Square Enix May Acquire Another Company, says Wa

Recently, Square Enix concluded its $123 million dollar acquisition of Eidos. Speaking to the Financial Times, Square Enix President Yoichi Wada said that this purchase may not be the Japanse publishing giant's last.

"The combination of Eidos and Square Enix gives us a good platform from which to expand," said Wada. "In that process, we might decide to acquire another company."

Any further acquisitions by Square Enix would be at least partially motivated by a perceived need to reinvigorate the Japanese gaming industry. "In the last five to 10 years, the Japanese games industry has become a closed environment, with no new people coming in, no new ideas, almost xenophobic. It is now slightly behind western counterparts," said Wada. "The lag with the U.S. is very clear. The U.S. games industry was not good in the past but it has now attracted people from the computer [industry] and from Hollywood, which has led to strong growth."

Wada, who helped Square Enix recover from its financial list in 2000, is expected to help guide Eidos' cash flow. However, he admits that he'll have to balance concerns of both fiscal responsibility and keeping key talent happy. "It is always difficult to manage creatives anywhere in the world. We want to cherish the Eidos studio culture but change it where it is necessary," noted Wada.