The “business” side of the video game business can often be boiled down to sales figures on a chart, resulting in some companies maintaining a cautious (and at times overly-calculated approach). For Square Enix however, their attitude is big risk equals big reward!
Exec Phil Rogers echoed this sentiment in a recent interview, as he outlined the company’s plans to bet on the online gaming market as their future cornerstone. “You have to take risks to innovate and create great new gaming experiences. What we won’t do is stand still. Online games are a way to facilitate that ongoing relationship with the player within our game worlds, where we can provide regular content updates, engaging gameplay mechanics, and a deep sense of community.” He says.
In their newest financial report, Enix revealed that those online games with persistent worlds (where the environment continues on even after you’ve logged out) will become their focus, including a new title based on Deus Ex . Rogers touts the sheer size of the upcoming game’s development, suggesting it eclipses that of anything they’ve worked on in the past. Calling it an “…exciting project,” he claims it is “…potentially the most ambitious game we’re working on across the western studios and we’re looking forward to sharing more information about it later this year.”
But Square Enix isn’t the first to take risks in the industry on unproven properties. Tune in tomorrow as I showcase others in gaming’s past who did just that…and succeeded in a big way.