Ben-DutkaI'm sorry, but did I just hear a few million giggles…? Oh, don't be so rude! 😉
According to a Polygon report , Square Enix President and CEO Yoichi Wada is resigning. Apparently, this is one of the company's first big steps toward "management reform."
Current representative director Yosuke Matsuda will replace Wada, but all this has to be finalized by a "resolution during the company's general meeting of shareholders this June, then later by a resolution from its board of directors." Wada's resignation comes hot on the heels of a consolidated results forecast which showed expectations of an "extraordinary loss" in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. It isn't the first time this generation that Square Enix would have suffered such a loss, and the company has started a "major restructuring." This move will result in an additional 10 billion yen (about $105 million) loss.
I suppose I could comment but really, what's there to say that hasn't already been said? The fans were right all along, Wada. They just were.
Thanks, Chris H.!
Maybe Squenix will get its groove back. I wonder how long it will take to notice a difference without yada wada yada at the helm.
I'm definitely looking at the positives, as well! This year already has a couple ways for fans to show their support. FFX/X-2 and KH1.5 are ways for fans to support with their dollars.
Hallelujah!
I think it was clear to me that when Wada took over, Square Enix made its priority to appeal to the Western audience. They not only made some drastic decisions regarding Final Fantasy, but also the acquirement of several western developers that brought us games like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Sleeping Dogs.
It's safe to say the troubles are probably caused by its Final Fantasy franchise and direction, because otherwise their "third-party" games are actually doing pretty well imo. I guess he shall be given credit for making bold moves in trying to appeal to the western market. It's a shame though… if only Final Fantasy stuck to its roots, it probably wouldn't have to come to this. I don't like to see anyone go, but if a company is projected to lose that much money, then something's really wrong.
I do like more details on this. I mean is it really all because of Final Fantasy?
I think you're right, and it's a particularly baffling case of trying to fix a problem that didn't exist. Final Fantasy, in all its classic iterations, already DID appeal to Western audiences. Weird.
And no, I don't think it's all because of Final Fantasy. SE has bumbled with the Kingdom Hearts franchise as well, smearing the releases across multiple platforms and diluting its fan base, while taking forever to come out with the definitive Kingdom Hearts 3.
Not to mention things like the missed opportunity of returning to the Parasite Eve franchise with the lackluster 3rd Birthday, the failure to pursue the Chrono franchise, and the general tin ear they've shown towards their fans.
Last edited by Comic Shaman on 3/26/2013 12:32:22 PM
Yeah I totally agree with you there, daus. I actually value SE quite high as a publisher, they've delivered a good stack of really great games this gen. Problem has of course been that none of it was home brewed.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/26/2013 4:58:44 PM
I always felt the they should never have abandoned the way they made games. They should have experimented with the idea by continuing with the Final Fantasy Legacy and also put out new games that strayed from that tried and true method. Best of both worlds until they succeed on their steps to capture the Western audience.
Last edited by FatherSun on 3/26/2013 11:21:27 AM
Agreed. Why in there right minds would dilude their #1 most successful franchise ?? At the VERY least take that risk on another/new IP and see if it succeeds or fails. It's called smart business practice . R&D Square-Enix, which "usually" requires listening to your longtime consumer base..
Wada you know, hopefully things change now.
For the good.
Indeed.
ladies & gentleman i give u the next CEO of Sony Yoichi Wada. 😛
SCEA already does a good enough job of screwing SCE, no need for Wada.
OH SNAP! hahahaha Highlander, come on pal. It was either make an easier architecture or go broke. Which if it had been the latter, Apple would have probably nabbed it.
I wasn't referring to the PC4 actually, but never mind, it doesn't matter.
Only thing I will add is that SE is losing key game development people too, some are dissatisfied enough to walk, and are doing so.
