14 DAY TRIAL // The two founders of video games developer GRIN has blamed publisher Square Enix for the bankruptcy of the company, saying that the requirements that they needed to meet were impossible and that Square was actively trying to get them out of the business.
The pair says that GRIN could have been kept afloat as long as Square Enix kept its deal to fund the development of a Final Fantasy-based spin off that was codenamed Fortress.
The contract was initially signed for 20 million dollars, but the publisher has made a lot of unreasonable requests from GRIN and finally reneged on the contract altogether.
Bo Anderson, who is one of the founders of the developer, has spoken with Aftonbladet, saying, “It is as silly as it sounds. It is an impossible requirement, you can not send ASCII or binary codes on the fax. It is backward. Really retarded. It was almost a criminal activity.”
The two developers say that the company was also forced to send the completed game code and the under development music files for Final Fantasy: Fortress to Square Enix before their firm went under.
To test the commitment on Square Enix's part, the GRIN duo sent in some artwork taken from Final Fantasy XII and was told that the look of the game was nowhere near the style of the long-running Japanese role-playing game franchise.
Bo Andersson added, “Then we realized that whatever we do they have decided. We wanted to come in and revolutionize Final Fantasy, which is exactly what they need. The latest version sucks of course.”
Square Enix has not answered the allegations from the former GRIN founders.
The company has recently had a lot of trouble with Final Fantasy XIV, which was designed as an MMO and launch late in 2010, and has posted a loss for the last fiscal year.