I wonder if they would be willing to work with me? ;D

Somehow I doubt it since I got turned down for working with them last time I applied few years ago. lol

It will be hard to appeal to the Halo masses... but who knows?

Won't happen unless they bring titles to the Wii/360 or the PS3 pulls out of it's year long slump which seems doubtful.

Easy! Make games for consoles that actually sell in America! Stop making PlayStation exclusives and go multi-platform. More games and more known franchises on Xbox 360, Wii and DS. They're already beginning to do this with a few more DS games, but really...

If you want to sell more in America, embrace the systems that sell over here.

stick with what u do best, final fantasy games - and lots of them! :D

Somehow I can't see Squeenix compromising their totally japanese way of doing things, and that means they'll never really achieve the mass appeal of a Halo or even of a KotOR.

That suits me fine.

I think they should work a bit on the Front Mission series more.

Perhaps get into the whole multiplayer deal with footsoldiers, vehicles, and wansers running around blowing shit up in realtime.

That might sell lol.

Actually it would be pretty damned cool.

i thought Kingdom Hearts series was great start...

a coop between Disney and SquareEnix brought out something new with great storyline and characters...

if there are more projects that involve both US and Japan, i would DEFINITELY would be interested...

"Our strength is in role-playing games and fantasy titles,
so it is a bit difficult to appeal to the US market."

That's the status quo for every JRPG game!
Sorry Sqeenix, but seeking co-operation with a US publisher won't help much.
It doesn't even work vice versa, see Mistwalker and MS... so why bother!? Don't try to be a Jack of all trades, it won't work!

Western gamers aren't so different from "eastern gamers", they just need to focus on things we can all appreciate, like zombies, dirtbikes and titties. We're all human here.

@icepick314: Agreed, I do think that KH was excellent and seemed to kinda open up the "minds" of a lot of new players to the SE franchise.

What I think is instead of panicking and looking for a "partner" perhaps they should think about fixing the company from the inside since apparently there are a lot of "issues" and such with how things are done.

Although I still stand by the idea about Front Mission mass MP game. Use the lost planet from behind the back view, or peraps allow players to even switch into a fps view. Oh man imagine if they teamed up with InfinityWard to make it. It would be the most awesome and fucking INSANE experience ever.

The could help out if they started releasing and re-releasing their games for the 360 in the American market. Even after the Wii catches up to the 360 numbers in America, they are still suffereing from their double-edged sword that is the Nintendo platform and people aren't buying third party titles.

Also, start releasing more of your games here would help. We cant buy them if you wont sell them. We are finally starting to get the odd Dragon Quest titles and the like, but how come we havent seen most of the Mother stuff? Oh and dont forget those International Editions. Our fanboys are just as stupid as the Japanese fanboys and are more than willing to buy the same game three different times as long as you give a new twist.

Try that with your currently existing content first and see what it does to your numbers before worrying about some new American-centric IP that will probably be overly violent

Dear Square-Enix. No Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest FPS spin-offs please.

They want 50% of their income to be from the US? Well, instead of increasing their income in north america, maybe they should take the easy route and decrease their income in Japan?

At this point, I wouldn't be too surprised if more square fanboys are getting sick of the cockteasing with a FF7 Remix.

I dunno about entering the American market.....after Lulu from FFX I don't think they can make boobs much bigger......

Can we say Square Enix Electronic Arts? AGAIN?

The obvious choice would be to go multi-platform. Such a big increase in market share will not come from Project Sylpheed and the like.

Oh.. and if they actually want to increase their profits.. maybe they should take the easy route out, and start letting Nintendo release their NES and SNES titles on the virtual console? I know I'd be more than willing to buy a whole big fat wad of them, if they were released there, instead of being remade and released on the DS, often in ways that somehow make them inferior due to design issues.

You know.. like Mario RPG. And FF6. And the original, NES Dragon Quest games.. And maybe even go above and beyond and release an online-multiplayer Secret of Mana. That'd be pretty sweet, since it's 3 players anyway.

