Bravely Default’s Success Makes Square Enix Rethink JRPGs in the West

Speaking to Nikkei Trendy, Square Enix's president Yosuke Matsuda has revealed that the success of 3DS title Bravely Default is making the company rethink its JRPG strategy in the West.  

Matsuda said that until now, Square Enix has divided its development focus between different parts of the world based on what they believed gamers in each region liked but Bravely Default has changed this strategy. 

"Due to having split [the development mindset] according to regions around the world, we weren't able to see this clearly up until now, but fans of JRPGs are really spread around the world."

He eluded to more games JRPGs being released in the West in future saying: 

"For the new games we'll be developing from this point on while this may sound a bit extreme, we've been talking about making them as heavy JRPGs. I believe that way, we can better focus on our target, which will also bring better results."

Nevertheless, Matsuda added that it's important to balance global ambition with the market being targeted. 

“If you focus too much on the global aspect, you might lose sight of who you’re actually making the game for. For example, if you look back at 2013, we’ve had some home console games made for a global audience that struggled.”

We should see more of Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 at E3 in June but hopefully Square Enix will have a few JRPG surprises up their sleeves as well.