Speaking at a recent investor call, Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu says the company wants quality over quantity on its lineup of future games as they don’t always hit their targets with so many projects going out on the market.
“Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu noted, I want to structure our development function so that we are able to ensure higher quality from each title by slimming down our lineup. We have tried to produce hits by developing a wide variety of titles rather than by focusing only on certain ones. I believe that this has resulted in the splintering of our resource pool. Meanwhile, there have been clear winners and losers among the major titles released recently in the gaming market, and it has become possible for even indie titles to make their presence felt.”
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Introducing Visions of Mana – the first mainline title in the Mana series in over 15 years!“Because we possess strong IPs like the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy franchises, I believe that we have tended to be overly reliant on certain gameplay styles or genres,” Kiryu said. “Meanwhile, the tastes of customers in the gaming market have diversified, and customers have come to enjoy content from a variety of genres. Moreover, blockbuster titles are not the only ones that enjoy popularity. For example, our title Powerwash Simulator is somewhat of an outlier in our portfolio in that it is a game well suited for casual play, but we have been able to steadily build up our earnings from it.”
The Square Enix lineup for 2024 is already looking a little more diverse, as they are publishing Foamstars which arrives February 6, and Visions of Mana coming later in 2024. While we can agree Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are unlikely to stop being hits for the publisher, however, I admit Square Enix should start developing more games that appeal to all audiences more, and also reduce some of the expectations in sales when it’s a very niche title.
Hopefully, this is the start of a new Square Enix, and they won’t revert to their old ways.
To find out more about Foamstars, click the link.
FOAMSTARS is a vibrant new four-on-four online shooter exclusive for PlayStation (PS4 & PS5). In this game, foam is the ultimate resource. It can be used in multiple ways: To create slippery surfaces that players can use to surf around the arena at high speed; to build terrain, helping players defend from enemy attacks or creating high vantage points to take out opponents; and finally, to foam up the opposition and win the match.
SOURCE: SQUARE ENIX
