Wada: Multiculturalism Key To Square Enix

NowGamer: Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada has talked about the company's strategy for growing into a global publisher, citing the emerging mix of ethnicities as a major factor...

[fastrez]

This game can't come soon enough, looks much better than the poor 11th game

[Brewski007]

The fact that its March for ps3 though is a pain. Still a good long wait for me as my pc wouldnt be powerful enough to run it.

I dont think they'll fully achieve globalisation based solely on the fact that its very hard to please everyone from all walks of life with EVERY game they release. They'll by no means fail and go bust as they'll always appeal to a good solid fan market globally, but its a big jump for them to aim for something thats very hard to achieve with trying to please everyone. .

[Nerd Alert]

Actually itlooks exactly the same, just in Hi-def.

And yes im a FF11 player so i can actually compare the game.

[Spydr07]

I completely agree. I mean, Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 4 looked exactly the same as well other than 4 being in HD.

[MisterNiwa]

Yeah and I agree aswell, Gran Turismo 5 and King of Fighters XIII look exactly the same just in 2D, and yeah I'm a Little Big Planet player, I can actually compare the game.

[bakasora]

I tell u what Wada: "It ain't working"

[Reibooi]

Simply put Wada is wrong.

When they try to make games for other people they fail. It's that simple. A good example is Dirge of Cerberus. The concept behind the game was good(learn about Vincent's background) However to try and appeal to the west they made a shooter and for that reason it failed. They didn't WANT to make a shooter they did it to appeal to another culture and it failed. Now on the flip side if you look at something like Vanquish which is also a Japanese shooter the difference is clear. Mikami WANTS to make a shooter and thus it looks to be turning into a great game.

They need to make what Japan wants at a very high quality and if it's really good people around the word will play it regardless of where they live. They don't need to change stuff or design stuff for the western market(as they did with Nier) This was the case in the old days of gaming and the only reason it changed is because western devs started to get better and the eastern devs lost confidence for some reason.

We don't need them to stop making the games they have always made. There is nothing other place to get those games. No western Dev is gonna make a game like Final Fantasy, Persona, Tales, Okami, ICO, The Last Guardian, Valkyria Chronicles and the list goes on and on.

They need to focus on Japan and if the game is good and it works then people will buy it regardless of their culture.

[Spenok]

I loved FFXI :( I will be honest and say it looks better. But thats no reason to go and bash a 7 year old game. :/

[darkcharizard]

lol!

[97gsx]

Strategy? I thought his idea of strategy was to destroy every good franchise they had.

[wissam]

Well said.

[IrishAssa]

There's always very stereotypical black people in their games though

[NeutralGamer]

So true : D

[Chaostar]

Is this some kind of lame excuse for dumbing down their games for western audiences in the search for greater profit margins?

[skyward]

But Square is now in charge of th franchise - at least they're letting the experts get on with it instead of tryig to make it appeal to the domestic (ie Japanese) market

[Colonel-Killzone]

LOL Wada.......

[Spydr07]

He's an idiot. I guess that's why the level of quality of SE games has improved so much since they started this focus...

They should just stick to what they know best: the Japanese culture. The quality wasn't even comparable. Nomura should be the head of SE.

[PirosThe4th]

Nomura should leave with hi team and make their own studio...

[gamejediben]

I think Wada is wrong.

I just picked up Final Fantasy Tactics off the Playstation store and I have to say that this game could not possibly be more "Japanese" but that is why it has so much charm. Sure, its kinda clunky and the translation is off but the game is 80 hours long and one of the finest examples of a strategy RPG around.

Back in 1997 Square (screw the "Enix" part) didn't think about how American audiences would react to the game. They just made it the best way they knew how. Back then, they were the kings of the RPG and every game they put out was successful both commercially and critically. But this whole "globalization" thing is ruining their company.

I loved Final Fantasy because it was Final Fantasy! I loved the airships and the active time battle systems and the little towns to explore. But now SE just put out FFXIII and I wouldn't even call it an FF game. Wada needs to get back to basics because they have seriously lost their way. The only thing that has me coming back to them is Tetsuya Nomura's games. That guy still has the magic. But I can't say the same about the rest of the company.

[IrishAssa]

I think your right, they don't get that there was nothing wrong with the games back then, why change it so dramatically and for the worst. Nomura seems to be getting this for Versus

[DA_SHREDDER]

This company is running itself to the ground. Hey does anyone know if the ps3 version of FF14 gonna have voice chat or not? I remember a FF14 saying there wasn't gonna be voice chat at all. Tisk, tisk, tisk.

[maxcer]

set up voice chat like any other MMO you might play, through skype or vent. and play on the superior platform for starters.

[maxcer]

when will japanese devs/pubs realize that having their own style is what makes us want to buy games developed in the east? yeah, some of them are a few years behind in their ways but why saturate the market with FPS' and TPS' when you can play to your strengths and do what you know best. Bayonetta did it very well, so did DMC4, MGS4, ToV, tekken6, SF4 and Lost Odyssey. FFXIV is a odd one because its an MMO, i can see the need to westernize that, even though it still has its own unique style.