Square Enix Needs to Make Yoshi-P CEO

[TheRealMadruck]

Look, I have been reading alot of threads lately about some of the disdain many have been saying lately regarding FFXIV content, about quitting, or numerous other things. I get it, if you look at my thread history...I am not the one to shy away from criticizing FFXIV nor Square Enix in general.

But this new direction Square Enix seems to be taking seems to be a bad one regarding blockchain/NFT content in games. The new "CEO" has a track record regarding these forms of mediums and for many including myself, it is very alarming. Now let me put down my arguments why I think Yoshi-P would make a better CEO:

1. Good track record of achievement: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's success is proof that Yoshida has the ability to rescue floundering projects and produce successful games.

2. An climate that is conducive to innovation and productivity is fostered by Yoshida's collaborative leadership style, which places a high value on teamwork and communication.

3. Yoshida's collaborative leadership style, which places a high importance on teamwork and communication, fosters an environment that is favorable to creativity and production.

4. Strategic perspective: Yoshida is able to spot emerging trends and adjust to them since he has a thorough awareness of the game industry and its tendencies.

5. Yoshida has proven his capacity to successfully handle difficult projects and budgets, which is crucial for the CEO position.

6. Passion for gaming: Yoshida has a sincere passion for gaming, which is apparent in his zeal for his job and his dedication to producing top-notch games.

7. Experience working across cultures: Yoshida has expertise working across cultures through his work on games that appeal to a global audience, which is helpful for a company like Square Enix.

Now here are some reason I could see why he wouldn't be the CEO:

1. Lack of business expertise: Although Yoshida has a lot of experience in game production and development, he might not have much knowledge of the commercial aspects of the gaming industry, such as marketing, financing, and business strategy.

2. Although Yoshida's work on Final Fantasy XIV/Dragon Quest has been extremely successful, he may have little experience creating games outside of these except for a few.

3. Job compatibility: Yoshida might be the perfect choice for a creative position like director or producer given his strengths, but it's probable that the CEO position wouldn't be the best fit for his management style or skill set.

4. And the worse reason is that Square Enix's board of directors will ultimately decide who will serve as the company's CEO. They may have their own priorities and selection criteria, such as focusing on NFTs which I believe he does not have a disdain for but is also is not deeply sold on it.

Overall, Naoki Yoshida has many qualities that would make him a great contender for the CEO position at Square Enix with many strengths to consider, but there are also some potential issues to take into account as well. With all that aside, I believe he would be the best candidate for this position to take Square Enix into a direction I believe would be best for this company!

[Vahlnir]

If SE has proven anything recently, it's that they don't listen to logic or reason. Hence electing a new CEO who will continue to push NFTs despite the market having crashed and watching other companies fare about as well as a raft in the middle of the ocean during a hurricane when they tried to incorporate NFTs into their games. I have little hope for them at this point.

[Connor]

I always imagined the CEO(s?) of SE as like Bond villains sitting around a round table with tented fingers discussing ways to maximise profits and minimise costs by exploiting popular IPs they own. They could do a lot worse than Yoshi-P as the CEO, but then I also have to wonder whether it’d be similar enough to directing. It might be a pretty big jump lol, and I’d rather have Yoshi-P working on the games themselves

[Vahlnir]

I always imagined the CEO(s?) of SE as like Bond villains sitting around a round table with tented fingers discussing ways to maximise profits and minimise costs by exploiting popular IPs they own. They could do a lot worse than Yoshi-P as the CEO, but then I also have to wonder whether it’d be similar enough to directing. It might be a pretty big jump lol, and I’d rather have Yoshi-P working on the games themselves

At this point it feels more like an Austin Powers Doctor Evil moment.

"Why make trillions when we can make...billions?"

[Atelier-Bagur]

Considering how people are acting like total babies that papa P is working on two jobs with FFXIV and FFXVI, I dont think it's the right call to make him the CEO even though he has a favorable mindset when it comes to games in general.

What we need is an Iwata but I dont know anybody in this business that comes even close to the level of love and care that man did for both his employees and the consumers themselves.

