Square Enix licenses Unreal Engine 3
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jan 25th 2007 at 9:30AM }
With more money and time being spent on creating detailed art assets for modern games, it's no longer surprising to see even Japanese developers licensing engines and toolsets from the likes of Epic Games. Square Enix have announced that they have entered into an agreement with the Unreal Engine 3 and Gears of War developer, gaining a complete middleware platform for use in their upcoming games.
General manager of R&D at Square Enix, Taku Murata, explains that the deal will speed up the creation process and allow developers to spend less time working on the nitty-gritty of technology. "The complexity of next-generation game systems featuring HD graphics and multi-core parallel processing poses a number of technological challenges to our game development. However, we can expedite our game development process significantly while allowing extra time and resources to be spent on game design and mechanics by establishing an effective technology platform."
Hopefully, Square Enix's Unreal 3 projects will fare better than Namco's aborted Xbox 360 attempt, Frame City Killer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
shase @ Jan 25th 2007 9:40AM
so no more white engine?
Pedro @ Jan 25th 2007 9:41AM
And yet their games will still be full of space wastng FMV. But Bluray is needed!!!
Myke @ Jan 25th 2007 9:47AM
*looks at "actual gameplay footage screenshot" of the new FF*
.... =) I'm looking forward to the eventual "PS3 FINAL FANTASY presentation VS. reality" flame-war, hehehehe
Metalmurphy @ Jan 25th 2007 9:50AM
Who said they'll stop using the White Engine? They probably licensed UE3.0 for multi platform titles.
Oh and Pedro, don't be an idiot, it was Kojima that said BR was needed, even 25GB wasn't enough, and guess what? He doesn't use FMVs.
JodyAnthony @ Jan 25th 2007 9:51AM
Man I loves me some RPGs. I have just decided to go the PS3/Wii route instead of the Wii60 route. It may be bad of me, because I know a bunch of games will be ported, but PSX and PS2 have arguably more of my favorite RPGs than SNES, if only for the Suikoden series (Playing my Suikothon, all Suikoden games in a row, still going strong!) and PS3 is more likely to have the RPGs. I still won't be able to get a PS3 for a while (no matter what, $600 is TOO much for a video game console) but once theres a price drop, PS3 it is. Besides, it's not like any good PS3 RPGs will be out for a while. And until then, Wii has me covered.
JodyAnthony @ Jan 25th 2007 9:55AM
Well, let me change that. Suikoden 6, if it gets made, will most likely come to PS3. I will wait for that game to be announced. If it comes to 360 instead, I guess I'll have to go for that instead of PS3.
http://www.jodyanthony.com
Arglor @ Jan 25th 2007 10:04AM
I bet this engine is going to be used for games that break the Final Fantasy Mold like Dirge of Cerberus.
They don't do very well developing engines for games that aren't turn based/rpg oriented, so maybe they are adopting another engine to assist with carrying the stories into those gametypes.
Chris @ Jan 25th 2007 10:10AM
Final Fantasy XIII for XBOX 360 confimed!
Someone had to say it.
jpxdude @ Jan 25th 2007 10:31AM
Kojima said what he said, because he's afraid of upsetting 'Mr Kutaragi's feelings'
Only up until recently has he admitted that his mouth is where the money is in not so many words.
Dave @ Jan 25th 2007 10:18AM
Heh. I LOVE RPGs--and I can't stand the Final Fantasy series. Why not just figure out where the movies are stored on the disc and watch them?
Darcrequiem @ Jan 25th 2007 10:16AM
JodyAnthony have you actually looked at the release list? There are a surprising number of Japanese RPGs coming to 360.
Enchanted ARMs (already out)
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
Eternal Sonata
Infinite Undiscovery
Those are just the ones I can name off the top of my head.
Unit @ Jan 25th 2007 10:17AM
it'll be intresting to see what a japanese developer like se will do with the unreal engine...the better not try and do a fps!!
LMAO @ Jan 25th 2007 10:23AM
After an intensed Gears of War MP battle among Square Enix developers, they called a meeting to discuss the possibility of using the Unreal Engine to develop a game which can be easily ported to the 360.
bnfrost @ Jan 25th 2007 10:19AM
The way I understand it, the White Engine is for visuals. I have no idea what the unreal engine actually involvles, but if it's anything outside of graphics then I suppose both could be used.