But, I guess they're actually afraid of making money on anything that isn't Final Fantasy 7.

i remember when final fantasy 7 opened the floodgates to american releases of RPGs, and people in games media far and wide were considering the genre officially viable (even popular) in the states. here we are 10 years later and square enix is still trying to figure out how to crack the US market in a considerable way. i suppose in the subsequent years RPGs didn't take over the market as advertised.

I dont think it would be all that hard really,if they wanted to make thier games sell better they would have to stop making the lead characters transgender metrosexuals as well as making the games more action based.

I happen to love Jrpgs, but the biggest complaints I have heard over the years are the characters and the lack of action. Unfortunantly that makes americans out to be muscleheads who dont look past the shallow items,which isnt really true but its about all I can go on at the moment.(keep in mind im an american as well.)

dont the final fantasy series sell well in the US?

or are they looking for a halo/GTA type game that no one in japan cares about

Wow, they would have to pull off something spectacular to own the US the way they own Japan. I'm thinking a new IP is the only way they're ever gonna manage it, a westernised one. Sure make an RPG/fantasy type game, but try having a lead character who isnt a spikey haired young boy. I'm not gonna elaborate here, too much effort.

Does anyone know if they have a US or Europe based studio at all? I'm thinking that a studio placed in a western culture base might be able to relate to those markets better.

if they want more american $ they had better go multi format due to the ps3's pathetic sales stateside!

@Witzbold: Ever tried "Ring of Red" (PS2)? It played like "Shining Force", you had turn based moves on the map, an then real time battles, and the AFWs (Armoured Footed Walkers or whatever it meant) were accompanied by infantry, all set in an altenate 1960s.

Not really a MMO-action-baller-"Front Mission", but a very fun game.

MAKE NEW WANZER GAMES.

Sorry for the double post: I think they should make a game with interspecies Lesbian sex. That will sell. The all deciding cut scene should have a commercial break, of course.^^

50% within a few years? No way. If they truly change their business model I could see it eventually happening, but 5 - 10 years would be a more realistic estimate (but nothing is official until Patcher weighs in). I can't imagine them taking the FPS hardcore type route with games, so I'm thinking they'll go more casual. A lot of people have mentioned Kingdom Hearts, but even with the Disney appeal, that's a relatively niche title in the U.S. and not accessible enough to the casual gamer. But it's going in the right direction (as far as profit). Could a more casual Kingdom Hearts become a huge hit? I think so. Could Square come up with 5 or 10 more franchises that would appeal to the American market within the next 3 years? Doubtful. Which brings me full-circle -- half of the revenue stream coming from America won't happen in 3 years and I'd be surprised if it ever happened at all. Why can't these corporations just continue doing what they do and doing it well, like Jack Prescott (that Prescott reference will most likely be lost on anyone living outside of the Midwest)?

@FranUnFine: Ring Of Red? Could port that to the 360...

...sorry, that was too easy to pass up

@FranUnFine: Yeah I had that game, I need to buy it again. Since Im a big strategy fan. It was done by konami. Too bad its so damned hard to find nowdays. Id love to play it again.

@PaddyStardust: *lol* (I have a 360, I still think it's funny.)

@Witzbold: Too bad I sold mine, then. ;)

But it was a PAL version, anyway. In fact, I just bought a new old PS2 - this time modded, because not all the Ninja/Samurai games and ShmUps came to Europe.

Role-playing games and fantasy titles started in the US. What is he smoking? It's very popular here.

I'm not sure just making 360 versions would necessarily help. Otherwise Square would be rolling in PS2 derived income from the U.S.

Personally I think they should stick to what they do best, since they do it better than most (when they stop with the spin-offs and the remakes.) If they want to take on the US gamer market they would have to make many changes in the kinds of games they make. Changes that would not go over well in Japan. The actual "gamer" market in Japan and America is so different I think that you couldn't make games for both and win both.

On the other hand they might be able to win with casual games. They are already dipping into casual games so I could easily see them going that route. But I can't see them being able to create that much of a jump in profits with casual games alone, since casual games tend to be relatively cheap in comparison to other kinds of games, and casual gamers are the kind of people who buy games perhaps once or twice a year. (If they buy them at all. Most casual gamers prefer free.)

