Square Enix recently posted the English translation of its 2nd quarter financial report, and there are some interesting takeaways. The company discussed a variety of topics, from the state of the MMO market to the relative failure of its smart device games during the quarter. However, Square Enix also provided details about its future plans for supporting the Switch, including previously mentioned plans for revitalizing older IPs for the platform.
Switch Support
Company President Yosuke Matsuda and CFO Kazuharu Watanabe praised the Switch for its sales performance and presence in the gaming industry. Citing the system as being perfect for their mid-size games, Matsuda and Watanabe said they plan on being “proactive in our development efforts” when asked how they would be approaching development for it in the future.
The company plans on allocating its resources to suit the particular strengths of each platform, with plans of bringing assets from the company’s back catalog, new IP, and “rebooting past titles” to the system. Square Enix’s repertoire consists of a wide variety of franchises, including SaGa, Xenogears, Star Ocean, and the Mana series, among some of the more well-known ones, but no indications were given of which IP might be remade.
New Releases
More announcements are on the way, though not in the near future. Most of Square Enix’s profits came from Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age this year, with noteworthy contributions from other existing assets such as Final Fantasy XIV.
One question asked of Matsuda and Watanabe related to the high production content balance compared to the previous year, when DQXI was already released. Matsuda and Watanabe responded by saying there would be several new titles announced between the start of 2018’s third fiscal quarter and 2019’s E3, with development already underway for these titles in Japan and overseas. Matsuda and Watanabe are quite confident in the quality and appeal of these titles as well, claiming Square Enix will realize substantial profits from them in the fiscal year they are released, rather than the following year, 2020.
Struggles and Opportunities
Square Enix did face some losses in this fiscal year as well, mostly in the smart device arena, which Matsuda and Watanabe claim was due to low quality and inadequate research. The company is also planning on expanding its digital offerings and existing content for big sellers like Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XIV to accommodate demand and take advantage of changes in digital market trends. One other way Matsuda and Watanabe said they plan on combating poor mobile sales is by continuing the practice of beta testing to ensure a final product is bug-free and actually fun to play before release as well as expanding into the mobile AR field.
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