Square Enix Announces First iPad Game (It’s Shogi)

Square Enix, one of the biggest Japanese publishers to back the iPhone, is also working with the iPad. In fact, they just announced their first iPad title, Morita Shogi HD.

As the name suggests, it’s a shogi or Japanese chess game that uses the Morita Logic engine for artificial intelligence. Taito updated their iPhone title for the iPad with sharper graphics (for the pieces?), multi-touch controls, and speedier move selection for the computer.

“With iPad’s gorgeous screen, Morita Shogi HD App is the closest you can come to a genuine Japanese chess match without actually breaking out a real shogi board and tiles,” said Taito’s senior producer Akihiro Nara.

OK, a high(er?) definition version of Shogi isn’t that amazing, but seeing Square Enix jump on the iPad bandwagon is notable. Perhaps, we’ll see a HD version of Chaos Rings, their love and hate themed RPG developed by Media Version.