Either way I see them losing. One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush as they say...

Put FFXIII on 360! That game alone would boost there percentages tenfold.

So, basically what he is saying is that they will start focusing on the western 360 market?

Or are they going to push the PS3 until it has a bigger marketshare?

Sorry, I have to say this... FF7 remake on the PS3!!

I'm guessing Square eventually will but as a last resort.

Well, I suppose the first thing they need to do is break their own mold a bit. The American audience has shown that they certainly do enjoy RPGs and games in a Fantasy setting, but they might have to mix things up a bit. A good start would be different types of characters. I kind of have grown tired of the whiny little punks that have become the average protagonist in RPGs these days. Would it kill them to have a character who just sucks it up and gets the job done without having a ridiculous amount of emotional baggage? And who actually look, you know...masculine?

What people above have said about multi-platform. I'll buy your games when you release them on a platform I own in my market. We're still waiting for a release of Odin Sphere (I know it's not Squenix) in Europe. Where are the proper J-RPGs for 360 and Wii? Blue Dragon is all we have on the two biggest selling consoles of the generation.

Mr.Maruyama left a big hole in Square-Enix in this kind of western relationship.

I dunno. I remember there was a big hubbub over Dragon Warrior going action-adventure rather than traditional JRPG (reminded of it due to Bashcraft's interview). Seems like if they went that route, maybe with a new IP or a spin off, it'd get better market share in the US. I love the stories of the various FF games, sure, but the grinding and repetetive gameplay still kills me.

Aaaand bring on the casual games. *face palm*

@NoBullet: Role-playing games and fantasy titles started in the US. What is he smoking? It's very popular here.

True, but the Japanese are much more into role playing and fantasy games than English speaking countries are. Just look at the effort they put into cosplay. Apart from mardi gras, cosplay is unheard of in my country, but you can't walk through parts of Japan at lunch time without seeing it.

I also think the whole US market is geared much more towards action and sports titles. If Square want to appeal as much to US gamers as they do to Japanese gamers, they probably need to switch genres.

I just hope they don't become another Sega in the attempt. That'd be heart breaking.

Personally, if it's

a) not turn based

b) better advertised

then yes, they'd get my money

Americans (and "Westerners" in general, although Japan is technically a Western nation) are raised to both expect and, by extension, want different things out of their art. Verisimilitude and Immediacy in particular. The greatest American artists are praised for their ability to accurately mimic the real world and engage the consumer quickly and directly (Spielberg and Twain are great examples).
This desire for immediacy is sometimes misinterpreted (as it has been in a few of the above comments) as a desire for more action, when in reality it is a desire for greater control. When I tried to introduce some of my more mainstream friends to the Final Fantasy series they complained mostly (almost exclusively) about the turn-based battles. They didn't like being separated from the character; they preferred to be in direct control. Compare for example the differences between American made RPGs like The Elder Scrolls and Neverwinter Nights (okay CANADIAN made, huge difference), and Japanese RPGs. Western ones emphasize the player's control over his avatar and environment (oh, and the Sims too), and Japanese ones instead pride themselves on placing down a unique system by which the player moves his avatar through the gameworld. To an American not used to this way of doing things, it seems largely arbitrary, even unfair.
An even bigger (and perhaps even, unsavory) hurdle for Square-Enix is the rather sizable religious/political/cultural gap. Take for instance our approaches to nature. With its strong Shinto roots, Japanese art tends to favor a more harmonious, even subservient relationship with the natural world. Americans on the other hand, particularly those (like myself) with strong pro-market views, tend to regard nature as a repository of natural resources. And individuals like myself make up a huge portion of the tech-savvy, science-fiction/fantasy fanbase from which Square-Enix draws its American dollars.
Can Square-Enix get over those hurdles? Sure, if they really try. They're already doing a rather good, but not overly spectacular job of it. It's mostly a matter of the proper men and materials. Appealing to a new fanbase while not pissing off the old ones really isn't that hard. And, in the end, the best way to insure success is simple and widely-known. Take a group of likeable characters, set against an exotic backdrop, and tell an interesting story packed with thrilling conflict. Easy.

