Square Enix to seriously consider marketing its products directly in India

Interview with Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda

Yosuke Matsuda, president of Square Enix, one of the world's biggest game development, publishing and distribution companies, was in Delhi earlier this month to attend the first India Gaming Show. He spoke to Kakoli Chakraborty and Abhik Sen on the growing gaming market in India and Square Enix's plans. Edited excerpts: 

What do you think about the India Gaming Show?

We have seen a lot of people coming to our booth and playing. We hope to get a fair idea of how strong the gaming community in India is.

The teaser of your collaboration with Marvel has created a lot of buzz. Can you shed some light on it?

I didn’t know it had created a buzz in India. Well, it is strictly confidential right now. We can’t really talk about it but it is definitely going to be a full-fledged game.

Will it be a platform exclusive?

Again, I can’t divulge details. But you’re definitely on the right track.

The latest Final Fantasy instalment is quite popular in India. Are you planning more games in the series?

Definitely. We’re working on some projects related to FF.

Will you be branching out to other platforms, then?

We’ve thought about it and might come out with a game that can be played on multiple platforms.

A lot of gamers have grown up playing the FF series but with the constant console evolution, old games in the series are no longer accessible. Would you go in for remastered editions of the old FF games?

Yes, we have seen that the demand of remastered games is growing. We will be looking into it.

The gaming community in India is growing gradually. Would you consider India a potential market for your games?

Right now, we export games to India through distribution channels. India seems like a potential market and we will be seriously considering marketing our products directly.

Is there a chance of game prices dropping then?

I am afraid not. I don’t think there is a lot of difference in pricing when it comes to games.

India has had its own Comic Cons for some years now, and they attract large crowds. Also, a lot of people who aren't hardcore gamers have got into gaming due to the popularity of mobile games. What's your view?

Really? India has had Comic Cons even before we had one in Japan! That's interesting. Well, mobile games are always a good tool to popularise the franchises. But real gaming is not just mobile gaming; it happens on the PC and console.

Japanese Anime is quite popular here, especially among the younger generation, with Hello Kitty and Doraemon being two popular characters. In fact, the Doraemon animated series is very popular in Hindi as well. Could we, then, see such content in the gaming sphere?

We shall need to find out how big the market is; if its for English or in other languages.