Square Enix is looking to explore cross-media adaptations of the Final Fantasy series as a means of further diversifying its sources of earnings.
Speaking during a Q&A session on the occasion of the company’s Q2 Fiscal Year 2023/4 Financial Results Briefing, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu stated the publisher is open to a multifaceted approach to leveraging its IP. The company wants to explore the possibility of cross-media adaptations of the Final Fantasy franchise as a means of further diversifying its sources of earnings.
During the briefing, it was pointed out to Kiryu that his peers in the industry have adapted their IP for the big and small screens. He was asked about Square Enix’s plans of pursuing similar adaptations to other media for Final Fantasy as way of growing the franchise’s fan base. In his response, Kiryu mentioned that he wants to put Final Fantasy and its other major IP in front of a global audience, representing diverse age demographics, through whatever channels that may allow it. He said that he hopes to include specific initiatives of this sort in the company’s forthcoming medium-term business plan.
In response to another question regarding the difficulty the company faces in controlling the efforts of its development function, which has spread to cover many bases, Kiryu stated that it has less to do with Square Enix’s development function and more to do with the numerous entries in its lineup. He is looking to structure the company’s development function so that it is able to ensure higher quality from each title by slimming down its overall lineup.
As for why the publisher has been unable to slim down its lineup of titles up until now, Kiryu explained that, as the needs of consumers and the types of devices available have diversified, the company has tried to attain success by developing a wide variety of titles instead of focusing only on a select few. He believes that this has resulted in the splintering of the company’s resource pool.
Meanwhile, there have been clear winners and losers among the major titles released recently in the gaming
market, and it has become possible for even independent titles to make their presence felt. The market is increasingly polarized
between blockbuster and indies titles, but Kiryu feels that Square Enix has developed many titles that fell somewhere in the middle. He stated that, going forward, he wants to make clearer distinctions in this regard.
