Yoichi Wada is the CEO of Square Enix, making him a very important spokesperson for the company -- especially their well-established
Final Fantasy and
Dragon Quest franchises (the latter formerly under Enix's care). Wada took some time to speak with
CNet Japan about the latest generation of consoles. Besides saying that the PS3 is a media hub and a gaming console, he noted that only the Xbox 360 has appropriately touted itself as a gaming machine. The Wii, he says, well, "people aren't buying the Wii as a game machine, but as a toy." His comment about the PS3 was meant to say the system hasn't clearly defined what it is and that it should, soon.
He also goes on to say that Square Enix isn't just a
DQ and
FF company -- Wada says they make so many of those games because "... people keep asking for new installments." It's not entirely relevant to the PS3, but Square Enix is making a lot of fresh IPs in the coming year aside from the next entries in their beloved franchises. With his attitude, though, he seems hesitant to put them on the PS3. Hopefully people will understand that the PS3 is a gaming console, but has the capacity to be so much more. It's not confusing; it's just hard to believe it can do so much.
[via
Kotaku]
_thumbnail.jpg "Red Baron Arcade")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-05-2007 @ 4:58PM
_sean_ said...
よいちさん: "people aren't buying the Wii as a game machine, but as a toy."
I don't blame him, especially with the way 3rd party titles are selling for it. It's like people only buy the most intellectually devoid titles available. (see: Carnival Games)
Sqeenix shows nothing but love for the DS though, DQIV, FFIV soon and the spectacle that will be DQIX...S-E's DS lineup is great.
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12-05-2007 @ 5:11PM
Jason said...
Nice use of hiragana.
12-05-2007 @ 5:26PM
Zoesch said...
I find it ironic that FF has basically turned into a movie with small game elements between cutscenes so shouldn't we be telling Squenix that they need to define their game?
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12-05-2007 @ 7:05PM
Evan Brown said...
you are so wrong
12-05-2007 @ 8:11PM
JKPierce said...
I find it ironic that one is so willing to make a judgment on such a series, how they need to 'define' it, while not having enough knowledge of it to define it themselves.
12-05-2007 @ 9:32PM
Zoesch said...
And so the sarcasm was lost upon people.
Point being, FF transitioned from a standard fare JRPG to a more story-driven, cinematic experience (Which isn't at all bad) so why does Square fixate on Sony transitioning the PS brand from a simple games console to a media centric gaming device as a bad thing?
12-05-2007 @ 11:03PM
Joe said...
i don't understand why they are saying this. don't they have faith in their franchises? the psp install base has increased significantly thanks to them. Is it so hard to see that FF13 and versus 13 will do the same for the ps3... and kingdom hearts 3. they will contribute to ps3's momentum and vice versa. and most importantly, there is no way they won't make a significant amount of money on this franchise. I wish he hadn't made it sound like such a BURDEN to keep up these great franchises.
12-07-2007 @ 2:58AM
JKPierce said...
I'm all for sarcasm and dry humor, but... Damn, that was way out of left field.
12-05-2007 @ 5:27PM
MatthewJ said...
The Wii is doing pretty good for itself for a "gadget". Pretty much the best lineup of entirely creative and amazing games. To write it off is a big mistake and very naive.
The PS3 is starting to come into its own though and I think it definitely would have already if it wasn't for the various delays we've seen.
The 360, ugh, I just see it as a bulky, glitchy and underpowered PC.
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12-05-2007 @ 6:13PM
Urza said...
Lol.. you just called the 360 bulky.. so what's the PS3? It's bigger and heavier then the 360. Glitchy? What glitches are you talking about.. all the 360 versions of games that are cross platform work just fine.. hello washed out Oblivion and Rainbow 6. Hi buggy Assassins Creed. Oh yeah.. how long was the Cod4 multiplayer broken for PS3? Underpowered PC.. did I miss PCs having 3 core, or 4 core CPU to pass up the 360 3 core CUP?
