Square Enix to Shift its Focus to Global Market Success
According to the company’s latest annual report, Square Enix will alter its emphasis from creating products that sell well in Japan to developing titles that do well in other regions. Square Enix, seeing the growing demand for video games in the West, has realised it must produce titles for audiences all around the globe rather than only in Japan.
Square Enix to Shift its Focus to Global Market Success
Square Enix, as a Japanese firm, has always prioritised its own market above others. But circumstances have changed, and as Japan’s population shifts, Square Enix is realising it has to think about how games flourish in every market.
Square Enix to Shift its Focus to Global Market Success
Square Enix presented a financial report outlining its future goals and strategies for achieving those goals. The research describes Japan’s “greying demographic,” or ageing population, and the need of making games that appeal to a wide audience rather than simply Japanese gamers because of high production costs. As Square Enix points out, it is no longer viable to recover production expenses, much alone earn a profit, if its games are only selling well in Japan because of the high cost of making games nowadays.
The report also gives special attention to the company’s best-selling games worldwide, including the Kingdom Hearts series (with 36 million units sold), the Final Fantasy series (with 173 million units sold), and, most notably, the Dragon Quest series (with 85 million units sold), which has been a smash hit in Japan since its inception but hasn’t fared as well elsewhere.
Square Enix to Shift its Focus to Global Market Success
More people than ever before can play the newest games the moment they are released throughout the world. Games like SEGA’s Like a Dragon series, which used to take months or even years to reach audiences outside of Japan, are now being released all at once. This obviously requires more work, since the creators will need to consider a worldwide audience while they craft the game, and they will also need to work on the game’s translation and voice acting simultaneously.
With instantaneous access to games through download and streaming, rather of waiting for a physical copy to be sent, developers are putting in more time and effort than ever before to make games ready for release, and demand is unlikely to decrease.
Square Enix to Shift its Focus to Global Market Success
It remains to be seen how this may affect the future course of Square Enix’s initiatives. Due to the fact that many of Square Enix’s largest titles have already achieved considerable success outside of its home borders, this concentration may not have as noticeable of an effect on the developer’s operations as it would for other firms. There will be more Square Enix games coming to the West, so fans shouldn’t worry.
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