Final Fantasy 14 has re-focused Square Enix, 'games as a service' approach doesn't appeal, says Rogers
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn has been hailed as a key success by Square Enix, following the company's most recent financials. Now, CEO of US and Europe Phil Rogers has stressed that the game has re-focused the publisher, but that ultimately the notion of games as services doesn't resonate with gamers.
We reported on Square Enix's financials last week. They showed that Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn has exceeded the company's expectations.
Speaking with GI.biz, Rogers said, "There's lots of talk in the industry about games becoming services - to be honest, as an expression this doesn't always resonate with people, especially gamers. For us online is a way to facilitate how we're looking at the word service to build on a game. So we're focusing on regular content updates, engaging gameplay mechanics, replayability and deep community."
During the company's financial report, Square highlighted a focus on online experiences moving forward, such as Legacy of Kain off-shoot Nosgoth, among other projects.
On that proposition, Rogers continued, "The emphasis in the financials was specifically to point out some new online games we're working on."
Nosgoth was called out and Heroes and Generals was another worthy mention.
"Now these are very particular types of games being free-to-play and PC based, but there are core principles here which apply to all our games, whether we're looking at our AAA console games which are a major part of our future strategy, smartphone and tablet games and PC games," he said.
Does this mean a shift away from the console market? The site asked Rogers this very question, to which he replied: "That is a great question and I'm sure the question every company is asking themselves.
"You have to stand by what you believe in and we have to believe in quality and engagement as two key measurements to succeed, so we take comfort in the fact that we can develop critically acclaimed games which deliver a deep level of engagement."
What do you make of the above? Should Square focus on making more capital in the online space to help drive its console business? Let us know what you think below.