Gamer G @ Jan 25th 2007 11:37AM
This has to be good news for 360 as PS3 games made by SE using unreal will be dead easy to convert to 360. The only thing that would stop them doing so therefore would be Sony having to pay them cash to prevent it!
Pedro @ Jan 25th 2007 4:16PM
Actually, guy, kojima DOES use FMV. Remember the 15 minute long codec conversations that end up segueing into real video? Remember the ending sequence to the first 2 games? He uses tons of non engine content. Not to the hyper obvious level of square, but still a lot.
Jdoki @ Jan 25th 2007 10:35AM
Great news for Epic, SquareEnix and gamers. A solid game engine and a creative developer!
This is definitely a move by SquareEnix to act on their 'We're going to support all platforms more equally this generation' statment.
I can't recall in all the 'yes they can', 'no they can't' furore but...Did Epic confirm in the end that Unreal Engine 3 could run on Wii??? :)
JodyAnthony @ Jan 25th 2007 10:35AM
Darcrequiem, yeah, Blue Dragon is currently the #1 reason I was leaning towards 360, but frankly PS3 is completely likely to have more JRPGs. Like I said, I'm holding out until Suikoden 6 is announced (if it ever is..) if S6 isn't announced within the next 2 years, I'll go for PS3 anyway. Most likely. I dunno..no matter which I buy, its going to take some saving up. Stupid adult life.
http://www.jodyanthony.com
sheppy @ Jan 25th 2007 10:37AM
Darcrequiem, you realize that PS3 has just as many RPG projects in development and several of them are fairly niche orieted like the next Shin Megami Tensei, Makai Wars, and Monster Kingdom. Plus, unless Lost Odyssey delivers a hell of a lot better than Blue Dragon did (yeah, BluRays not needed, Sakguchi says as he releases the 360s first 4 disc game), nothing in 360's arsenal can hold a flame to the glory and the beauty that is known as White Knight Story.
...they had me at Level 5...
I own all three but certainly you must admit PS3 is getting the better JRPG push (US RPGs are trying so desperately not to be RPGs right now). Especially considering Konami is backing PS3 and Wii in a major ay, unlike 360, and his favorite RPG series is made by who again?
Fhaze @ Jan 25th 2007 11:14AM
Marcus from Gears of War will now be a character you can add to your party in Final Fantasy XIII.
Actually, now that I think about it. Summoning Marcus to chainsaw your enemy would be pretty damn cool.
Kurenai @ Jan 25th 2007 11:35AM
Yeah what happened to the White Engine? Looks like it does not pay to reinvent the wheel. Or maybe the White Engine will be used for PS3 while UE3 will be used for Xbox360 and Windows. Either way it doesn't make sense to use both when UE3 works on all platforms.
Matt @ Jan 25th 2007 11:03AM
"US RPGs are trying so desperately not to be RPGs right now"
There's a significant difference between "trying not to be an RPG" and trying not to be the same turn based, random battle, "crazy haired teenager saves the world from ancient evil" games that everyone has been playing for the last 15 years (but with prettier graphics this time).
barbie fu @ Jan 25th 2007 11:41AM
all you dumb*sses....... americans are the ones making real rpgs.........those jap wannabes don't include any roleplaying. Roleplaying is like acting, similar to the TV show Whos line is it. those nihon(japanese) games are convoluted stories with teenage romance, in other words it's all a misconception. go play WoW if you want a roleplaying game (we americans invented roleplaying, and have tried to make our games as open as a real rpg would need).wankers!
Joe @ Jan 25th 2007 12:41PM
I didn't care for math in school. Watching addition and subtration with pre-teens running around in schoolgirl uniforms and wizard hats is about as appealing to me as math.
Press A to advance poorly translated text after the break.
Darcrequiem @ Jan 25th 2007 11:22AM
Based on prior history, I am assuming that the PS3 will get more Japanese RPGs. Based on the current released list for 2007. The 360 is getting more Japanese RPGs and more RPGs overall. Given the 360s sales in Japan, its all but assured that the PS3 will have more Japanese RPGs in its lifetime. I just only know of White Knight Story, FFXIII, and FF versus XIII at the moment.
