Square Enix on MMOs and the Final Fantasy brand

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, when Hiromichi Tanaka, senior vice president of software development was asked if Square-Enix is too reliant on the immensely huge Final Fantasy brand, Tanaka said that despite the Final Fantasy in the title, if you look at the games that they create, you’ll see that every title has a different story, and each game has used a different engine, so things aren’t always similar.

He goes on to note that they don’t really have an answer to the question “What is Final Fantasy,” but then yes, they do admit that perhaps because the brand is so big, that they are reliant on it sometimes. He goes on to note that they to try to expand their portfolio. He explains:

Maybe it’s harder to see from abroad but in Japan we are constantly working on new titles, like Dragon Quest. So it’s not only Final Fantasy, we’re always [trying] to add new titles to our company’s catalogue.

When asked about the difference between Western and Japanese gamers, Tanaka notes that perhaps Japanese are more used to their games being closer to comics and cartoons where things aren’t so strict. Whereas in Europe he says that gamers seem to ask for more realism. Sage Sundi, global online producer for Square Enix, notes that at the moment the market it changing as Western markets are becoming more familiar with Japanese cartoons through cartoon channels and that they are now more open to that style.

On the subject of next-gen consoles, Tanaka notes that up to the Sony PlayStation 2, all consoles had basically the same concept of how to deliver a gaming experience. Now, each console has different features that he feels are targeted at different audiences. So he notes that he has to make different titles for different platforms; and then those games should deliver what the audience of that platform is expecting. On a different note, Sundi says that online games might be different. He cites their cross-platform title FFXI and says that perhaps it is also purely the content within the title that they’re offering that attracts the player.

And speaking of MMO gaming, when asked if they plan to try to achieve the number of subscribers the dominant World of Warcraft has, Sundi notes that no, they do not have a clear target of 8 million, nor do they have the objective of getting WoW players onto their side. He notes that “poaching players” would be ineffective since WoW will just try to get those hardcore players back anyway. He says that they prefer to target a different market.

For the complete interview feel free to head to it via our “read” link below.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, when Hiromichi Tanaka, senior vice president of software development was asked if Square-Enix is too reliant on the immensely huge Final Fantasy brand, Tanaka said that despite the Final Fantasy in the title, if you look at the games that they create, you’ll see that every title has a different story, and each game has used a different engine, so things aren’t always similar.

He goes on to note that they don’t really have an answer to the question “What is Final Fantasy,” but then yes, they do admit that perhaps because the brand is so big, that they are reliant on it sometimes. He goes on to note that they to try to expand their portfolio. He explains:

Maybe it’s harder to see from abroad but in Japan we are constantly working on new titles, like Dragon Quest. So it’s not only Final Fantasy, we’re always [trying] to add new titles to our company’s catalogue.

When asked about the difference between Western and Japanese gamers, Tanaka notes that perhaps Japanese are more used to their games being closer to comics and cartoons where things aren’t so strict. Whereas in Europe he says that gamers seem to ask for more realism. Sage Sundi, global online producer for Square Enix, notes that at the moment the market it changing as Western markets are becoming more familiar with Japanese cartoons through cartoon channels and that they are now more open to that style.

On the subject of next-gen consoles, Tanaka notes that up to the Sony PlayStation 2, all consoles had basically the same concept of how to deliver a gaming experience. Now, each console has different features that he feels are targeted at different audiences. So he notes that he has to make different titles for different platforms; and then those games should deliver what the audience of that platform is expecting. On a different note, Sundi says that online games might be different. He cites their cross-platform title FFXI and says that perhaps it is also purely the content within the title that they’re offering that attracts the player.

And speaking of MMO gaming, when asked if they plan to try to achieve the number of subscribers the dominant World of Warcraft has, Sundi notes that no, they do not have a clear target of 8 million, nor do they have the objective of getting WoW players onto their side. He notes that “poaching players” would be ineffective since WoW will just try to get those hardcore players back anyway. He says that they prefer to target a different market.

For the complete interview feel free to head to it via our “read” link below.