Yoichi Wada
Encyclopedia
is the current president and representative director of the Japanese video game and publishing company Square Enix
as well as its subsidiary Taito
. He is also the current chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association
(CESA) and the vice chairman of the Digital Content Use Promotion Conference.
, Japan
. As a student, Wada wanted to become the president of a company as a profession, rather than gradually working his way up in a company through his entire career. He set for himself the objective of becoming a president by the age of 40. After receiving a bachelor's degree
in law from the University of Tokyo
, he went through an apprenticeship
in the financial services group and global investment bank
Nomura Securities
in order to build a track record. Starting in 1984, he served in the group as part of the corporate strategy
division, the investment banking division, and finally the controller
division. He also worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Japan in Warsaw
, Poland
. In 2000, he decided to join "a company with a 'theme'", and, thinking that one of the themes of the 21st century was "creating society", chose the video game company Square
.
in April 2000. He became a executive director
and chief financial officer
in June, the representative director and chief operating officer
in September, and finally the president and chief executive officer
in December. He helped reform the company's management system. When Square merged with Enix
, he became the new company's president and representative director. Under his presidency, Square Enix acquired the video game companies Taito
, in 2005, and the British video game publisher Eidos Interactive
, in 2009. Wada also became the president and representative director of Taito following the subsidiary's restructuring in July 2006. Wada has stated that consolidation has been "part of [his] plan" since 2000, as he had foreseen "the first phase of a major reformation of the industry" and had concluded that "there was a limit to what [Square] could do with the wholly independent business culture [the company] worked within".
(CESA) since May 2006. The aim of the association is to promote the computer entertainment industry through research activities and exhibitions, including the annual Tokyo Game Show
. In September 2008, he also became vice chairman of the Digital Content Use Promotion Conference.
, noted: "[W]hether we are going to continue to internally create this type of game remains to be seen, because I actually feel that the team that was involved with Final Fantasy XIII should next move on to create and generate some 'next generation' forms of play. Internally and externally I feel there's an expectation of Square Enix to offer something new, and I really think that the Final Fantasy team could create something completely different, but at the moment they're strictly catering to the particular audience they have now."
"does a lot of damage" to the industry, especially, in Japan, with R4 cards for the Nintendo DS
. The R4 was banned in Japan after Nintendo
, Square Enix and Capcom
brought the issue to court in 2009. Nevertheless, Wada noted that "no matter what happens, what can be copied will be copied", and that Square Enix thus needs to base its business on "something that cannot be copied"; he cited personalized saves
and "the worth of the human relationships in the communities that build around the games" as possible solutions.
and Microsoft
are already prepared, while third-party companies must adapt. Square Enix has increased its production of social and browser game
s in anticipation for this change, though Wada stressed that "there is no way Square Enix will relax its attitude towards" traditional brands such as Final Fantasy, noting that "there will always be a co-existence of something old and new".
, Space Invaders
, Donkey Kong
and Xevious
. When he lived in Warsaw, he also enjoyed games from the Nobunaga's Ambition
and Romance of the Three Kingdoms
computer game series. He considers that, before joining Square, he was an "uneducated consumer", as he was a "big fan" of Final Fantasy but did know that the company was responsible for the series. He particularly liked early 3D
games, including D
and titles from the Myst
, Resident Evil and Metal Gear
series. Nowadays, Wada proactively tries to play as many Western games as possible — for example, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
— and provides comments about these games to Square Enix's staff.
Wada has a Twitter
account.
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
as well as its subsidiary Taito
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
. He is also the current chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association is a Japanese organization that was established in 1996 to "promote the computer entertainment industry [...] with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of Japanese industry as well as to the further enrichment of people's lifestyles." It...
(CESA) and the vice chairman of the Digital Content Use Promotion Conference.
Pre-Square years
Wada was born on May 28, 1959 in Nagoya, AichiAichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. As a student, Wada wanted to become the president of a company as a profession, rather than gradually working his way up in a company through his entire career. He set for himself the objective of becoming a president by the age of 40. After receiving a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in law from the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, he went through an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in the financial services group and global investment bank
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
Nomura Securities
Nomura Securities Co.
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc. , which forms part of the Nomura Group. It plays a central role in the securities business, the Group's core business. Nomura is a financial services group and global investment bank. Based in Tokyo and with regional headquarters in Hong Kong,...
in order to build a track record. Starting in 1984, he served in the group as part of the corporate strategy
Strategic management
Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments...
division, the investment banking division, and finally the controller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
division. He also worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)
The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...
of Japan in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In 2000, he decided to join "a company with a 'theme'", and, thinking that one of the themes of the 21st century was "creating society", chose the video game company Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
.
