Square Enix president stepping down
Yoichi Wada became Square Enix’s president in 2000 and has held onto the position for well over a decade. But today, Wada announced that he will be stepping down. Yosuke Matsuda, Square Enix’s former company director and CFO, will be assuming Wada’s position. The decision may very well be set in stone once Square Enix’s annual shareholders meeting wraps up in June, followed by a board of directors meeting.
In addition to Wada’s surprise announcement, Square Enix slashed its fiscal year forecasts due to “the rapidly changing environment of the game businesses.” An “extraordinary” ¥10 billion ($106 million) loss will impact the company’s development policy, organizational structure, and business models. Initially, Square Enix forecasted a net profit of ¥3.5 billion. It is now anticipating a net loss of ¥13 billion. That’s a significant downturn from the ¥6 billion net profit Square Enix achieved in the previous fiscal year.
Game sales overseas – described as “sluggish” – are to blame for Square Enix’s disappointing sales results. The publisher suffered from losses stemming from “the increasingly difficult condition of the worldwide console game market.”
