The woke influence in companies. The exemple of Square Enix.

[Delweynes]

INTRODUCTION

I was a huge fan of Square Enix (Squaresoft in fact). I bought 3 times FF7 OG, in japanese, in english and in my native langage with the guide book to complete everything at 100%. Then I took on purpose a Super Nes to play the previous titles of the serie, games like Chrono Trigger and all the Mana serie. On Playstation, I loved titles like Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogear and even Einhänder.

I was a bit annoyed with the "nerfs" of Tifa in the Remake but, back in 2020, I didn't knew at all what wokeism (wokeness) was.

It was after the recent "surprise" patch of cowgirl Tifa in Remake, just before the release of Rebirth, and reading some interviews of directors and producer, that I decided to investigate the case of the company.

LINK to the archived version, maybe easier to read: https://archive.org/details/square-enix_202404/SQUARE%20ENIX%20ESG%20DEI%20V1.3.pdf

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About the recent release of FF7 Rebirth:

The game has immediatly been praised for it's diversity and inclusion.

I QUOTE the conclusion of an article about Rebirth from the site TheGamer:

"We need to celebrate the games that are going the extra mile for inclusion and representation, even if it's in the background. Especially if it’s in the background. Sometimes, background inclusion creates a better sense of identity and inclusivity than a forced Black character at the forefront. The queer representation in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the perfect example of this same sentiment, something it does better than Final Fantasy 16, pushing a gay romance to the forefront that does nothing for the characters involved. Alas, that's another conversation for another time. For now, we must celebrate our wins, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a big one."

SOURCE: https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-black-representation-in-gaming/


Square Enix has totally embraced the western woke ideology:

1- They work with consultants / narrative companies that force the western vision of the "modern audience":

- SE are clients of Sweet Baby Inc:

SOURCE: https://sweetbabyinc.com/
Same information, in case it would be removed or hidden: https://ibb.co/qpGgtrs


- For Rebirth, they have collaborated with Hit Detection LLC, a narrative company like Sweet Baby Inc., They appear in the credits.

SOURCE: https://twitter.com/purplewhale24/status/1778549251749859410

I QUOTE their site:

"Sensitive Issues Assessment: Our team assesses the risk factors for depictions of character from underrepresented groups, themes, and potential community reactions. [...]
Our commitment to building a team from a variety of backgrounds—including underrepresented groups—is a superpower that allows us to provide unique and varied perspectives, setting us apart from other firms. This diversity is a strength that fortifies our insights and gives us a natural advantage within the consulting landscape."

SITE of Hit Detection: https://www.hitdetection.com/


2- SE produce games that don’t reflect japanese culture at all but pushes the DEI message.

- Forspoken, with SBI as consultants, pushes diversity.
- Life is Strange: True Colors, promotes LGBT.
- Foamstar, copies the western style (Fortnite) and has diversity.


3- On their Website, they are fully engaged for the cause of diversity and inclusion.

I QUOTE their site:

"Diversity, equity & inclusion
The Square Enix Group believes in the importance of fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces - across the many rich facets of the human experience, including nationality, race, religion, thought and creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, and physical condition.

All of our locations work to increase representation, and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across such areas as recruiting, training, teambuilding, and employee activities. We are encouraged by the progress we've seen through the years in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and continue to prioritize our work in this area." [...]

Our initiatives include multiplatform campaigns, cultural spotlights (including for African American History Month, Women's History Month, Pride Month, and AAPI Heritage Month), and the work of our Pride and Women in Gaming employee resource groups.

In 2021, a collaborative effort between multiple Group locations produced an original Pride mascot, Mina, celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ employees and the greater community, and serving as a Pride month ambassador."

SOURCE (tab community): https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/sustanability/?tab=ev


IMPORTANT EDIT: few days after releasing this article, Square Enix has changed their page, by removing the DEI references, like they have done for ESG before.

