Publisher Square Enix announced a 49% increase in profits this year at their annual fiscal report for the 2014-15. The company’s managed such a success this year despite releasing fewer console titles, attributing it to the increase in popularity and performance of both its MMOs and smartphone games. Addressing this in their report Square Enix said that “smart devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs are spreading rapidly” and that “the console game markets in North America and Europe are increasingly competitive and oligopolistic.”
Given this view it makes sense that they would be looking to explore new markets and platforms to release on, and the report goes on to state:
“In light of such environmental changes the Group is focusing all efforts on a substantial earnings improvement through driving reforms of business structure in order to establish new revenue base.”
If that didn’t make Square Enix’s intentions clear the recent announcement of Kingdom Hearts: Unchained Key for Android and iOS, shows the company’s commitment to making the most of their IP, whatever the platform.
If you were wondering which games Square Enix was having such success with in the mobile market, several of which only received localized releases in Japan, they are:
- Dragon Quest Morning Supper Light, an RPG that employ a novel mechanic that rewards you with in game items when you photograph certain themed dishes at participating restaurants eateries
- School Girl Strikers, another JRPG where players lead a team of demon hunters working from a secret training facility within an all girls school.
- Kai-ri-Sei Milllion Arthur, a JRPG utilizing card based battles.
- Final Fantasy Record Keeper, that lets players to recreate iconic battle from the entire series, choosing from a large roster of characters to face the challenge.
You can see the full release here.
