Ben-DutkaIf you wanna rule the world, you had best cater to the whole world.
Square-Enix has begun to realize this and is apparently preparing a major push into the Western territories in 2008; they may even go so far as to acquire a European development studio. According to MCV, president and CEO of Square's European and US divisions John Yamamoto said his company has a very determined focus for this year- they want to appeal to Western markets when they set out to develop new titles. We all know anything named Final Fantasy will sell in any territory, but Square-Enix typically makes games that tend to miss the Westerners and only get significant recognition in Japan. But no more of that, says Yamamoto.
“We are now more focused on developing product that will help our expansion in the Western markets and of course this includes more fully localised titles than ever before. In addition, we understand the importance of more global simultaneous releases and this too is a priority. Finally, we are also carefully examining options available for adding product from Western developers to accelerate our growth outside of Japan.”
Square-Enix certainly has the means to become one of the world's largest and most prolific video game publishers – heck, they already are, really – and they don't want to leave anyone out in the cold. Therefore, you might be seeing a small shift in style for some of their upcoming titles in an effort to appeal to us Westerners. And if that includes purchasing a UK or European studio in 2008, so be it.
“We’re not currently in negotiations, but we want to continue growing and become one of the top global publishers, so acquisition is an option,” Yamamoto said.
