Well we all know that Square has been talking about how Japan is falling behind and how the future is in the west and other locations around the globe. They have made huge moves in North America to solidify Square in the world of gaming. Well a new action RPG out of Japan appears to be headed in another direction, focusing not on Japan nor the west rather a globally appealing piece of software.
The game is being made by a team of 35 gifted developers headed by Ryutaro Ichimura producer of Dragon Quest XI. He promises the game will appeal to people of all regions which is something Square sees as the future. So far many Japanese developers have failed to produce games that appeal in the west as well as Japan.
In this move Ryutaro Ichimura isn't using Square's latest graphics engines and tech either. He is utalizing Epic's Unreal 3 engine for this new game. No word yet on which platforms the game will be coming too, we can't even say for sure whether the title is current or next gen exclusive or on both. Famitsu showed some concept images of the game which appear to be set in the middle ages Europe. With the characters appearing to be Europeans from this time period.
So what do you think, a new action RPG using the Unreal 3 Engine and set in Middle Ages Europe with a global target rather then a Western or Japanese centric game? Do you think Square can create a franchise or IP that appeals to all of the world when their software traditionally performs best in one region or another? Is Ryutaro the right guy to create such a globally appealing experiance and should Square have chosen the Unreal engine or gone with their own internal technology?
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