After looking into these are the all the Eastern RPGS (some are Korean) that could find that were scheduled for release this year. I could have sworn Level 5 was working on a 360 RPG but I couldn't find any info on it. So could be mistaken.
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Action RPG)
Enternal Sonata (RPG)
Spectral Diario (RPG)
Blue Dragon (RPG)
Lost Odyssey (RPG)
Enchanted Arms (RPG) Already released*
Magna Carta 2 (RPG)
Embrace of Time: Ch. 1 The Resurrectio Ocolus (RPG)
Culdcept Saga (Strategy RPG)
Those are all the RPGs scheduled for 360 this year minus western style RPGS ie. Mass Effect, Fable 2, Jade Empire 2, etc.
sheppy @ Jan 25th 2007 11:44AM
"There's a significant difference between "trying not to be an RPG" and trying not to be the same turn based, random battle, "crazy haired teenager saves the world from ancient evil" games that everyone has been playing for the last 15 years (but with prettier graphics this time)."
Did you know Bioshock is being dubbed an RPG? Did you know Mass Effect is almost entirely abandoning their KOTOR style gameplay (last I heard, I try not to keep up with all the "latest" on games like this so that, once it finally does ship, it could be a huge new experience for me)? And Oblivion? Please... it's Doom with Dialogue.
Western RPG development is focusing, right now, either on the creation of the next big World Of Warcraft, or it's focusing on taking all those "stuffy boring" RPG staples out of RPGs. I mean, hell. Just look at the recent reviews of Neverwinter Nights 2. Did they complain about the glitches, crap ass story, utter dependacy upon user created content, lack of variety in the monsters, or even a downright absurd lack of anything even remotely related to the Underdark aside from player classes? Nope, they faulted a Dungeons and Dragons game for being a Dungeons and Dragons game...
There is a current financial and critical backlash against anything that's modeled after the RPGs of old. Which leaves me fearing just how Fallout 3 will finally arrive.
Genius @ Jan 25th 2007 11:41AM
This is good news, Im glad to see Square is going for a engine that can better support other syles of games they may have in production. As somebody else mentioned, I fully intend to get a PS3 simply because Playstation has always had a better/bigger selection of RPGs.
360 cant hold a candle to the lineup PS3 has comeing as far as RPGs go, Blue Dragon was greatly overhyped and it was in no way innovative or inspiring. Not to mention I hate Toriyamas art style, but every American DBZ fanboy will eat it up, so I know it will undoubtably do better in the states than it did in Japan.
In the end as long as PS3 is getting Final Fantasy, Suikoden, White Knight Story, and hopefully Grandia. Thats the system Id prefer to have. I always thought it was funny how 360 fanboys scream fromt he rooftops how people should get a 360 instead of a PS3 "because it has more games". Well, yeah it does, it has more games I dont want to play. It has no RPG's I want to play and PS3 will, so why would I buy a console simply because it has more games, when in the end its just going to collect dust because I dont want to play Madden, Halo, Fable, or Forza.
Barbie Fu @ Jan 25th 2007 11:43AM
kewl
Jake @ Jan 25th 2007 11:45AM
I am surprised nobody brought this up. You know FFXIII doesn't absolutely have to be all FMV. You can produce pretty amazing HD visuals using the game engines now. And, you can have some element of gameplay, customized characters/environments, time of day, etc in your cutscenes rather than watching a pure movie. Just because past FF games have been FMV doesn't mean the next one has to. The PS3 or 360 could pull off FFX visuals in game, more or less. You might conserve some space that way as well.
Dave @ Jan 25th 2007 12:06PM
"And Oblivion? Please... it's Doom with Dialogue."
You just lost all credibility.
SuicideNinja @ Jan 25th 2007 3:08PM
Blu-ray space isn't necessary. Uncompressed audio isn't noticeable. Nobody minds MP3's, and they are compressed a lot. They even have amazing video and graphic compression to date, so forcing a new format isn't doing us any favors. Between Resistance and the Blu-ray movies...I've not had any experience that I felt is greater than what I've had on the 360.
Video is noticeable, but the in-game engine is so much more gamer-involving than pre-rendered cutscenes. I admit, I used to love the FMV's in FF8 and FFX. But I could definitely live without, as we've seen a lot more in-game engine since the 360 came out. In Dead Rising, in-game makes a big difference, where cutscenes would have ruined it (and you can see the pores on skin still).