SOURCE: https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/1b7jfbi/like_they_have_done_for_esg_references_square_has/


4- So, they are fully engaged for the LGBT+ cause.

I QUOTE their site:

"Mina (a LGBT mascot) is front and center on our range of Pride apparel, which is still available on the Square Enix Store. All the profits made from these items up to midnight July 11 will be donated to charities GLAAD and Stonewall. (2 LGBT+ associations) [...]
... Rest assured - you’ll be seeing more of them in the future."

SOURCE: https://www.square-enix-games.com/fr_FR/news/pride-mascot-name


5- They know that their orientation is "problematic" so they tried to hide things. They deleted all ESG references on their site. Many people were fooled, thinking that SE will, at last, leave their woke orientation. But keeping their Ethics Department was revealing that they would continue in the same direction.

More EXPLANATIONS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2LBqcnPpOA

What is this Ethics Department?
Mari Tanabe, member of this deparment, said: “The Ethics Team’s job is to make corrections to what the developers have seriously created. Therefore, you are expected to take full responsibility for your decisions. The difficulty in confirming the expression of entertainment is that it is not enough to serve only to make a ‘mark or a cross’ decision. [...]
The fact that my work went unnoticed by the user after the game was released also means that I did my job correctly.”

SCREEN of the original deleted page: https://ibb.co/s1HPDFJ

EXPLANATION: https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/03/31/square-enix-job-listing-provides-details-on-ethics-department-confirms-focus-on-discriminatory-prejudicial-or-offensive-content/


Tetsuya Nomura said: "First of all, since we wanted Tifa to have defined abs, we made her more athletic looking. And then, there were also directions from our internal ethics committee that as not to make even the most intense action look unnatural it was necessary to bind [Tifa’s] chest. And thus, for her single upper body clothing, we put a black undergarment with a fitting tank top for a fitness-conscious, sporty design."

SOURCE: https://kotaku.com/what-tetsuya-nomura-actually-said-about-tifas-breasts-i-1835726320

He uses a fake argument of “unnatural” moves to justify the censorship, as we can see here for exemple, in case of some people would argue about this:

PROOF: https://twitter.com/Delweynes/status/1781670323420586374


But to hide things, again, SE deleted their Ethics Department hiring webpage in which censorship were mentioned:

SOURCE: https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/19606yi/square_enix_deleted_their_ethics_department/

EXPLANATION: https://nichegamer.com/square-enix-quietly-removes-recruitment-page-bragging-about-censorship/


6- Because of the influence of Hit Detection and their own Ethics Deparment, Rebirth is full of ideology and messages:


* 6.1- Censorship and toned down females representations:

- They just released a patch for FF7 Remake to censor Cowgirl Tifa, by adding a black clothe to hide all possibilities to see her cleavage. They have done it without telling players, 4 years after the release of the game while it has never been problematic.

SOURCE: https://www.dlcompare.co.uk/gaming-news/square-enix-unexpectedly-decides-to-censor-some-scenes-in-final-fantasy-vii-remake-40725

If Square Enix wants so much to be ethical, is it ethical to change a game that customers bought in a specific state, without telling them or giving them the choice, years after they got it?


- While most people were happy and blinded to see the girls in swimsuits in the Costa del Sol trailer, they didn't noticed that these conservative outfits were chosen to have the design of 5 yo kids swimsuits, with frills and skirts to hide a deep cleavage, buttocks and crotch. Some people will claim that this style is common in Japan but, checking many videos of "Japan Beach", proves that it's not the case. Most japanese girls are wearing normal bikinis.

ILLUSTRATION 1: https://ibb.co/XZZ4H8r
ILLUSTRATION 2: https://ibb.co/cc9YHsN

The problem is NOT the design, but the intention to put conservative covering swimsuits to hide as much sexy feminine aspects as possible.


