Casual games are all the rage right now, but Square Enix isn’t moving away from its core audience to make them.
With the economy not getting any better, a lot of game developers and publishers are adjusting their business plans in order to stay afloat. One company that isn’t planning to abandon its roots, though, is Square Enix. At least, that’s what Mike Fischer, recently-appointed president and CEO of the company’s U.S. division, said.
Speaking to Gamasutra in a pretty lengthy interview, Fischer explained that Square Enix is still devoted to creating games for “gamers”, though he went on to explain that the current definition of “gamers” is “very subjective”, especially based on this example:
“… Right now television networks are canceling soap operas because so many of the official soap opera audiences are playing games. If they’re playing more games an hour than a college student, who is the gamer?”
Fischer makes an interesting point, but fans of Square Enix’s games shouldn’t start to panic. Social games are certainly popular right now, but Fischer isn’t certain the trend will last. Meanwhile the company has “the fantastic lineup like you have here of Final Fantasy XIII-2, Deus Ex, Hitman, Tomb Raider, Heroes of Ruin, and that gives me a stable platform that allows me to do a little bit more risky, a little bit more creative opportunities.”
The full interview covers a number of different topics, including what games Square Enix has planned for the future, how it works with other studios on certain projects, and why it develops console games in the fashion it does. Head on over to Gamasutra to check Fischer’s opinions out.