Genius @ Jan 25th 2007 12:57PM
Anybody who played FF12 instead of pretending they know everything about Final Fantasy would know that there are VERY few FMVs in that game. I'd estimate 95% of the cutscenes are done in the engine, and they look damn good. I actually preffered the in engine cutscenes in FF12 than the prerendered cutscenes, because they better preserved the look and feel of the characters and atmosphere. Its clear this is the path SE wants to take in the future and it will be much more cost efficient for them to go with it.
Jake @ Jan 25th 2007 12:08PM
The 360 RPG lineup looks more impressive than PS3 to me right now, to be honest. FF doesn't do much for me anymore (loved 1-7, couldn't finish 10 out of boredom). White Knight Story looks the most interesting of PS3 RPG's imo.
The 360 has Mass Effect and Fable 2 I'm very excited for. Blue Dragon does not look like a game I'd like. Basically, games that involve spiky haired over-dramatic kids saving the world in a 100% linear story don't keep my interest. That soap opera formula makes me sick.
There are plenty other 360 RPG's coming soon and a few for PS3 as well that have potential imo, but we have to take a wait and see approach. And people who say the PS3 RPG lineup, or any part of its lineup, over the next year and a half is "far superior" to the 360's are lying to themselves. It would be like saying any one of Xbox's years had a way better lineup than PS2.
I love how people like Genius #24 or Sheppy in the past take like 20 360 RPG's and say "they'll all suck for sure, every one of them except the ones on PC too but they don't count lol" then take like 5 PS3 RPG's and say they'll all be just friken awesome, each one.
I mean, it isn't like the PS3 hardware offers any advantage over 360 as we've seen. And, Sony isn't developing these games. There is no reason that they should be better. Blu-ray can keep your disc count down, I guess, for games with tons of FMV but it isn't like you can't make a big game on DVD9 (Oblivion used half the space)
It is just amazing, though, how some people can convince themselves that somehow every RPG on their platform of choice will be better than every RPG on another, despite the fact that the install base and attach rate on the other platform is much larger, making higher budgets probable. And the fact that there are just more games. Smell the roses.
Duscrom @ Jan 25th 2007 12:13PM
#24 says "In the end as long as PS3 is getting Final Fantasy, Suikoden, White Knight Story, and hopefully Grandia."
Suikoden hasn't been announced, and White Knight Story is like 3 min video that i don't understand how it's better then everything the 360 is offering as far as RPGs... But even more interesting is how Game Arts isn't really in Sony's pocket so much. In fact, if you look at the history of Grandia, it's more likely to appear on a non-Sony console first. Grandia 1 was Saturn first, and badly ported to PSX. Grandia 2 was a Dreamcast game first, then Padly Ported to PS2. Grandia Xtreme... well, was just bad.. and Grandia 3 was the first game to be at home on a Sony Console first. Add to that that Game Arts has already made a 360 title, Published by Square, no less... and you may notice that your odds of the next Grandia hitting 360 are pretty high.
Let's put it this way... 10 years ago people were waiting for the next Nintendo console, cause all the great RPGs had been released for the SNES. Square even showed off a demo of an N64 FF...
Wiistation360 @ Jan 25th 2007 12:53PM
"all you dumb*sses....... americans are the ones making real rpgs.........those jap wannabes don't include any roleplaying. Roleplaying is like acting, similar to the TV show Whos line is it. those nihon(japanese) games are convoluted stories with teenage romance, in other words it's all a misconception. go play WoW if you want a roleplaying game (we americans invented roleplaying, and have tried to make our games as open as a real rpg would need).wankers"
Yea because we americans don't have 90% of our rpgs/rts with elves,orcs and dwarfs..............Oh wait we do.
I love west and eastern RPGs they both have over used arctypes so its not fair to point out one without pointing out the other
NoBullet @ Jan 25th 2007 12:14PM
"US RPGs are trying so desperately not to be RPGs right now"
You gotta be shitting me. Japan didnt invent the genre. THEY are the followers. US RPG's are real RPG's. You want to allocate your skill points? No sorry, JRPG's do that shit for you. Not to mention they pick everything for you, which means there no actual ROLE playing in JRPG's.
