In an interview with Ars Technica, Square boss Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada has said that in the future, post-FFXIII world, Square games will be much more timely when making the jump from Japan to the West.

“For the last three years, we have worked very hard to close the gap between Japanese release timing and North American and European release timing,” he said. “We tried to go for the global, simultaneous release [of FFXIII] but that was something that was inconceivable, in a sense. But we have been able to close that release window gap to three months. For us, it was a very big step forward.”

A flat world: Ars interviews Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada [Ars Technica]

At a recent financial briefing in which Square Enix announced that sales were up 33.2 per cent and profits dropped 55.7 per cent, Square Enix Yoichi Wada stated “progress is good” on the international version of FFXIII. Currently, it is possible to get the multi-platform game out this financial year, which ends in April 2010. Of course, this is not dependent merely on the game’s development and there will be an official announcement at a later date.

No clarification on whether Wada was discussing both the North American and European version or not.

スクウェア・エニックス、「2010年3月期 第2四半期決算説明会」を開催 [GAME Watch]

“What’s going to be important for the next five years is not going to be the innovations in the specifications of the hardware or software,” Wada said, “But the billing… the revenue model and how this can be firmly rooted among the users — that’s when the next breakthrough will come.”

The Square-Enix chief is high on the prospect of paid network games. The executives on the panel, which included the top men at Capcom, Namco Bandai, and Konami, discussed many aspects of gaming’s present and near future. None proposed the perfect new payment model that Wada is seeking.

The executives did note that there is a challenge billing for full games that are sold digitally. Namco Bandai president Shin Unozawa said “it is inconceivable” to think people will pay full price—$US59—to download games. That needs to be figured out, he said. “There is a fear there…It’s quite frightening to think about changing to a different model.” He said that the profits in digital downloads are not there to support the today’s scale of big-game development. That said, he referenced his company’s successful practice of selling Pac-Man on mobile platforms for low prices.

“There doesn’t have to be one title, one price,” Wada said, saying that some consumers might be willing to pay smaller fees to play games for set amounts of time, rather than paying a full price for a full game.

Spinning off all of the pricing comments, Shuhei Yoshida, head of worldwide studios for Sony Computer Entertainment, said that he, at least, has seen small signs of success. He cited the financial and creative successes of small development teams creating and selling games through the Sony PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and the Wii.

“From students there may be people coming up with several hundred thousand hits [sales] per title.”
The proliferation of the App store and Facebook in 2009 was also impactful, Yoshida said. It connected more people and allowed gaming and non-gaming experiences to become more of a service to users.

Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto said that he likes that it is easy for fans of mobile games to show them to each other. He likes the idea of word of mouth making a game popular. So, he was asked, is Monster Hunter is it possible on iPhone? “Let’s pass that question,” he said.

Both Square-Enix chief Wada and Namco Bandai president Namco’s Unozawa denied that the global economic crisis was hurting the gaming business or any other sector of the gaming industry. Hasuhiro Tsujimoto agreed, saying that, like the music industry, success is based on the quality of a new release.

Wada also raised a concern about demographics. He said that the Japanese market needs to address the sense that it isn’t cool for adults in his country to play video games. He believes that gaming while you’re older is seen as cool in the West, but not in Japan.

The future? The future.

The PS3 already has motion controls with the SIXAXIS, but will be getting more exact motion controls with the wand-like controller. Microsoft’s answer to motion controls is Natal.

Square Enix’s Wada thinks the impact of motion controls might be “small”. In an interview with The Financial Times, the exec said, “Present game machines already have a lot of functions: they are a network terminal, a Blu-ray or DVD player, and a gaming machine. Compared to these three pillars, the [new motion] controllers are quite limited, so the impact may be small. They are an extension of the gaming function.”

This being said, Wada calls Natal’s user interface “fantastic” and he thinks it will become standard.

According to Wada, the machine that started the recent motion controller craze, the Wii, will be getting a new version in 2011 and possibly a new controller — we’re thinking this new controller with combine the traditional Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus into a single controller.

Games groups eye next level [FT]

Speaking at tonight’s Final Fantasy XIII event in Tokyo, Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada has said “In the past, it’s taken a year or half a year to release our games abroad, but this time we are aiming for an international release this Spring”.

Note he says “international”, not American, giving hope to Europeans that they may actually see the game at the same time as Americans.

Those hoping for something a little more precise than “Spring”, you won’t have long to wait; Square promised that the finer details on the international release of the game are “upcoming”.

Kotaku AU Note: And of course, by “Spring” he really means “Autumn”.

The businessman claims to have spent 30 hours over the course of four days after Dragon Quest IX was released this past July. But for Wada, it’s not simply a matter of “I like videos games”. The exec wants to see how gaming and gameplay has changed, what makes a hit and to think about how titles are made.

That means besides willingly taking a pay cut, Yoichi Wada claims to actually play the games. So imperial. So hot.

スクエニ和田洋一社長「ドラゴンクエスト９、発売日から4日間で約30時間を費やした。」 [オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

According to Square Enix honcho Yoichi Wada, the cheaper US$299 PS3 will spur game sales, but not enough for the company to revise this year’s financial forecast.

“In terms of the impact (the PS3 cut) will have on this financial year’s earnings, I don’t think there will be a major difference,” explained Wada. “But I expect there to be a big impact from next year.”

Next year being when Final Fantasy XIII is released exclusively on the PS3 in Japan?

UPDATE 2-Square Enix sees big impact from PS3 cut next year [Reuters]

But Square Enix isn’t stopping there.

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada told the Japanese press, “We’re looking at reaching over 5 million copies of Dragon Quest IX shipped.” Wada went on to say that he hopes this will correspond to breathing life into the entire Japanese game industry.

In spring 2008, the exec hinted that it was possible to ship ten million copies of DQIX.

オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃:スクウェア・エニックス和田社長 『ドラゴンクエスト９』 の出荷は５００万本以上に達する見通し [オレ的ゲーム情報]

While critical reception of The Last Remnant may imply that PlayStation 3 owners aren’t missing out, we’re sure some die hard RPG fans are still looking forward to some turn-based action, Square Enix style. But company president Yoichi Wada cast doubt on the third version of the game ever arriving yesterday, speaking at a shareholders meeting and discussing The Last Remnant’s fate.

According to a recounting of the event, via Andriasang, Square Enix’s concerns about profitability may curtail the PS3 port. He reportedly said that the span of time between the Xbox 360/PC and PS3 releases may have an impact on the publisher’s decision to get the PlayStation-bound version out the door. The success (or lack thereof) of the original release is also a factor.

Square Enix didn’t show The Last Remnant for the PlayStation 3 at E3 2009 this year, a pretty good indicator that the company won’t release the title in 2009.

We’ve contacted the publisher to get official comment, but have yet to hear back from PR representatives.

Last Remnant PS3 Prospects Not Looking Good [Andriasang]

Speaking with Gamasutra, Square boss Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada says the two firms “are going to be creating a new IP together”, which will be the result of “a mutual understanding of each of the quarters” of both companies.

Not adapted IP, not modified IP, new IP. So… a bald teenager in tiny shorts carrying an enormous sword?

Square Enix, Eidos To Embark On IP Collaboration [Gamasutra]