Kingdom Hearts Being Multiplatform & The Undeserved Vitriol Towards the Xbox One

[Scsigs 119]

So, I've been firmly on the side that it shouldn't matter what consoles the Kingdom Hearts series is on, as long as people can buy & play the games. However, as I'm sure we all have at some point, I keep running into those who claim to be true Kingdom Hearts fans, yet absolutely hate the idea of the series being on Xbox for one reason or another. Reasons I've seen include...

 

Xbox owners not "deserving" the series (which I don't get whatsoever).

 

Xbox owners being elitist bullies who hate on other console families (I think this is someone complaining about the vocal minority of Xbox players who do this. Let's be honest, all console & PC players have this subsection of people who hate the others for little to no reason & love to show their elitism).

 

Switch deserves to have the series more than Xbox (I kinda get this one, but, let's be honest, the Switch wasn't even a thing back when this game was announced, nor could the Wii U have the power to support this game).

 

JRPGs not selling as well on Xbox as other systems (I kinda get this too, since Microsoft built up an audience of FPS & racing game enthusiasts in the 7th generation, while not having other popular first-party IPs, but considering that there's still an audience for JRPGs on the systems, I don't buy this entirely).

 

Xbox not having any history of any KH games (a baseless argument at best, since no KH game has graced a console in its initial release, thus eliminating the chance of the series being on another console family, which I imagine they'd do if KH3 had released almost a decade ago, due to the 360 being the most popular console at the time, especially since they released the FFXIII series on it, much like how a lot of developers are focusing on the PS4 in this generation). Also, Square Enix are really shooting themselves in the foot with not showing the Xbox some love, at least internationally, by porting the HD collections to it before 3 comes out. I doubt Square don't see the value in publishing to the system, otherwise they'd give up on it entirely.

 

Xbox doesn't sell well in Japan. I can kind of see this argument, but it ultimately doesn't mean jack when talking about internationally. Xbox is still a reasonably popular console internationally. Not as popular as the PS4, but considering PS4 sales are starting to dip, & Xbox has better variants of the console out & great additions to the offerings with backwards compatibility & some new exclusives that I think are fun, especially since they're not racing or FPS-related, that have been getting good praise, I imagine Xbox can turn their luck around. Maybe not in Japan, but elsewhere. Plus, Sony aren't really doing much to improve their brand. Exclusive games are good, but if people don't like your brand, then there's a chance for others to catch up to you. I mean, the PS3 actually managed to catch up to the 360 at the end of that generation, but it wasn't the one to buy at the time. And if you notice, a lot of PS4 exclusives are either rereleases of some of the better games they released on the PS3, or sequels to them, a decision that Nintendo would later rip off for the Switch, but Microsoft isn't immune to this, since they have backwards compatibility & some rereleases, but not a lot.

Hell, even Square aren't immune to this, with their continual HD ports of Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, & the like.

 

A nonexistent "exclusivity deal" with Sony to have the first 2 main KH games on PS consoles. I've already made a thread & a YouTube video debunking this rumor, since there's nothing backing it up other than hearsay from fanboys & girls who actually believe it without proof. I can give a longer explanation here if need be.

 

And last, but certainly not least, the reasoning that it somehow "feels wrong" for the series to be on Xbox. I can maybe understand this. A lot of KH fanboys & girls have only known this series on Playstation, but the thing about this excuse to hate it becoming multiplat doesn't make any sense for one reason. The series has never not been multiplatform and Square isn't an exclusive company. They've made games that have turned out to be exclusive, but lots of companies have done that. Hell, Square first worked with Nintendo, then went to Sony, but then capitalized on Nintendo's handhelds, worked with Microsoft on some games, or at least released them to their consoles, released games on PC, & have also released phone games. This argument makes absolutely no sense. Then there's the people who argue that the Switch deserves the games, but Xbox doesn't. As I hope I've explained, while I understand, this also doesn't make much sense. Both consoles should get the games.

 

So, yeah, I know there are legitimate complaints towards the Xbox One, but I don't believe the majority of these are really valid, or are at least not entirely valid depending on the position you're on.