Pip @ Jan 25th 2007 12:45PM
The amusing thing here is that there are a lot of PS3 people expecting this generation to mirror last generation as far as RPGs and other games go.
This has already been proven false. Developers are all moving to multiconsole releases. Those niche RPGs that sold well on PS2 do not have an installed base of 110 million units to get sales from any longer, they have to spread their releases across all the platforms.
It would be unwise to assume that all those niche JRPG titles will stay PS3 exclusive this time around. They simply wont make any money from the small install base.
VampireHunter Z @ Jan 25th 2007 12:52PM
I think it's actually interesting what SE could do with UE3. We have only seen Western Developers use it and we can usually tell if a game is using UE3. In the hands of a Japanese developer we will see a completely different art style. UE3 is also very great for environments I mean look at Gears.
All you people talking about Western RPGs are the real RPGs are clueless. If you think about what roleplaying means you are assuming the role of another character. In Western RPGs you get to create your own character (essentially yourself). You also get to roam freely in an open world (essentially not playing your role). In Western RPGs you are less and less playing the role of a ficticious character but more and more playing yourself.
Matt @ Jan 25th 2007 12:43PM
@ Sheppy
I don't know much about Bioshock, but it's entirely possible that it could be considered an RPG. From what has been shown, there are at least some rudimentary leveling and powers involved in the gameplay. Just because a game is in the first person doesn't mean it has to be a shooter. Ever played Deus Ex?
As for Mass Effect, it's almost exactly the KOTOR system. You can pause at any time, switch characters, string up commands, and use a variety of powers and abilities. Pretty much the only deviation is that they moved the camera over the shoulder.
As for this comment:
"And Oblivion? Please... it's Doom with Dialogue."
Actually, I'm not even going to touch that comment. Anyone who's *gasp* actually played the game, will instantly know the absurdity of it.
Darcrequiem @ Jan 25th 2007 12:57PM
Oblivion is Doom with Dialogue? You are joking right. I don't even like Oblivion. I have the game but found it boring and I won't support that statement. Eventhough Oblivion was not my cup of tea, even I could appreciate how expansive the game was and the insane level of character customization the game featured.
slacker164 @ Jan 25th 2007 1:14PM
“americans are the ones making real rpgs”
You’re correct in the idea that western RPGs are more faithful to “Role Playing” and tabletop roots, but that doesn’t mean JRPGs are bad. It’s not our fault that someone decided to market two separate genres under the single name of “RPGs.” Personally, I hate western RPGs. I think it’s the crappiest genre in existence. While they’re more true to the “Role Playing” name, I also hate role playing. That doesn’t make them bad games though; it just means I don’t like that genre, just like I don’t like the FPS genre. On the other hand I find JRPGs to be very enjoyable, even though they’re more like ‘fantasy adventure’ games or something rather than the “RPG” name that has wrongly been assigned to them. I just don’t get why fans of either style of “RPG” have to bash fans of the other when they’re really separate genres. It’s like saying Gran Turismo is better than Halo or something; the comparison just doesn’t make any sense.
maverick_saturn_626 @ Jan 25th 2007 1:55PM
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Action RPG)
Enternal Sonata (RPG)
Spectral Diario (RPG)
Blue Dragon (RPG)
Lost Odyssey (RPG)
Enchanted Arms (RPG) Already released*
Magna Carta 2 (RPG)
Embrace of Time: Ch. 1 The Resurrectio Ocolus (RPG)
Culdcept Saga (Strategy RPG)
Is this it? I have only heard of Blue Dragon from this list. The others I know nothing about although I've heard a bit of blabber about Enchanted arms and Odyssey.
But having RPGs is not about sticking in some RPGs like that, if Micro plans to appeal to Japanese RPG fans, they'll have to make more games like Blue Dragon, games like Oblivion are not their thing, remember Japanese love Anime and love and humour and anything with a plot to follow which is why White knight, FF, Monster Hunter, Blue Dragon, and other such games are likely to be the most popular over there, if they get anything that even remotly resembles Oblivion with just one character saving the world will most likely get ignored by the Japanese although American's love that kkind of thing where there is one human or one country (usually America) to save the entire world
This is why Nintendo is popular there at the moment, it has lots of little anime RPGs that Japanese adore so much which explains the sharp number of sales of DS handhelds.