- Japan was always permissive with the representations of loli and young characters but Yuffie is the only one who doesn't show the lower part of her swimsuit, because of her age (16). This comparison reveals the evolution of the vision of the devs. and their will to tone down girls:

ILLUSTRATION: https://twitter.com/Delweynes/status/1770873647906836551


- They clearly are going against the "too feminine" representations of women, like the model of Tifa in the Fort Condor minigame proves it, while it would have been the most obvious way to simply copy Tifa's original game appearance. They took care to give her a very modest chest while all the volumes are exagerated, like the feet.

ILLUSTRATION: https://ibb.co/DzsjG6M


- Let's not forget that she has been very "nerfed" many times since Remake, with the addition of more clothes: black underwear under her white top to justify to not add jiggles/physics and the leggings to hide most of her legs.

ILLUSTRATION: https://ibb.co/Yk64Ztr

SOURCE: https://www.eurogamer.net/square-enix-has-an-ethics-department-and-it-told-the-final-fantasy-7-remake-developers-to-restrict-tifas-chest


* 6.2- Forced diversity and inclusion:

The game is completly filled with inclusions and diversity everywhere, not necessary for the story but forced to follow their DEI orientation about the "Diversity, equity & inclusion".
Let's remind that japanese people traditionally didn't care about diversity because they prefer white caucasian characters. It's in their culture and vision. It's noticeable in their old productions and most animes that made them famous and are still loved by many western people today. And black people are 0.01% in Japan.


- In an interview, Yoshinori Kitase, producer of Rebirth, said that he is “A Bit Embarrassed” By Original Game’s Portrayal Of “Social Problems, Social Issues, And Cultural Depictions”. This is however THE game that made JRPG famous in the West.

SOURCE: https://boundingintocomics.com/2024/01/18/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-producer-yoshinori-kitase-says-hes-a-bit-embarrassed-by-original-games-portrayal-of-social-problems-social-issues-and-cultural-depictions/


- It explains why many funny scenes were removed from the original game, like Tifa's orthopedic underwear:

SOURCE: https://nichegamer.com/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-removes-tifas-panties/


- After the release of Remake, he even said “In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, we rebuilt the original game using the latest technology, but we felt that it should not stop at the technical side and we needed to update the story content being shown in line with modern sensibilities.”

SOURCE: https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-politics-real-world/


- Yes, it already started with, Motomu Toriyama, co-director of Remake in 2020, who said that "LGBTQ Inclusion Is An Important Issue".

SOURCE: https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-lgbt/


- Motomu Toriyama praised The Last of Us Part 2's Diversity.

SOURCE: https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-7-remake-the-last-of-us-part-2-diversity


Unlike western companies, they didn’t dare to do extrem changes like raceswapping, modifying the sexuality or the character of a main protagonist. It’s too much for a japanese company and for a game that has a very well known material source. They calculate the risks and evaluate what can be done, forced to be accepted.
SE didn’t went into the uglyfication of female characters too because it would have been too much for their own customers.
But at the light of these informations, we can still question the case of Aerith:

EXPLANATION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIUJlP2ExlY


The only and last aspect from the western ideology that hasn't hit too much japanese productions is the uglyfication of female characters because it would be too much for their own customers.
But it seems they are still trying as the case of Aerith has revelead it:
EXPLANATION : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIUJlP2ExlY

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CONCLUSION

All these exemples together don’t leave any doubts about the western influenced orientation of Square Enix that applies all acceptable DEI aspects for a japanese game. The company is acting now as a major contributor to spread the woke message. Instead of caring about their fans and stay true to themselves, they accepted the conditions and visions of the modern western industry.
Slowly, They are changing what made their success and was loved by millions of players for decades around the world, what reflected the true authentic japanese culture and their own free vision. This “betrayal” is the result of the tentation for ESG money and the few intermediates / consultants who portrayed them the preferences of western gamers (= the few "modern audience" and their "sensibility").