[Tyranto Rex 277]

I will admit it is a little weird to have the third "main-line" game for x-box, but it's not that big of a deal.They had games for other systems before. It has not been a series just for playstation for a while now. I think it's great that they are expanding personally (not to mention when the game was first announced I only had an x-box one at the time, so that made me happy, but now I have both so it does not really matter to me). And I heard they are gonna try to make the game accessible to new players anyway (let's hope they succeed).

 

In all honesty though, I really think the hate of it coming to x-box is mostly just elitism. And people just being jerks. Having one system over another does not make you superior to another person. Or they want KH all to themselves and don't want any new fans. Even though new fans come every single day anyway.

[Scsigs 119]

First of all, thanks to the person who moved this into a better topic. I wasn't sure where it belonged.

 

Second...

 

I will admit it is a little weird to have the third "main-line" game for xbox, but it's not that big of a deal.They had games for other systems before. It has not been a series just for playstation for a while now. I think it's great that they are expanding personally (not to mention when the game was first announced I only had an x-box one at the time, so that made me happy, but now I have both so it does not really matter to me). And I heard they are gonna try to make the game accessible to new players anyway (let's hope they succeed).

 

In all honesty though, I really think the hate of it coming to xbox is mostly just elitism. And people just being jerks. Having one system over another does not make you superior to another person. Or they want KH all to themselves and don't want any new fans. Even though new fans come every single day anyway.

Yeah. The guy who I was talking to that helped me in posting this thread is clearly an elitist, since he said he believes Xbox to be a worthless platform with no redeeming features, KH "feels wrong" to him & some others he's talked to, he thinks all Xbox players are elitist idiots who only play COD & M-rated games (which, don't most people?), & tells people who're curious about the game that it's only for PS4 because he's a dick & doesn't want to give Xbox users the time of day. I mean, I have my own biases when it comes to these things, but that's just wrong. On top of that, he barely gave me any coherent arguments that hold any kind of weight under scrutiny because they're all based on feelings rather than facts. In fact, he couldn't believe when I told him I talked to some people who went from PS2 to Xbox 360, then stuck around for Xbox One. Those people exist & should be acknowledged, yet he couldn't believe such a thing, saying true KH fans aren't on Xbox & stick with Playstation. What stick is up his ass where he feels he dictates that shit?

 

The only one I kinda agree with him on is that it won't sell as high on Xbox as it will on the PS4 (which would be a fool's bet if you say differently). I still expect the game to do decently well, though. Hopefully well enough that Square ports the collections to the system. FFXV sold over a million nits out of a combined 7 million on all the 2 consoles it was released on. Xbox players don't hate JRPGs like he says, they're just not as into them from what I can tell, or at least some aren't. Microsoft built up an audience of people who mostly play FPS games, racing games, & most other kinds of Western-developed games, but they've never shied away from letting Japanese developers publish games to their consoles. It's just that the Japanese companies don't really market that much to Xbox players. Like, KH3 gets its trailers put on the KH, PS, & Xbox YouTube channels, but they also get put on other channels as well. Square is at least publishing the game to the system, but it feels like a half-hearted gesture from them. Almost like a courtesy. I hate that that's what it feels like. They should be promoting it just as much for Xbox as they are on PS4. Kingdom Hearts has bore broad appeal than FFXV has, due to the Disney characters. Plus, Xbox players that want to play 3 either have played the previous entries on other consoles, or know what's happened. Either way, I don't think a lot of people on Xbox are gonna be stupid to go in blind.

[Hero of Winds 2,576]

My issue isn't that it shouldn't be on Xbox, but rather, that it shouldn't be there without the other games. I'm pretty sure the Xbox community mostly exists of people who have been gaming on Xbox since the original Xbox. Problem is, they also might be interested in KH3, but won't have any idea what's going on because they haven't had an opportunity to play any of the other titles in the series. Basically, my overall problem is the fact that Square Enix refuses to put 1.5+2.5 and 2.8 on the Xbox for whatever possible reason they could think of.