Like they say, the best way to understand someone is to do what they do, not what you want to do.
maverick_saturn_626 @ Jan 25th 2007 2:10PM
The difference with American RPGs is that you make up you're own story in most of them, everything you do can twist the plot, usually based on knights, personally I find these kinds of games boring, but thats only because I am a fan of Manga and Anime, so love games like FF, Breathe of fire and Monster Hunter, I didn't bother with Blue Dragon as it looks to cutsie for my liking. Just cos I like anime doesn't mean I want to play a cutsie anime.
Dave @ Jan 25th 2007 2:38PM
maverick_saturn_626,
I think Americans, like myself, like the idea of playing one character because it's easier to immerse yourself in the game--and, the reason it's easier, is because we're only one person. I'm one person. You're one person. Together we're two people--but, alone, we only make up half that number: 1. Therefore, it makes sense that, to be immersed in a game a'la traditional RPG fashion (not Eastern "RPG" fashion), you play one character. This is also the same reason so many of us prefer first-person view--this is the view we normally use to see...thus aiding in making the game more immersive. I hardly ever control myself in the third person.
I'm not saying immersion and realism are necessary for every type of game, though. I think slacker164 made an excellent point when he suggested that the genre's are completely different. For what I would call "true" or "Western" RPGs, immersion and realism are paramount. Obviously, these are not considered important in Eastern "RPGs". So, if you like controlling half a dozen people in a linear game littered with cutscenes and calling it an RPG, fine. Knock yourself out.
Grindstone @ Jan 25th 2007 2:41PM
There are obvious similarities between JRPG and WRPGs (Western RPGs -- just thought I'd make it easier for us). Stating that Oblivion is just Doom game is very niave -- either you haven't played Doom, or you haven't played Oblivion, because the comparision is totally stupid if you did play them both.
While JRPG & WRPG styles have their merits, they both appeal to different types of people. Already pointed out earlier; WRPGs are open sandbox persona driven plots, while JRPGs are more structured and linear. In JRPGs, don't you just hate it when the turn based battle says your attack "missed" its target? You didn't get that option, it was a randomly generated occurance dependent upon software code. This is typical of JRPGs. Whereas in WRPGs, if you missed, it's because you weren't on the ball in the battle sequence -- but you ultimately controlled it. Again, it depends upon what you want in a game, arguing which is better will never be defined until we all start buying one style over the other.
As for the article... methinks there is something more to this story to follow...
Jake @ Jan 25th 2007 2:56PM
Personally, I think the differences in taste between Western and Eastern "RPG's" stem from cultural differences and gaming tastes. But, maybe one of them just sucks but the people that play them are too stupid to notice.
Sidepocket @ Jan 25th 2007 3:17PM
I personaly hate RPGs now. They have not evolved since the SNES/DOS days.
We have the latest in programming, AI, animation, and rendering tech...
...and here is our choices still.
1) Playing a female looking boy with his busty sidekick, random gijan, old perverted sage and cute anime mascot through a mellodrama that has 5 seconds of gameplay and 15 hours of borring and hyperactive matrix cinima.
2) Creating your own generic charcter and put in a J.R.R. Tolkin rip off were you run around aimlessly with bad generic renasance voice acting as you talk to a Night Elf in a thong and throw +3 Magic at Sewer Rats for 18 hours aday to get 1 EXP point that you then must plug in a Calculus formula to do it right or your ruin the game.
Right. Call me when this shit stops happening.
mushiking @ Jan 25th 2007 4:45PM
"=) I'm looking forward to the eventual "PS3 FINAL FANTASY presentation VS. reality" flame-war, hehehehe"
then prepare to look stupid, cause it was already confirmed at Jumpfest that this is in fact gameplay. the playable demo is coming out before the end of the year.
Darcrequiem @ Jan 25th 2007 4:50PM
maverick_saturn_626, the list of RPGs I provided were only the Japanese/asian developed RPGs coming to 360 this year. Just check the release list over at IGN X-box 360. The 360 actually has several more RPGs than the ones I listed but those are American/Western RPGs. My post was just to point on that as of right now there are more JRPGs scheduled for 360 release than PS3.
Questworld @ Feb 7th 2007 11:19PM
Aww, man. So what happens to the Wii support?