One of the most notable surprises during E3's Square Enix Presents was Final Fantasy games, which - considering the previous failed ports of these classics - left fans thrilled. However, this joy lasted about 20 twenty seconds, because the end screen revealed the remasters would be released for Steam and mobile. Any mention of consoles was notably absent.
Fans immediately flooded Twitter and social media with their confusion, disappointment, and anger. They all had the same (very justified) question: why would Square Enix prioritize a mobile release over celebrating the role these games played in cementing Final Fantasy's place in console gaming history? And besides - who doesn't want to play a 2D remaster of Final Fantasy VI on a Switch? The ordeal feels like an obvious home run that Square Enix just walked out on.
There are still a lot of unknowns about the remasters. The trailer isn't even clear on whether the games will be sold individually or as a collection. Plus, the announcement simply says the remasters coming out "soon."
Final Fantasy Games On Mobile: Why?
Of course, all this mystery extends to the reasoning behind eschewing a console release for the remasters. The most likely hypothesis is simply that Square Enix seems incredibly eager to establish a foothold in the mobile gaming scene. Their E3 presentation also included trailers for high-concept mobile games like Hitman Sniper, Nier Reincarnation, and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. One could argue that a mobile game installation of a very complex series like Nier is a downright odd choice, and many Final Fantasy fans were upset by the First Soldier, having believed the game would be a Sephiroth backstory after the title was revealed earlier on. And yet - Square Enix appears to be charging with full abandon into the mobile market, equipped with its blockbuster titles. It's worth ing, too, that these titles add upon older Square Enix mobile games which also utilize huge gaming franchises, such as Lara Croft Go and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
The choice to make the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters mobile games may only be strange to those of us in the US. Final Fantasy is a Japanese franchise after all, and Square Enix is a Japanese company, and mobile gaming is HUGE in Japan. In the first nine months of 2020, Japan alone counted for 22% of mobile game player spending, according to SensorTower. To use comparative numbers: in 2020, 209.5 million American mobile gamers brought in only twice as much revenue as their 32.2 million Japanese counterparts, according to DCI. (As a slightly contradictory side note, Hitman Sniper and Lara Croft Go are both products of Square Enix Europe.)
However, and bizarrely, Square Enix Presents did not include the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters as part of the mobile game section of its E3 presentation. Rather, the presentation sandwiched it between major console releases Guardians of the Galaxy and the remastered, Switch-bound Legend of Mana.
Perhaps this is meant to signal that Square Enix hopes to bring more of its mainline games into the mobile gaming sphere. But given the online reaction to the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters reveal, this impulse seems contrary to the desires of a huge subsection of Final Fantasy's fanbase. And, considering how delightful Final Fantasy VI would truly be on the Switch, hopefully it's something that can happen eventually.
Sources: SensorTower, DCI
