After the recent and shocking success of Bravely Default in overseas markets, Square-Enix's current president Yosuke Matsuda shared in an interview (Translated by Siliconera) that the company would " go back to their roots" and focus on making their games pander more to their respective core audiences. Don't believe me? See below for an excerpt from the interview.
“The development team for Hitman: Absolution really struggled in this regard. They implemented a vast amount of ‘elements for the mass’ instead of for the core fans, as a way to try getting as many new players possible. It was a strategy to gain mass appeal. However, what makes the Hitman series good is its appeal to core gamers, and many fans felt the lack of focus in that regard, which ended up making it struggle in sales.”
“So, as for the AAA titles we’re currently developing for series, we basically want to go back to their roots and focus on the core audience, while working hard on content that can have fans say things like ‘this is the Hitman, we know’. I believe that is the best way for our development studios to display their strengths.”
So there you have it. The fans voted with their wallets and Square-Enix listened. Huzzah! Generic JRPGs and rose-coloured glasses for everyone!
Siliconera