Wait wait wait.. forget all that I didn't come here to talk about 360, I came here to check out PS3 news for my PS3. :)
Everything Wadda-san says is true, but then again, Ishizuka-san (Konami) has been saying similar things for almost a year now and Metal Gear still isn't any closer to being on the 360. So we'll still be able to play it on one blu-ray disc on the PS3.. I just home is ready and FF is Home compatible.. I want PS3 achievements!
12-05-2007 @ 5:30PM
Darkdrium777 said...
Hey dude, what about a "multi-media entertainment platform"? That good enough for you? Guess not.
Well, That's what it is. It's a PlayStation as well as a blu-Ray player, an internet platform, a multi-media juke box, a photo album, a wifi access point, and so on...
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12-05-2007 @ 5:43PM
Mike said...
Anybody want a definition????
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=playstation
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12-05-2007 @ 6:03PM
heavenlysword said...
Hmm, as far as I know PS3 is a gaming machine with tons of bonuses such as media hub.
I may need to slap the guy a few times to wake him up a bit.
oh and he's probably gonna get fired in a few days due to his lack of wisdom.
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12-05-2007 @ 6:09PM
ComicShaman said...
I'm getting deja-vu. Didn't we see this article a few weeks ago? Or something almost exactly the same?
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12-05-2007 @ 6:10PM
Budman said...
I look at my super, ultra, special, luck-filled, happiness inducing PlAystation the 3rd and the adventures of the 60gb memory fun as the below:
1.PS1
2.PS2
3.PS3
4.Mp3 player
5.CD Player
6.DVD Player
7.Whatever you call movies that you can play on a hardrive player.
8.Internet browser
9.Photo displayer thing with really cool slideshow effects.
I forgot what else. Gomen! (bows over and over again.)
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12-05-2007 @ 8:50PM
Galley said...
Don't forget Blu-ray Disc and SACD playback!
12-05-2007 @ 6:43PM
Otsego_Undead said...
" It's not confusing; it's just hard to believe it can do so much."
Agreed. I'm pretty sure no one who knows anything about video games is confused that the PS3 is a game system. It just happens to use Blu-ray discs, which JUST LIKE DVD can also be used to view movies. Everything else is just bonus. Its not the greatest media center, or web browser, but it has those capabilities. Its a friggin PS2 on steroids. I get it, why cant the CEO of Squeenix get it?
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12-05-2007 @ 6:49PM
slim_on said...
Did my comment get deleted? Or did it just never got posted?
Anyways, I just said that I think the world already know what a Playstation is and it doesn't need Sony to tell the public what it is in the first place and it doesn't change anything for the games however they market it.
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12-05-2007 @ 7:07PM
Dalrint said...
I can see what he means though. It's not about what the PS3 can do, it's about what people Believe the PS3 can do. 'It's just hard to believe it can do so much' is really an example of the problem.
From Square-enix's viewpoint, it doesn't need to do all the extra bells and whistles. It has to be a gaming platform, and convince customers it can be a gaming platform, so that they buy it. I bought my PS3 in June, and didn't buy a game for it until Ratchet and Clank came out. I used it as a dvd player.
If a game comes out on it and the 360...I get it for the 360. And I'm not in the minority there. And companies see that. For people that have thrown their cart behind Sony's horse, it's a worrying thing to see.
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12-05-2007 @ 7:21PM
Zombie Huggles said...
Square needs to shut up. I hate to be so blunt and crude, but the world knows what the PS3 is. PS1 played games and CDs in 1995, Playstation 2 played games, CDs, and DVDs in 2001, now the Playstation 3 plays games, Cds, DVDs, Bluray, and does a bunch of other stuff...but essentially they've always played games. People know that.
Now if the iPod suddenly started playing games, you may need extra press and commercials to communicate that, but if someone out there doesn't know that a PS3 plays games, they probably wouldn't have the mind-set to use it...so their not the demographic anyway...
But still, we know that Square, despite the Sony platform making them a lot of money, are worried that PS3 isn't selling well enough for their exclusives to make a splash. The Wii is a phenomenon, it's crazy that it sold so well. But so did Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls. There's over 5 million PS3's sold worldwide, and they're well on their way to reaching 10 million by March...maybe. So worry not, someone will buy your mega-production Final Fantasy 13.
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