Square Enix has voiced the inevitable and that is that the Japanese video game market is no longer the companies priority as it is is no longer sufficient enough to recoup the company’s development investments and generate a profit. The Japanese video game market has changed massively over the years with the majority of gamers playing games on their smartphones and Switch and as such iOS and Android devices have now become the most popular device for playing video games in Japan. Square Enix now says that it will prioritise the overseas markets. Sony also previously hinted that they are focussed on western markets with their PlayStation 5 console. The company shut down its acclaimed Japan Studio.
“Achieving major growth in the game industry is difficult now for companies that compete primarily in the Japanese market, given its graying demographics. As such, it is critical for our business that we produce hit titles that speak to the global market, which offers greater scale in terms of both customers and sales volumes. In other words, the Japanese market is no longer sufficient for achieving a level of earnings that enables us to recoup our development investment and generate a profit, and we therefore need to approach our development efforts based on the assumption that we have to succeed in the global market.”
Yosuke Matsuda, Square Enix President and Representative Director
