Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda has issued his annual New Year’s letter, outlining the organization’s objectives and plans for 2021. As has been the case in previous years, this message is lengthy, touching on various aspects of business at Square Enix. Among them are cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – two areas of business that will receive additional investment and attention from the company in 2021. As part of that, Matsuda also wrote about various new games and content for the coming year.
The president began by discussing the three pillars guiding Square Enix’s operations: creating high-quality video game content; third-party partnerships; and leveraging blockchain technology. Specifically in regards to video games, Matsuda highlighted Switch games such as “Project Triangle Strategy” (working title) as well as console RPGs like “SaGa 2020” as notable upcoming titles from Square Enix. In addition to these projects, he noted that many other titles may be coming soon once development advances to certain points.
He also mentioned game franchises such as Final Fantasy VII Remake, Kingdom Hearts series, Dragon Quest series, and NieR Replicant version 1.22474487139… which will continue to receive the company’s full support in 2021 with updates planned over time.
Square Enix President New Year’s Letter Focuses on Blockchain and NFTs Again
In a New Year’s letter from President of Square Enix Yosuke Matsuda, he outlined the company’s vision and plans for the upcoming year.
Matsuda also discussed his focus on blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as Square Enix looks to bring new innovative gaming experiences to its players. He also teased some upcoming projects that the company is working on.
Let’s explore further.
Blockchain and NFTs
Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda has taken to the company’s website on New Year’s Eve to outline the game developer’s direction and strategy in 2021. In his new year letter, Yosuke Matsuda focussed on blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) again as a key focus area.
Matsuda views blockchain technology as an enabler of individual ownership of digital assets. He believes this technology can be used in gaming to hand ownership back over to players, allowing them “to individually own their characters, settings, items and other data created in [the] game world.” This could have far-reaching implications for future online game designs if players have control of items and data within video games that they otherwise would not have access over without the use of blockchain technology and NFTs with individual players acting as stewards of their in-game assets.
Matsuda again cautioned on a slow pace of development towards these goals but believes that 2021 is a key year for exploring the possibilities surrounding digital assets created by blockchain gaming applications: “We plan to take proactive steps toward realizing an environment where these digital content or assets can be used easily…But it will take some time yet before fully fledged applications become available. So we also intend to continue actively researching this space this year.”
New Games
As part of the new games and content that is to come from Square Enix in 2021, the President and CEO of Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda, shared some details about potential new games.
He shared that there are quite a few project in development right now, mainly role-playing games. He said that several titles “are set across various universes” and hinted at not only some sequels but also some remakes looking forward. Additionally, they have established two primary research and development centers – Tokyo R&D Center and Osaka RD Center – working together to further promote the company’s growth.
Finally, Yosuke stated that due to this current state of gaming society being driven by blockchain technology and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), Square Enix will be taking advantage of these opportunities to create unique customer experiences. Furthermore, he tantalizingly hinted at the possibility of allowing people to access exclusive content through NFTs which will be available soon.
All in all, it looks like 2021 will be an exciting year for gamers with plenty of opportunities awaiting them around blockchain technology projects and new titles from Square Enix!
Square Enix’s Plans for 2021
Square Enix has big plans for 2021, with President Yosuke Matsuda revealing them in his New Year’s Letter. He announced some exciting new games that Square Enix will be releasing this year and their plans to continue their foray into blockchain and NFTs.
Let’s look at what Square Enix has in store for 2021.
Expansion of Online Services
Square Enix, the game publisher and developer, has outlined a new roadmap for 2021 that focuses on the growth of its online services. In a letter from Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda, the company shared some details about its plans to continue expanding their digital offerings and extend their reach globally.
The letter starts by citing the “unprecedented effects” of the pandemic on gaming industry trends in 2020, specifically noting that more people were spending more time playing video games – something that served as an opportunity for Square Enix to strengthen their foothold in digital game distribution. Among the strategies they plan to pursue include accelerating development of online game titles with NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) integrated into them, investing in infrastructure for cloud gaming services and opening up opportunities for players around the world with competitive rates in multiple regions.
In addition to further developing these services and providing content such as live-streaming events through global partnerships, Square Enix hopes to spread awareness about blockchain technology among developers and players by organizing seminars and discussing related topics with potential partners to create an environment conducive for growth in this field.
Overall, this roadmap is indicative of a continued commitment on behalf of Square Enix towards an approach which consolidates all of their operations into an accessible cross-platform space that offers enhanced experiences to users as well as novel ways of monetizing games through virtual markets powered by blockchain technology.
Development of New Games
Square Enix was one of the first Japanese video game companies to embrace blockchain technology, and their plans for 2021 continue that commitment. In the latest President’s New Year’s Letter, the company mentioned their plans to further develop games using NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and promote existing titles on both PC and console.
The letter also noted that Square Enix has established a new production studio dedicated to developing blockchain-related projects. This studio will focus on creating games that integrate NFTs and use blockchain technology in innovative ways. The company also discussed plans to use NFTs to offer special rewards in some existing titles, such as their popular “Final Fantasy” series.
Furthermore, Square Enix announced they plan to release both old and new titles in 2021, although no specific games were named at this time. However, the company notes that many games will feature exclusive digital content that can only be activated with an NFT featuring a purchase code or special artwork associated with a particular game.
It seems clear from Square Enix’s commitment to blockchain technology and its potential applications within gaming that we should expect some interesting developments in 2021 from one of the industry’s oldest names in video games.
Introduction of Blockchain Technology
Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda penned a new year’s letter for 2021 which focused heavily on the growing importance of blockchain technology and its application to video games. He discussed how NFTs (non-fungible tokens), are transforming modern gaming, and how Square Enix plans to leverage that technology in 2021.
Matsuda shared his excitement about what Square Enix can do this year with blockchain technology. He discussed their commitment to “listening and responding to customer needs, as well as providing experiences that exceed our customers’ expectations under an environment of UX”.
He explained that Square Enix has changed their approach over the past few years, by learning things outside their existing portfolio like blockchain technology or NFTs — “we have opened up our mindset and placed our focus on a wider range of mediums to deliver optimized fun”.
Therefore, in 2021, Square Enix will finally begin introducing experiences based on these technologies in various mediums. Some planned projects with partnerships are already underway and set for launch this year regarding unified authentication services with blockchain-based data, proof-of-play games leveraging NFTs, etc., along with upcoming plans for streaming services, esports tournaments, community platforms for players all connected via blockchain tech, etc. Moreover Square Enix also mentioned that mobile pay applications using blockchain technology will also become possible next year in some countries depending on local regulations/policies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Square Enix has shown no signs of slowing down in 2021. The president’s New Year’s letter indicates that the company plans to break into the blockchain and NFTs sector again and continue to invest in the development of new games. The advancements we have seen in gaming technology have truly paved the way for more revolutionary methods of gaming, with blockchain and NFTs being leading examples.
We can only look forward to Square Enix continuing to innovate and offer us an even more immersive gaming experience in the future.
tags = Square Enix, Blockchain and NFTs, Yosuke Matsuda, cryptocurrency, square president matsuda year letter nftstassiforbes, Final Fantasy projects
