Square Confirms Talks With Xbox Team 1/16/2002, by Elizabeth
Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Microsoft's Xbox in Japan next month,Microsoft is poised to team up with the makers of some of the country's leading game software to produce titles for the game machine. A deal with Enix and Square could give a major boost to Xbox sales in Japan, where the two companies produce some of the leading game software titles such as "Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy."
Enix, the maker of the Dragon Quest game software, has sold 20 million copies worldwide, while Square has sold 36 million units of its blockbuster Final Fantasy game series.
"These big companies are very important and of course we are talking to them," Seamus Blackley, one of the fathers of the Xbox and the game machine's technical director, said during a recent interview with CBS.MarketWatch.com.
Tatsuo Tomiyama, an administration director of Enix confirmed that Microsoft had approached the company, but said nothing concrete had been decided.
"We've talked about making games for Xbox, but we are not planning to make Dragon Quest series for that machine as the game's target player differs from those that Xbox targets. It's going to be something different, even if we decide to make something for them (Xbox)."
Square spokesperson Hideki Tsuchiya also confirmed the company is in talks with Microsoft. "Our company policy is to produce game titles for the game consoles that are hitting the jackpot, and we have nothing set about Xbox game development."
Tsuchiya said, however, that Xbox seems an ideal platform for online game titles, given the machine's broadband capability.
"We see a big growth potential in online game market and we don't want to be left alone when the (online game) boom suddenly arrives."
Japanese game software maker Sega said last year that it was ready to produce online game titles for Xbox.
Online and popular games
Blackely said Microsoft is planning to launch online game services (with Ethernet ports for broadband connections) in Japan this summer.
Microsoft will join hands with NTT Communications to set up a high-speed broadband online gaming service in Japan, using NTT's high-speed ADSL service.
Microsoft's Blackley said the company is confident its game titles will be successful, but stands ready to find more titles for the Xbox.
"Gamers say 'oh god you don't have Final Fantasy therefore you'll fail and they don't mean that they literally want Final Fantasy, although it's a wonderful game. What they're saying is 'I want a game that makes me feel like when I first did Final Fantasy'. And remember, Square was a tiny company once when they started. So you never know where next hit will come from," he said.
Microsoft has set up an "Xbox" fund to help individual game developers create innovative and unique games for Xbox. "We know that's where the next great ideas come from," said Blackley
Blackley also said popular "simulation-type" games, such as "Flight Simulator," are scheduled to join the Xbox game list, but he declined to provide a specific
Ahead of the highly anticipated launch of Microsoft's Xbox in Japan next month,Microsoft is poised to team up with the makers of some of the country's leading game software to produce titles for the game machine. A deal with Enix and Square could give a major boost to Xbox sales in Japan, where the two companies produce some of the leading game software titles such as "Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy."
Enix, the maker of the Dragon Quest game software, has sold 20 million copies worldwide, while Square has sold 36 million units of its blockbuster Final Fantasy game series.
"These big companies are very important and of course we are talking to them," Seamus Blackley, one of the fathers of the Xbox and the game machine's technical director, said during a recent interview with CBS.MarketWatch.com.
Tatsuo Tomiyama, an administration director of Enix confirmed that Microsoft had approached the company, but said nothing concrete had been decided.
"We've talked about making games for Xbox, but we are not planning to make Dragon Quest series for that machine as the game's target player differs from those that Xbox targets. It's going to be something different, even if we decide to make something for them (Xbox)."
Square spokesperson Hideki Tsuchiya also confirmed the company is in talks with Microsoft. "Our company policy is to produce game titles for the game consoles that are hitting the jackpot, and we have nothing set about Xbox game development."
Tsuchiya said, however, that Xbox seems an ideal platform for online game titles, given the machine's broadband capability.
"We see a big growth potential in online game market and we don't want to be left alone when the (online game) boom suddenly arrives."
Japanese game software maker Sega said last year that it was ready to produce online game titles for Xbox.
Online and popular games
Blackely said Microsoft is planning to launch online game services (with Ethernet ports for broadband connections) in Japan this summer.
Microsoft will join hands with NTT Communications to set up a high-speed broadband online gaming service in Japan, using NTT's high-speed ADSL service.
Microsoft's Blackley said the company is confident its game titles will be successful, but stands ready to find more titles for the Xbox.
"Gamers say 'oh god you don't have Final Fantasy therefore you'll fail and they don't mean that they literally want Final Fantasy, although it's a wonderful game. What they're saying is 'I want a game that makes me feel like when I first did Final Fantasy'. And remember, Square was a tiny company once when they started. So you never know where next hit will come from," he said.
Microsoft has set up an "Xbox" fund to help individual game developers create innovative and unique games for Xbox. "We know that's where the next great ideas come from," said Blackley
Blackley also said popular "simulation-type" games, such as "Flight Simulator," are scheduled to join the Xbox game list, but he declined to provide a specific
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