The disappointing sales of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the consequence of this evolution:
- https://www.levelup.com/en/news/779572/Final-Fantasy-VII-Rebirth-Sales-Falter-in-Japan
- https://insider-gaming.com/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-sales-drop-about-90-in-japan/
- https://www.xfire.com/square-enix-silent-low-final-fantasy-7-rebirth-sales/

The game sales are not a disaster, thanks to all the players / streamers who are not aware of this and fans who refuse to see the truth. But, by promoting the game, they are contributing to change Japan to travestite their culture and produce more games that are not authentical. If we want again real japanese games like before, it’s necessary to make companies understand that we don’t want their westernized adaptations.


But let’s distinguish quality of a game and forced woke message, because a game can have both.
FF7 Rebirth is a fun / good game for many players. And no one should question their appreciation and feelings.
But players should be aware and ask themselves:

- Is this game really faithful to the material source that made them popular?
- Does this game, created by a japanese company, really reflect their culture that made their success and was / is loved by so many people around the world?
- Would this game have been bad, less fun or be less popular without all the messages and intentions forced by few western people who speak for themselves and not for the fans?
- Is it good and better, from the perspective of a customer, that a beloved culture could be changed by external forces?
- Is it not a betrayal of the old fans to change so many aspects of the original game, just to please the modern western rules?
- DEI can be accepted for a game that you like? Would you continue to support it?

[Evangela]

I'm also a fan(?), I guess, of Square Enix's games. So yeah it's very painful for me seeing them being what they are nowadays. Most of their games are already on the list anyway, and I believe Rebirth will be there, too, as soon as they landed on Steam.

Maybe not for the reasons that those articles pointed out. FFVII OG was already in a diverse setting because the developers back then wanted to create a new FF world that reflecting Hollywood films. So Rebirth having some black NPCs isn't a valid reason to brand this game woke. But I'm pretty sure there are other stuff that will make it be on the list. Censoring young Tifa is one.

[madhatter]

I'm betting that most of you forgot what Square Enix's CEO has said in his New Year's address 2 years ago...
https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/2022/html/a_new_years_letter_from_the_president_2.html
Or for THIS YEAR:
https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/2024/html/a_new_years_letter_from_the_president_4.html#:~:text=2024%20will%20mark%20the%20starting,executing%20each%20of%20our%20initiatives.

Here's a hot take:
Final Fantasy 16 should NOT be an action focused game, you're better off playing Devil May Cry 5 instead.

[Liakos_Per]

Square Enix is dead.

Only Queer Enix exists now.

[Delweynes]

Update: Square is reading and know. They try to hide and fool people.

Post from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/1b7jfbi/like_they_have_done_for_esg_references_square_has/


Few days ago, I made a quite extented post pointing at many elements that proved that Square Enix has embraced the DEI program and following the Sweet Baby Inc. orientation (they are still their clent).

Link of the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/1b6bkh0/sweet_baby_inc_is_a_only_a_tree_that_hides_the/

I checked and, now, they changed the texts and removed the DEI aspects and turning it into a charity action, only keeping the last part about their collaboration with the LGBT+ cause.

Before:

Title: "Diversity, equity & inclusion

The Square Enix Group believes in the importance of fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces - across the many rich facets of the human experience, including nationality, race, religion, thought and creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, and physical condition.

All of our locations work to increase representation, and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across such areas as recruiting, training, teambuilding, and employee activities. We are encouraged by the progress we've seen through the years in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and continue to prioritize our work in this area." [...]

Our initiatives include multiplatform campaigns, cultural spotlights (including for African American History Month, Women's History Month, Pride Month, and AAPI Heritage Month), and the work of our Pride and Women in Gaming employee resource groups.

After (now):

Title: "Contribution to communities

The Square Enix Group has a longstanding tradition of community programs to make our world a better place, aid those in need, and support the local communities we call home.

We provide assistance to, and engage in fundraising efforts for, local, regional and national charities. Examples include donations to organizations:

・Organizations supporting humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts in times of crisis.