Can't blame em
You can't say Wada wasn't given enough chances. If I screwed up in my job as thoroughly as he has in his, I would've been fired years ago. Honestly, the FF14 disaster alone should've sealed his fate, and that's only one of the colossal failures of Wada's tenure.
I hope that it's not too little, too late for Square. They seriously need a Phoenix Down.
So how about some insight on how does a western dev westernize more a videogame? hehehe
I can't quite puzzle out what you're asking here, so if I'm not sure if I have any insight on the question.
Why did it take so long to get a phoenix down joke?
There are actual tears in my eyes :')
Hopefully this means Final Fantasy can come back stronger than ever next generation, or as they were, at the very least.
GOOD!
There he is…
back from the Nintendo-verse Jawknee?
So yay or nay on the Wii U?
and is the NEW Super Mario Game Wii U edition worth playing if you've played the one on Wii already?
@Temji, ha, sorta…been playing God of War lately. Just picked up Bioshock so I'll be digging into that one next.
ummm, the Wii U is an easy yes for me. For you….if you're satisfied with your PS3 I'd wait until there are more games. I really like the console as a whole but more needs to be done with it. Strangely Black Ops 2 is probably the best offering on it at the moment. It's allows you to play multiplayer with a friend. One uses the TV and the pro controller, the other uses the gamepad. ZombiU is pretty fun too. The new Mario is great. Not too different than the one on Wii but its great to finally see Mario in HD. Nice colors too.
I think the Wii U should be an eventual yes for those who like Nintendo's in house games. The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker is being complelty remade for it and that's out is fall. So that might be worth a console purchase. Oh, and Nintendo lied. Lol, the Wii U DOES upscale Wii games to 1080p. They said it wouldn't just before its release. But it turns out it does.
Thanks Jawknee. Windwaker was the last Zelda I tried to finish but somehow got side tracked along the way. It'd be nice to pick it up again for another go. This time though, with nicer updated visuals.
I wont be getting a Wii U anytime soon but I do suspect I'll get one eventually.
YESSSSSS!!! The cancer has been removed! A new age could be upon us again. Goodbye, good riddance, and don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
Ok, while I feel like I've moved past the pouting over Square-Enix not being Squaresoft, I have to say this is long overdue. I lost any potential shred of respect for this dude when I heard he moved the company's headquarters at the advice of a fortune teller. How's that advice looking now, Mr. Wada?
The 8 Ball says "Ask again later"
Is this good news or bad news? How do we know this won't mean total abandonment of consoles and just switch to iOS and portables fulltime?
when games like the TR reboot are expected to sell significantly more than 3.4 million copies within a month or less it tells me the leadership was way out in left field.
When you look at all their game sales, his resignation was only a matter of time.
good riddance ya bishh, ya bishh
Wada's reign of terror is over! Good grief, what a mess. Even compared to other Japanese corporations, notorious for being headstrong, SE has just been off the charts for this gen. I seriously think any 10-15 readers of PSXExtreme could have come up with a better business strategy than Wada did.
Yeah, I've been waiting for that guy to get out of there!
I hope this is the beginning of good news for SE, Final Fantasy, and JRPGs as a whole.
hmmm what do we know about Yosuke Matsuda?
Finally!
Hopefully Matsuda isn't Wada Jr. Or worse.
YAAAYYYYY! Not that the next one will be some kind of saviour but I'm rejoicing regardless.
FINALLY!
I know I've posted this quote before but I really think it deserves another mention here:
"If you want everything you'll end up with nothing"
Lulu to Tidus in FFX
Problem now is surveying the damage done, and seeing if rebuilding is possible. I am very happy to see him go, simply because people like him scare me. They see trends or patterns and want to jump in like lost fish finding a school. If mediocre is what you're looking for then Wada's a great person to have in a company that has roots.
I hope Matsuda understands the history and the potential that is buried behind those doors. If you show the games some respect, the fans will follow, and you will obtain new customers along the way.
