In conjunction with the Screen Cultures Research Group and the Humanities Centre at Concordia, TAGster Mia Consalvo will be giving a talk on”The Strategies of Square Enix: Corporate Cosmopolitanism and the Contemporary Japanese Game Industry” on December 2 at 2:30 PM in LB 659.4
I’d say the talk is particularly apt given the announcement of a new Square Enix studio opening in Montreal to work on the Hitman franchise… cosmopolitanism indeed!
Read the abstract below the break
Although digital games are a global industry and many games find international success, game developers and publishers are increasingly developing specialized strategies for how to best create, market, and sell games in increasingly diversified regions around the globe. This talk will explore the strategies and decisions made by the Square Enix company of Japan—one of the oldest and most successful Japanese game developers and publishers—as it works to stay competitive in a global marketplace. The talk will detail the history of Square and Enix, and how the merger of the two companies began a more sophisticated movement towards global development and sales. The talk will also explore the company’s purchase of western developer Eidos, localization practices, as well as Square Enix’s multi-platform push to further diversify their efforts. That strategy includes the continuation of various historical series such as Final Fantasyand Dragon Quest across varying platforms and in different ways; as well as through new titles being introduced, often in different regions. Likewise the company’s efforts to release games across consoles, mobile devices, the web and elsewhere are scrutinized, as well as their decisions to westernize their lineups in particular ways and what that means for the company and digital games as part of contemporary culture. Finally, Square Enix’s sophisticated localization efforts are detailed and their most recent releases are examined to offer further evidence of their current plans, including the MMOG Final Fantasy XIV, and the mobile RPG Chaos Rings. Mia Consalvo is Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design at Concordia University. She is the author of Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames, and is currently writing a book about Japan's influence on The videogame industry and game culture. The SCRG series is supported by a CISSC Workshop Grant and the Concordia University Research Chair in Communication Studies Fund. The SCRG has been fostering interdisciplinary connections among faculty and students interested in scholarship on screen-based media since 2006. Anyone interested is welcome to attend any of our events. For more information, contact Charles Acland at c.acland@concordia.ca See you at the talk! SCRG organizing committee: Charles Acland (Communication) Alice Ming Wai Jim (Art History) Bart Simon (Sociology and Anthropology) Haidee Wasson (Cinema)