gamer’s portal to limitless enjoyment.  So I’ll bury my digital hatchet, choose diplomacy, and deliver news to you Wii U faithful (we’ll settle this later).

Shortly after a listing outed the title, today Square Enix confirmed plans to release a special Director’s Cut of 2011’s cyberpunk hit Deus Ex: Human Revolution especially for the Wii U.  The Nintendo port earns Director’s Cut status by meshing two pieces of previously separate DLC – Tong’s Rescue and The Missing Link – into the ebb and flow of Human Revolution’s narrative.

Director’s Cut hugely capitalizes on the Wii U’s gamepad by converting mechanics like hacking, grenade throwbacks, sniping, and much more to the controller’s touchscreen.  The game has been further augmented from its original release with improvements to spotty boss fights, AI, weapon balancing, and more.

Though the leaked date pointed to Director’s Cut hitting stores May 7th, Square Enix only offers up “soon."  Straight Right, the dev that brought Mass Effect 3 to the Wii U, is rumored to be reformatting Human Revolution.  If sci-fi is your bag, you’re more than a little obliged to partake in this standout action-RPG.

Legacy of Kain Property Recommissioned?

This news is just a blip on the radar by all accounts, but fans of the long dormant Legacy of Kain franchise may be witnessing the first baby steps towards a brand new game.

Missing in action since 2003’s Legacy of Kain: Defiance – a crossover that pitted players as both Blood Omen’s blood-sucker Kain and the life harvesting Raziel from the Soul Reaver spin-offs – the license’s current master, Square Enix, has registered the domain warfornosgoth.com (no need investigating it now since the site is a husk).  Nosgoth should ring a bell for fans, it being the gothic fantasy world both series are set in.

The last we heard even an inkling about anything Kain n’ Legacy-like was nearly a year ago, when the rumor mill insinuated a Soul Reaver reboot was in development at Crystal Dynamics, the folks that brought you four outta five games in the series.

Though Raziel held a certain air of iconography (jawless-ness and all) back when the PlayStation brand ruled the world, it’s hard to imagine this War for Nosgoth not having both of Legacy’s undead poster boys make a simultaneous return to video games.