They are doing nothing more than politicians do. Check the polls, see what the focus groups say, will it play in Peoria? If the pollsters say yes, then you go with it, if they say no, you don't, but until the polls are in, you say nothing of consequence. It's not leadership, it's more like being led around like a prized bull with a gold ring though it's nose, except the ring is actually really rusty iron, and the person leading the bull is legally blind.
Hopefully the poor soul replacing Wada has some kind of vision for SE based on the things that made them great, and can find a way of engaging the older audience SE squandered for most of this generation, while at the same time building lasting relationships with new fans to move forwards.
I feel like what SE did this generation was tear down the bridges to their existing loyal fan base, and at the same time instead of building new lasting fans, instead they indulged in the hollow pursuit of casual fandom. The games were not enduring classics, and the audiences did not build on the past, nor were those fans engaged on an emotional level sufficient to create any brand loyalty. The net result was the alienation of the audience they had coming out of the PS2 generation, and nothing to take their place.
SE's best bet now – IMHO – is to go back to basics and re-engage the large number of JRPG fans who'd been disillusioned and alienated this generation, and restore faith among the fans of other games who's western Devs SE acquires – like Hitman, Tomb Raider and so forth.
It means listening to the very people they've ignored for 6-7 years now. Oddly enough, I think that the work done on A Realm Reborn could foreshadow Square Enix's best, last chance at rebuilding. With FFXIV they recognized what an abject failure the game was when it launched and literally went back to the drawing board. They engaged fans and asked them about games, they put key people in place who actually know something about MMORPGs as well as the lore/mythos/universe of FF games.
Sadly though, I am not sure that Yosuke Matsuda is the greatest choice for their future. His one listed producer role on a game is Unlimited Saga – which was not well received outside Japan. Yosuke Matsuda is also not the most game oriented person at Square Enix, check this quote out;
"Recently, Final Fantasy XIV Producer Naoki Yoshida admitted that another failure like FFXIV’s original launch could doom the company. This was not just hyperbole. A recent financial report from Square-Enix only confirms Yoshi-P's prediction, and this one is straight from SE’s Chief Financial Officer, Yosuke Matsuda. Despite being released over two years ago, the financial impact of FFXIV’s horrific failure are still being felt throughout the entire company. "
Yes, Wada was replaced by the CFO at Square Enix, the accountant is in charge. That said, perhaps he can once and for all kill Square Enix's tendency to try to make movies instead of games, when making games.
This is Matsuda's bio at IGN;
Director of Taito Corporation, a division of Square Enix. Born in 1963, Matsuda worked for Mitsui Life Insurance Company Ltd. and Actus (Gran Thornton Taiyo) before joining Square Co. in December 1998.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 3/27/2013 11:26:10 AM
Want a frightening view into Yosuke Matsuda's mind?
This I found at Quora.com…
Yosuke(Matsuda) followed the question "
User Acquisition: How much is a decent "users acquiring cost" for a startup?". 21 Dec
Yosuke followed the question "
What new billion dollar markets are currently being created and/or will emerge over the next 5 years?". 19 Dec
…
Yosuke followed the question "
What is the standard ARPU and ARPPU for a social game?". 18 Dec
Yosuke followed the question "
Social Games: How do you calculate LTV for a social game (mobile or Facebook) reliably early in the game's lifecycle?". 18 Dec
Yosuke followed the topic
Fashion Trends
Yosuke followed the topic
Web Marketing
Yosuke followed the topic
Business Models
::facepalm::
ARPU – Average Revenue Per User or Annual Return Per User
ARPPU – Average Revenue Per Playing User or Annual Return Per Playing User
LTV – Loan-to-Value (ration of loaned or invested capital vs the assessed value of the asset the loan is against).
Matsuda-san is not a gamer, he's an accountant.
GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE.
I just hope that Matsuda has the respect for the history of FF games (prior to XIII) that Wada did not have. Above all, I just hope that Matsuda isn't as bad or worse than Wada!