・Organizations fighting for social equality.

・Organizations addressing children's health, cancer, and food insecurity.

Together with our employees, we also give back to the local communities where we live and work, donating toys and games to pediatric care facilities; co-sponsoring local sports leagues; and volunteering in beach clean-up and meal-packing efforts.

We also create opportunities for education, inspiration, and awareness of the rich backgrounds, cultures and contributions that make up our diverse world including our workforce. Our initiatives include multiplatform campaigns, cultural spotlights (including for African American History Month, Women's History Month, Pride Month, and AAPI Heritage Month), and the work of our Pride and Women in Gaming employee resource groups.

Source: https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/sustanability/?tab=ev

It's nice that they read the community but I would prefer that they hear them instead.

[Evangela]

While some people were celebrating Tifa & Aerith in swimsuits and the removal of the Ethics Department pages from sites, saying that SE dumped ESG and they're coming back... I'm one of the people who didn't believe it.

SE is way too deep in the toilet to be salvaged that easily. They were rotten to the core. My guess is that they just hide their Ethics Department deeper, after they realized that something like this needs to be kept behind the scene instead of exposing themselves, because real gamers aren't gonna praise them for that.

[Nova Magnus]

Originally posted by Delweynes:

While most people are happy and blinded to see the girls in swimsuits at Costa del Sol, they don't notice that the swimsuits have the design for 5 yo kids, with frills and dress to hide a deep cleavage and buttocks.

Not only that, but she Tifa has a fucking skirt instead of a normal bottom piece. And Aeris a full length sari. We live in dark times.

[Delweynes]

Originally posted by Nova Magnus:

Originally posted by Delweynes:

While most people are happy and blinded to see the girls in swimsuits at Costa del Sol, they don't notice that the swimsuits have the design for 5 yo kids, with frills and dress to hide a deep cleavage and buttocks.

Not only that, but she Tifa has a fucking skirt instead of a normal bottom piece. And Aeris a full length sari. We live in dark times.

Yes, the word dress instead of skirt is probably awkward.

Too many flags. That plus the fact that they try to hide their full orientation DEI is pitiful.

Sadly, a lot of gamers know nothing about all this and participate to the success of the message by supporting the game.

[Servant_HolyKnight]

I think what hurts most about being a former Squaresoft/ Enix fan is that they don't understand their own audience anymore.

They released flop after flop the last few years, thought to bring in thousands with all the money and time they spent on them. Avengers? Closed its live service after a scant few years. Forspoken? More like Forsaken, as it closed the very studio that was made to develop it. Harvestella? Poor attempt at Rune Factory but with a non-binary gender, not that genders matter as you could freely social-link with anyone?

And then Square acts all surprised that people want simple JRPG games with passion behind them like Octopath Traveler or Bravely Default. They keep making trend chasing games, like how Various Daylife was clearly a mobile game that when they changed it to be a full packaged game the gameplay mechanics were very much idle sim.

I'm sure FF7 Rebirth has plenty of things that make it worth playing beyond the sum of its parts, but that's how these corpos get us. They keep putting in little controversial to gradually change minds of the younger, more malleable generation, to get them to accept that its not so bad. Until eventually it all becomes the new status quo. And as long as there's SOME fun, the normies will shrug it off indifferently as at least THEY are still having fun. It's a perpetual self-centered cycle.

You can't even politely critique games of being catering to woke beliefs without some crazy shill yelling and defaming you for being a sensitive racist incel or something. They are full of hating, self-loathing NPCs that can't function without seeing themselves in a game as defined by skin color or sexuality, and fail to realize they are doing the very thing they are championing against: being EXclusive.

