Konami Vs Square Enix – TGS Supremacy
September 20th, 2007
This years Tokyo Game Show is definitely gearing up to be a fantastic event, mostly due to the hype surrounding big hitters from Konami and Square Enix. With Nintendo once again out of the picture and other companies having fairly average showings, its time for these guys to strut their stuff. So lets breakdown what to expect from these guys
Line up of Games
Square Enix’s Showing
SE have a nice selection of first time and already played titles on their list with a number of core titles still in video form. There is obviously a strong showing of mobile phone games which for most of us probably isn’t much of a big deal although the new Tobal title was a bit of a surprise.
I think that titles like Rings of Fate, Crisis Core and FF: Tactics A2 will really be what we are expecting out of these titles. There has already been plenty of news and media on Rings of Fate and (just recently)Crisis Core, so really we’ll just hear more on how they play. Its also pretty safe to assume that FF Tactics A2 will play the same as its predecessor especially with no touch screen field control.
I think that the two remakes(DQ and FF IV) as well as Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon should be the more interesting titles of the show. The new videos of FF XIII, Dissidia Final Fantasy and Last Remnant should also maintain quite a buzz. Hopefully these trailers will contain a solid amount of gameplay video. Chances are they all should.
The other bit of buzz around Square Enix’s showing are the number of surprise announcements that people are expecting. Here is a list from QJ of all of the rumoured titles to be announced:
- Endless Crisis: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation 3)
- Final Fantasy XIII (PlayStation 3)
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PlayStation 3)
- Kingdom Hearts (temporary title) (PlayStation 3)
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories 2 (Nintendo DS)
- Kingdom Hearts 0 (PSP)
- Star Ocean 4 (PlayStation 3)
Now, as of writing Square have shown the media video of 3 new Kingdom Hearts titles being:
- Kingdom Hearts Coded(Mobile)
- Kingdom Hearts 358 / 2 Days(DS)
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep(PSP)
These were all shown off in a montage behind closed doors.
Konami’s Showing
What Square misses out on Konami fits in. Playable versions of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Solid Online(6 vs 6) is definitely the highlight here. Konami much like Square are also into the mobile phone gaming market and announced several big franchise titles for mobiles at their conference.
Overall they have plenty of Metal Gear Solid to show off:
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Metal Gear Solid Online
- Metal Gear Solid Graphic Novel 2
- Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus
- Metal Gear Solid Mobile
Along with MGS there are the 3 new Silent Hill titles; Origins, Silent Hill 5 and a new mobile phone title. Sticking with their best franchises there will also be a slew Wining Eleven on show. The Wii also won’t be left out with titles like Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party, Big Head Baseball and Big Head MLB. All of these titles are designed for the non gamer in mind.
As of writing, news has been put out of even more titles announced at Konami’s TGS Conference. So to find out about more of what they have on offer click the following link.
Conclusion
More big hitting franchises definitely seem to be the theme this year. With Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Wining Eleven all due for at least 3 new titles(per franchise) being released in the near future. Its clear to see that key, stable franchises seem to be the future of gaming. Look below to see the current highlights.
News Links
Metal Gear Solid 4 Trailer
Kingdom Hearts Announcement
Konami Press Conference
Square Enix Rumoured titles
Metal Gear Online Package Announcement