“It’s better to be a leader than a follower.” Square Enix President & CEO Yosuke Matsuda stated in a recent interview with Metro regarding the notion that single-player games are dying.
Square Enix has specialized in single player, story-driven games throughout its existence. They are responsible for Final Fantasy, Deus Ex, Sleeping Dogs, Neir: Automata and so many more games that feature amazing campaigns and character.
When asked about the rise of games as a service and the dwindling popularity of single-player games, Matsuda laughed off the idea that their games would need to rely on loot boxes and other microtransactions to stay successful in the long run.
The way we’re looking at it, what it boils down to is… that idea of keeping people engaged with our games and enjoying them for longer periods of time,” Matsuda said. “The whole idea, for a single-player game particularly, is the idea that you have the game released and you keep adding more content to keep the players engaged and enjoying the game.
The Square Enix President & CEO went on to say that he believes the only way loot boxes work is if they fit in with that and the overall design of the game. The most interesting thing to keep in mind is that this interview took place at the height of the controversy surrounding Star Wars: Battlefront II’s loot boxes.
Both Final Fantasy XV and Hitman have featured a bevy of DLC and other content to expand playtime, well after launch. And each did so without leaning on loot boxes or other predatory microtransactions.
To conclude the interview, Matsuda promised Square Enix will be making many more single-player games. He also added to look out for more games coming to the Nintendo Switch in the near future.
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