Hell, I'm in the camp that Square deliberately leaked the swimsuits to try and get the so called trend followers (thinking it was cool to hate on companies for being woke without really getting how deep the hole goes) over to their side. After all, Tifa's bust is still layered by her normal fight clothes, and they retroactively patched a four year old game to cover her up in the flashback sequence. But I won't forget and forgive. I'll never forget they tried to make her flat in Remake, and how they removed the Orthopedial Underwear bit in the new game. I won't forgive how many double standards they cross that they keep trying to appeal to both sides but are more coerced to satisfy the angry woke instead of the disappointed old guard.

[Nova Magnus]

Originally posted by Servant_HolyKnight:

how they removed the Orthopedial Underwear bit in the new game.

What's this about?

Originally posted by Servant_HolyKnight:

I won't forgive how many double standards they cross that they keep trying to appeal to both sides but are more coerced to satisfy the angry woke instead of the disappointed old guard.

Yes, they're trying to juggle their way between the woke and the anti-woke crowd. I get that they're scared shitless of bad votes from the journos, what they don't get is that the journous don't have that much power anymore (as the Hogwarts Lewgacy record sales show).

The only games that are actually hurt by bad reviews are the Sony ones, because Sony's measure of "success" is also tied to the metacrtic score (RIP Days Gone 2).

[Servant_HolyKnight]

Originally posted by Nova Magnus:

Originally posted by Servant_HolyKnight:

how they removed the Orthopedial Underwear bit in the new game.

What's this about?

Basically some news story went around that where, during the Nibelheim flashback scene in the OG game, you could enter Tifa's room and search her underwear drawer (mostly just for fun, no real item gained). They decided to not include it in Rebirth.

[Gamer92612]

As I said in a different thread SE has been in decline for many years. They wasted lots of money on worthless mobile games that frequently shut down in like 1 year. Then they made a lot of low quality games with budget sized like AAA games while giving only minimal budgets to games that actually had some potential. (Infinity Strash..... which is losing it's "S")
As a result the only game I purchased from SE in the last 5 years is FF Integrade and only when it got a deep discount. So them going the DIE route making it even more irrelevant to me by the day.

[Evangela]

Just glad seeing FFVII Rebirth bombing in Japan, just like FFXVI.

That's what happens when they love the woke console PS5 so much.

[Delweynes]

Originally posted by Evangela:

Just glad seeing FFVII Rebirth bombing in Japan, just like FFXVI.

That's what happens when they love the woke console PS5 so much.

Yes, the sellings are not great. But I don't know if the reason is because people are aware about the orientation of Square, or if it's for other reasons.

If it's the first case, then it will maybe help Square to realize that they have to change their strategy and do some cleaning. They must reflect on why Nier was such a great and appreciate game.

And if Stellar Blade is selling well, and it should likely to be the case, then it will help Square even more to understand what gamers want.

[~Rata~]

Originally posted by Delweynes:

Yes, the sellings are not great. But I don't know if the reason is because people are aware about the orientation of Square, or if it's for other reasons.

Pretty sure the game is failing in Japan because no one owns a PS5.

[Gamer92612]

Originally posted by ~Rata~:

Originally posted by Delweynes:

Yes, the sellings are not great. But I don't know if the reason is because people are aware about the orientation of Square, or if it's for other reasons.

Pretty sure the game is failing in Japan because no one owns a PS5.

I agree. I have not played or watched others play this game but based on some comments and reviews, Rebirth contains plenty of fanservices just like Stellar Blade is supposed to offer. I'm not sure if there are any woke elements though. I seem to recall some SJWs calling for FF16 boycott because the depicted medieval world does not have people with certain skin colors. Although SE is frequently under SJW influence each game should be judged individually.

That is said, Integrade took almost two years but finally showed up on PC, Rebirth will likely show up in late 2025 or early 2026. The developer is also hinting the next episode may be released on mutli-platforms.

Personally after playing Integrade on PC I found it was reasonably good but slightly below expectations and underwhelming.. Maybe because it was overhyped after 2 years, the woke element in Integrade also doesn't help.