[Kes13a]

Considering how people are acting like total babies that papa P is working on two jobs with FFXIV and FFXVI, I dont think it's the right call to make him the CEO even though he has a favorable mindset when it comes to games in general.

What we need is an Iwata but I dont know anybody in this business that comes even close to the level of love and care that man did for both his employees and the consumers themselves.

I agree, Iwata-like would be a good choice.

And making Yoshi CEO....he certainly wouldnt stay Producer, so only the gods know what kind of whacko we would end up with

[Vahlnir]

I agree, Iwata-like would be a good choice.

And making Yoshi CEO....he certainly wouldnt stay Producer, so only the gods know what kind of whacko we would end up with

Whether I agree or disagree with Yoshi P's decisions, I do think that anyone they would put in his place would be borderline devastating to the game in general, based on the current climate at SE. Yeah, I'm not overly thrilled at the state of FF XIV currently, but I am not afraid to admit that it could be far worse.

[Midareyukki]

Cringe, I know

Honestly I understand this.

Some people are "die-hard" fans of stuff. Some people are die-hard Miyazaki fans, some people are and were Miura fans. Some people bend over backwards over Capcom. Hideo Kojima certainly has a large fanbase. Same as Toby Fox. Heck, Bioware had a following too, and since their EA acquisition and "unfortunate" titles, their reception has been going downhill, much like SE did and does.

I liked FF and several other franchises from Square Enix 10 years ago. And at some point I stopped because I realized what Square Enix was more interested in. It was all style, but the substance wasn't there. A lot of things garnered such poor reception from their communities: FF7 was milked to dust, Type-0 was poorly received, 3rd Birthday all but murdered the Parasite Eve franchise, FF13 was pretty polarizing in its time with its sequels just being worse and worse, 14 1.0 was a thing...
And they made really weird decisions, from the way 15 was handled, the way Kingdom Hearts was being handled, their insistence on predatory mobile games, their community management being total arse, among many other things.

Yeah. It is cringe. But it's understandable cringe, I'd say. I'm sure the people who judge it have "die-hard" stuff they love too.

Matsuda leaving is a good start. The new guy having been involved in an NFT company certainly doesn't bode well, and him only being around for 3 years in the company is a bit of a yikes.

But at the same time, I don't know if asking a dev to take over the company is the best choice. Though I will wonder what SE did that the best guy for the job seems to be the dude with the least experience in the company and being involved in a topic currently sinking SE and Matsuda's reputation. Where did all the other guys go?

[Ath192]

Look, I have been reading alot of threads lately about some of the disdain many have been saying lately regarding FFXIV content, about quitting, or numerous other things. I get it, if you look at my thread history...I am not the one to shy away from criticizing FFXIV nor Square Enix in general.

...

Overall, Naoki Yoshida has many qualities that would make him a great contender for the CEO position at Square Enix with many strengths to consider, but there are also some potential issues to take into account as well. With all that aside, I believe he would be the best candidate for this position to take Square Enix into a direction I believe would be best for this company!

I don't have a problem with Yoshi as CEO. I just want him to put out more content. That's not a bad thing. But if he's going to roll out games with as much content as his patches, then no xD

[Atelier-Bagur]

This company and their games have been in my life since I was like 8 years old lol. I'm much older than that now and it really sucks to watch your favorite things slowly become worse and worse over time.

People say that the last decade of square enix has been absolute trash. Guess who was at the helm for the last 10 years?

I have worse things to say about Matsuda, but I'd probably be banned.

Just a game and company to some people. To others, it's like your best childhood friend.

Cringe, I know

I think just how people criticize others for having this parasocial behavior with Yoshida and the game, same goes for people who let the company somehow "ruin their childhood" or what have you. Not every game they've made for the past 10 years was crap. This also has to do with growing up too, back when we were fresh young-uns and werent so jaded, we took to love and enjoy these games for what they were.

Anyway I wouldnt let it bother you as much. As soon as you stop getting so attached to these games, the better your life actually becomes since you dont anchor yourself so easily to it