Maybe if they'd release their game in North America I could give them my money.

Also release good games please! Square still owe me like 10h of my life after I tried FF8. I wanted to kill myself.

I stopped playing FF9 after i could not stand the big crying blob anymore.

In japan you could label a can of crap FF and it would sell. Maybe we are a bit more critic here?

I think the US just has a slightly negative perception of JRPGs. Think about it for a sec. How many times have you heard JRPGs linked to anime? Now how many times have you seen anime linked to nerds? Now ask yourself, do you would want to be called a nerd? See its all just fear of losing social status. Nobody wants to be the guy all the l33t Haloz players all bag on.

Want more money, Square? How about bringing over Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix. Everyone outside of Japan totally got screwed on that one.

They'll get my money if they make ANOTHER CHRONO GAME. GOD PLEASE!

They want my money? Well they better start releasing some Final Fantasy games for my 360.

I think the Squeenix VP is a bit in the minority.

Square-Enix's fundamental business lies in the knowledge of how the Japanese VG consumers react to their products.

While it would be easy to surmise that he knows a lot more about what the American VG consumer wants (through blogs, bitching, whining for more pretty games), it would require a fundamental shift in how Squeenix deals with their games. Would they want to cater the bulk of their consumers (Japanese) or cater to the small slice of vocal 'good-graphic'-lovin Americans (non-Japanese)?

Granted, with as much money as they can afford with pretty CG, it wouldn't make much business sense to spend a god-awful amount of money on that small slice (as opposed to Micro$oft's 'the bigger the sinkhole, the bigger the mindshare' tactics with the Xbox division).

M$ can afford to do that because they have a vicious stranglehold in another industry. Squeenix has nothing to stand on if spending a lot of money on the non-Japanese VG consumer slice does a marginal effect on the company's bottom line.

@StillLee: I could have sworn the KHII Final Mix was the US version, since the J peeps are the ones who usually get screwed.

A western studio with creative control might be one of the only ways to break the cultural barrier.

How about a sequel to Secret of Mana that plays similarly, has co-op, and also has a decent enough story? How about Chrono Break? How about selling some fucking games on that Virtual Console thing you signed up for? How about creating some original gameplay that isn't turn-based and is actually fun and isn't a grind fest? How about anything that isn't related to Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest at all? Enix has IPs that aren't Dragon Quest ya know so how about some more E.V.O., Wonder Project J, Robotrek, Illusion of Gaia, ActRaiser, and Terranigma?

Really, Square-Enix just needs to quit dragging their feet about originality. Get to creating some fucking games. You both had such a great time doing that in the SNES era and now all you do is fart around with FF and DQ stuff. Lame.

I know a few people have mentioned it here already, but the rather obvious thing to do would be to start releasing games for more than the PS3... Silly Squeenix!

@MikeSheehan: They are, the DS and Wii.

If one more person mentions Halo.......

The problem with Squenix is that in America, they're just another Japanese company. American gamers are huge into Final Fantasy (even a lot of non-nerds like it) but the rest of the Squenix portfolio is judged solely on its own merits. It's not like in Japan where Squenix is a huge deal, and every Squenix game is a must-buy. We have our own version of developer-mass-worship here, a little company named Blizzard. Ever heard of it? As an aside, remember how many FPS's Blizzard has made? None. Yet they're consistently the best-selling developer studio out there. Hmmmm....

Also, FF7 on the PS3. It will sell a billion copies. But no, we'd rather remake every single other FF title EXCEPT the one that made us a household name in America. Go figure. Brain dead executives.

@Witzbold: I really wish they'd do more Front Mission games. That's a great idea. I'm a total sucker for anything mecha.

I agree with everyone saying that they need to open up their market to more than the PS3. The 360 is struggling as is to get more RPG's - Mistwalker is making a good try, and Eternal Sonata is a great addition, but there's plenty of room for Square to start pushing a few titles that way.

And I can only imagine the things Square would do with the Wii if they bothered to try.

@ビッグ ボス: Well maybe if they hire me I can help turn shit around.

Although personally Id much rather help out MS in Japan, since they fucking need it. Sony and SE will be fine on their own as they always have been.