Square and Square Enix
Wada joined SquareSquare (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
in April 2000. He became a executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
and chief financial officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
in June, the representative director and chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
in September, and finally the president and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
in December. He helped reform the company's management system. When Square merged with Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
, he became the new company's president and representative director. Under his presidency, Square Enix acquired the video game companies Taito
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
, in 2005, and the British video game publisher Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, in 2009. Wada also became the president and representative director of Taito following the subsidiary's restructuring in July 2006. Wada has stated that consolidation has been "part of [his] plan" since 2000, as he had foreseen "the first phase of a major reformation of the industry" and had concluded that "there was a limit to what [Square] could do with the wholly independent business culture [the company] worked within".
Other positions
Wada has been chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's AssociationComputer Entertainment Supplier's Association
Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association is a Japanese organization that was established in 1996 to "promote the computer entertainment industry [...] with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of Japanese industry as well as to the further enrichment of people's lifestyles." It...
(CESA) since May 2006. The aim of the association is to promote the computer entertainment industry through research activities and exhibitions, including the annual Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
. In September 2008, he also became vice chairman of the Digital Content Use Promotion Conference.
Final Fantasy
In January 2010, Wada, asked about his opinion on "big-budget, long-in-development" Square Enix games such as Final Fantasy XIIIFinal Fantasy XIII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth major installment in the Final Fantasy series...
, noted: "[W]hether we are going to continue to internally create this type of game remains to be seen, because I actually feel that the team that was involved with Final Fantasy XIII should next move on to create and generate some 'next generation' forms of play. Internally and externally I feel there's an expectation of Square Enix to offer something new, and I really think that the Final Fantasy team could create something completely different, but at the moment they're strictly catering to the particular audience they have now."
Piracy
Wada considers that video game piracyCopyright infringement of software
Copyright infringement of software=The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright infringement of this kind varies globally...
"does a lot of damage" to the industry, especially, in Japan, with R4 cards for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The R4 was banned in Japan after Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, Square Enix and Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
brought the issue to court in 2009. Nevertheless, Wada noted that "no matter what happens, what can be copied will be copied", and that Square Enix thus needs to base its business on "something that cannot be copied"; he cited personalized saves
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
and "the worth of the human relationships in the communities that build around the games" as possible solutions.
Online distribution
In November 2009, Wada stated: "In ten years' time, a lot of what we call 'console games' won't exist". According to him, the main strategy of console manufacturers has switched from hardware to network starting in 2005, with "any kind of terminal becom[ing] a potential platform". He claimed that "all distributors and sales firms will suffer a big negative impact", that format holders such as SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
are already prepared, while third-party companies must adapt. Square Enix has increased its production of social and browser game
Browser game
A browser game is a computer game that is played over the Internet using a web browser. Browser games can be created and run using standard web technologies or browser plug-ins. Browser games include all video game genres and can be single-player or multiplayer...
s in anticipation for this change, though Wada stressed that "there is no way Square Enix will relax its attitude towards" traditional brands such as Final Fantasy, noting that "there will always be a co-existence of something old and new".
Personal life
As a teenager and young student, Wada was a fan of PongPong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
, Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
, Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong
is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario series. He is roughly twice the size of a normal gorilla, weighing approximately 800 pounds. Donkey Kong first appeared in Nintendo's popular 1981 video game of the same name. Since then he has appeared in over 20 games in his own series, as well...
and Xevious
Xevious
is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. It was designed by Masanobu Endō. In the U.S., the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Xevious runs on Namco Galaga hardware. In Brazil the arcade cabinet was printed with the name 'COLUMBIA' for the game, while the...
. When he lived in Warsaw, he also enjoyed games from the Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition
is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games, first released in 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.Games in the franchise have been released on a variety of gaming platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive,...
and Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (video game series)
, or Sangokushi in Japanese, is a series of turn-based tactical role-playing simulation grand strategy wargames produced by Koei. Originating from Japan in 1985, eleven installments of the game have been published in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and North America to date.-Overview:The games are...
computer game series. He considers that, before joining Square, he was an "uneducated consumer", as he was a "big fan" of Final Fantasy but did know that the company was responsible for the series. He particularly liked early 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
games, including D
D (video game)
is a survival horror puzzle-oriented adventure game released in 1995 by WARP. The first entry in the D series and one of the first games released by the company, it dealt with taboo content such as violence and cannibalism, featured 3D CGI full-motion video and a first-person perspective, and...
and titles from the Myst
Myst (series)
Myst is a franchise centered on a series of adventure video games. The first game in the series, Myst, was released in 1993 by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and their video game company Cyan, Inc...
, Resident Evil and Metal Gear
Metal Gear
Metal Gear is a series of video games.Metal Gear may also refer to:*Metal Gear , bipedal tanks appearing in the Metal Gear series-Metal Gear video game series:...
series. Nowadays, Wada proactively tries to play as many Western games as possible — for example, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure platform third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was first shown and announced on December 1, 2008...
and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
— and provides comments about these games to Square Enix's staff.
Wada has a Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account.
External links
- CEO Interview Archive at Square Enix website