[Scsigs 119]

My issue isn't that it shouldn't be on Xbox, but rather, that it shouldn't be there without the other games. I'm pretty sure the Xbox community mostly exists of people who have been gaming on Xbox since the original Xbox. Problem is, they also might be interested in KH3, but won't have any idea what's going on because they haven't had an opportunity to play any of the other titles in the series. Basically, my overall problem is the fact that Square Enix refuses to put 1.5+2.5 and 2.8 on the Xbox for whatever possible reason they could think of.

I get that, I do. However, I doin't think many are gonna be stupid enough to go into the games blind. Sure, they wouldn't have the necessary nostalgia or memories of playing the previous games, but with how many video reviews & let's plays are out there, not to mention wiki pages, there's enough material out there that they can easily catch up on the series in no time. Not to mention, I've seen at least one guy tell me he played 1 & 2 through a PS2 emulator too, so there's those people who caught up that way too. I don't think too many people will actively go into the game blind. Even then, I've heard that Nomura is actively trying to prevent continuity lockout. Since this game is gonna feature a LOT of the major players from the past games, he might include small flashbacks & probably journal entries  that people can read to catch them up to speed on past events in the series. Maybe he'll include recap exposition dialogue. Why not? I mean, both coupling with the new system & having people who wouldn't have played the past games, it would be the smart thing to do. We've seen this already with flashbacks in 0.2. I just hope he finds a better system to integrate into the game than the text recaps. Maybe doing what I'm saying is what he's gonna do. We'll see later this year.

 

One thing that still confuses me is, what does Square consider for criteria to port games to other systems? Is it sales projections? Requests? Their own personal console biases? Bullshit reasons? That's, honestly, what's confusing me the most. They've been silent on the issue & it's just getting worse by the day. I'm hoping they'll reveal ports at E3 in a month. They can have an English dub trailer at the orchestra thing, then an announcement of ports at E3, maybe with English dub versions of the trailers we've gotten already. That'd be sweet. I just hope they find a reason to release them on Xbox & actually do. I need that KH Xbox fix, man. I already played them on PS4, now time for Xbox One playing.

[VisitJoan 2,713]

How does KHIII being on Xbox have any effect on people who have a PS4? It doesn’t. So why is it such a big deal?

[Scsigs 119]

How does KHIII being on Xbox have any effect on people who have a PS4? It doesn’t. So why is it such a big deal?

Fanboys & fangirls. That's why. If anything even remotely upsets them, it MUST be a bad thing, no 'ifs', 'ands,' or 'buts.'

"Oh, KH is coming to the PS4? Great! What? It's coming to the Xbox One too!?! HERASY! It's console exclusive to Playstation! What? You say it already came out on Nintendo handhelds, making it multiplatform already? I don't care!"

It gets extremely hypocritical to the point where it's extremely pointless to argue with them anymore because they end up repeating all of their same points that do nothing but either argue semantics, or pray on emotions than actual facts.

Like I said before, the only actual point I said was even worth for the other guy's argument that I was talking to was the one about the most likely sales figures we can expect for the game. I acknowledge that, since most of the Xbox playerbase hasn't played a KH game before, most likely, it'll be hard to get them to pay for a game that's a sequel in a game series that relies too heavily on its own internal continuity to play it on the story factor alone, but that's where the video reviewers like SomeCallMeJohnny, AntDude, Caddicarus, & the like come in, allowing people to catch up on that stuff with entertaining & informative videos. FFXV, I don't know if that can be a great judge of how KH3 will sell on Xbox One, since FF is a series made specifically for J/ARPG fans, while KH pretty much invented the ARPG genre & are entirely great to play, for the most part, on the gameplay alone. I imagine it'll do better than FFXV, which was one of the more divisive entries in the franchise, whereas people have been waiting for KH3 since 2006. I expect it to do better than FFXV. How much? Can't say, but better.

Edited May 11, 2018 by Scsigs

[Hero of Winds 2,576]

 Not to mention, I've seen at least one guy tell me he played 1 & 2 through a PS2 emulator too, so there's those people who caught up that way too.

He's not even caught up.

[Scsigs 119]

He's not even caught up.

I can only assume he played the other games as well, whether through emulation or not, as well. He only specified 1 & 2, though.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Scsigs