Besides major titles like Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III, we donāt know much about what else Square Enix has in store as far as major console games go. That said,Ā according to company president Yosuke Matsuda,Ā who recently spokeĀ with Nikkei, they have quite a few surprises comingāwith one beingĀ especially for JRPG fans.
Nikkei mention in the interview that it seems like this is the year that weāll see more titles on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One from Square Enix.
āAt the moment, we have major titles such as Dragon Quest Heroes and Final Fantasy Type-0 HD,ā Matsuda replies. āIn 2015, I believe we will offer a vast number of high-end games in both the domestic market and overseas. Now that weāve already announced Final Fantasy XV, weĀ will also revealĀ information on [another]Ā JRPG. I believe we have a bit of a surprise in store for this year.ā
The Square Enix CEO is then asked to share a little more on this so-called āsurpriseā.
āI canāt say much for now, but itās a JRPG for consoles,ā Matsuda tells Nikkei. āAlso, our western studios have the latest Tomb Raider title with Rise of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 3, and many other titles that I believe we can have high expectationsĀ of. For now, weāre preparing all kinds of things for E3.ā
Nikkei asks if weāll also see more in this yearās Tokyo Game Show.
āOf course, weāll have plenty to show off at Tokyo Game Show,ā he responds. āIn addition, this year weāll release titles for arcades and PC as well. Weāre especially putting effort into PC online games, and weāre thinking about developments for consoles, too. In the midst of that, weāre also putting energy into games eSports-like games, smartphone games, and live-type multiplayer games.ā
He continues, āWhen it comes to eSports, if there are the core [games] that pros get into for the prize money, then are also the more relaxed eSports out there. Our companyās European studio offers Nosgoth, which is currently managed as an open-beta, and it is highly reputed by the western players, so I believe weād like to continue growing it into a more hardcore eSports title. Even the foreign pro teams out there have been noticing it.ā
Matsuda also says that in Japan, PCĀ willĀ seeĀ Lord of Vermillion Arena and Gunslinger Stratos Reloaded, which originated in arcades. He hopes to see this continue and become something where spectators and players can get together and be excited over Japanese-style eSports; however, in the order to do so, he feels that they need to come up with something that matches the Japanese lifestyle to fit the Japanese players. So far, he feels that mobile devices might suit that style best.
Nikkei asks if by Japanese-style eSportsĀ Matsuda meansĀ something along the lines of the lively feeling you get from the arcade centers.
āNot only arcade games, but I do believe arcade games bring out that lively feeling as well,ā says Matsuda. āHowever, rather than the conventional arcades, I believe that if we can dig deeperĀ into what modern arcades are about, we can findĀ a good affinity betweenĀ that and eSports. Thereās still a lot we need to do.ā
Finally, Nikkei asks if he could share his ambitions for 2015.
Matsuda replies: āIf I were to put it simply, it would be a ābox of surprisesā. I believe weād like to go all out and offer as many things full of fun and surprises. And Iād like for us to maintain a development system that can continuously bring out this ābox of surprisesā. For the year 2015, as far as HD game titles go, ourĀ Japanese and western development studios will increase their lineup by a vast amount, so Iād like you all to keep an eye out for that.ā
Published: Mar 17, 2015 05:20 am