Here’s one for the “severely unexpected” files. In an interview with Nikkei Business Online, Square Enix President Yoichi Wada has talked about the need for the industry to innovate, commenting that if there’s not next gen “titles that differ from traditional games, the industry is in trouble”. Wada helpfully offers no suggestions on what to do about this, only stating that the change need not be immediate, and that his company are “financially prepared to handle change”. So financially prepared, it seems that he dropped this little bombshell:
The strategy behind Nintendo and the iPod, to create a new environment based on hardware, is completely valid. But, this is impossible if you don’t have experience making hardware. This is one of the reasons Square Enix will collaborate with Taito, a company that produces physical hardware. In our talks with Taito, ideas for an actual physical product have come up. In any case, we will be releasing some ‘thing.’
For one, it’s not really a collaboration if you own the company. Taito’s been a wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix for almost a year now.
Secondly, I’d put money on the fact that this won’t be a console. Sqaure Enix has a lot of pull over the market - it produces both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, both of which are major, major sellers worldwide. But I can’t see them using that to put a console out. Console hardware is a risky venture - just ask Microsoft and Sony, or, for that matter, Taito, who attempted to put out a CD based console in 1992, only to have it never see store shelves.
The praise for Nintendo - and references to the DS earlier in the interview - could suggest that they’re working on a handheld, but with the success of Square Enix games on the DS, which is still unbeatable in Japan, it seems unlikely.
However, Taito are still into making arcade games, though they haven’t made one since Battle Gear 4 last year, and that was a good month or so before there was even any suggestion that they would be bought out. So, I’m guessing this is where they’ll be pushing new hardware, which could be very interesting. Sure, the arcades are all but dead outside of Japan, but maybe that’s the innovation - something to actually get Western gamers to pay attention to the few arcades that remain again.
[via GameSpot]