Square Enix president shares his views in E3

John Yamamoto, president and CEO of Square Enix, was recently interviewed by Ellie Gibson of GamesIndustry.biz during E3 on his views on E3, the PS3 and what Square will be doing in the future. Square Enix is the company that brought us the landmark series Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, and classic games you may remember and still love like Chrono Trigger and Xenogears.

Yamamoto announces that Square will not be holding any press conferences this year at E3 and would instead opt for something more cost-effective since E3 has chosen to go for a tamer path this year. Instead, Square will be putting more effort into the Tokyo Game Show where they will be making some of their announcements rather than in E3. E3 will still get a big bite from the Square though, showing off their latest games like Dragon Quest, the latest in the Final Fantasy series, The War of the Lions, Front Mission and Heroes of Mana.

It was also expressed that Square is addressing the concerns of Western consumers that they have to wait longer for their games to be released in their area. Yamamoto, who recently took on roles for Square in their US and European bases, explains that they want to make the translations as best as they can. Their target aim is to release games in 5 languages to Japan, the US and Europe all at the same time. This is one of their hopes for Last Remnant, their newest game to be released.

Yamamoto comments that the PS3 is still expensive for most gamers. Square is still “watching the hardware trends closely and also the marketing strategy of the platform holders”, but Yamamoto refuses to comment on the future of the Final Fantasy series on the PS3. However, a spokesperson added that “at previous E3s and other shows we’ve announced different Final Fantasies for different platforms, and I think that will continue.”

John Yamamoto, president and CEO of Square Enix, was recently interviewed by Ellie Gibson of GamesIndustry.biz during E3 on his views on E3, the PS3 and what Square will be doing in the future. Square Enix is the company that brought us the landmark series Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, and classic games you may remember and still love like Chrono Trigger and Xenogears.

Yamamoto announces that Square will not be holding any press conferences this year at E3 and would instead opt for something more cost-effective since E3 has chosen to go for a tamer path this year. Instead, Square will be putting more effort into the Tokyo Game Show where they will be making some of their announcements rather than in E3. E3 will still get a big bite from the Square though, showing off their latest games like Dragon Quest, the latest in the Final Fantasy series, The War of the Lions, Front Mission and Heroes of Mana.

It was also expressed that Square is addressing the concerns of Western consumers that they have to wait longer for their games to be released in their area. Yamamoto, who recently took on roles for Square in their US and European bases, explains that they want to make the translations as best as they can. Their target aim is to release games in 5 languages to Japan, the US and Europe all at the same time. This is one of their hopes for Last Remnant, their newest game to be released.

Yamamoto comments that the PS3 is still expensive for most gamers. Square is still “watching the hardware trends closely and also the marketing strategy of the platform holders”, but Yamamoto refuses to comment on the future of the Final Fantasy series on the PS3. However, a spokesperson added that “at previous E3s and other shows we’ve announced different Final Fantasies for different platforms, and I think that will continue.”