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You're talking about cultural exchange, and with products, and you also talked about having engineers exchange tech. Both of your organizations separately, have proprietary tech -- obviously, Crystal Tools, Pollux, stuff like that [on the Square Enix side] and you have the Tomb Raider engine and others [on the Eidos side], so...
PR: It's called Crystal Tech as well, so...
Hey, yeah! It's Crystal Dynamics, right? So, you know, that proprietary tech, is that something that could map across organizations? Be shared? Be utilized?
YW: Of course we will. Of course we will. Luckily for us, the areas that we have strength in differs between Square Enix and Eidos, so in that sense the technology, as well as the technology exchange, is also going to be mutually beneficial.
I see how that would make sense, because Crystal Tools, at least in my primary understanding, was created to create Final Fantasy XIII and games in that vein, whereas the Crystal Tech started out with Tomb Raider and stuff in mind, so potentially there are different benefits to the different technologies thatcould definitely work. That's interesting.
That'sgoing to be a tough process, you know, in terms of, like, translating documentation and stuff. Is there a process that's going to be in place, or is it still too early to say?
YW: I believe that we would have to forcibly start that kind of a process.
PR: I think we are, at this stage, really trying to promote discussion, and we've tried to do that through these academies, and looking at different engines. We know we're an entertainment, or a content business, so we take an approach to technology which is: use the best tech for this best game. We have games where we have licensed technology; we have games where we use proprietary technology.
So, I can see further and further exchanges, and at some level having to translate documentation or APIs or whatever to be able to make the tools and workflows really work. Companies have done this. There are software solutions today that work in different regions and locations, so, we'll get that done when we need to.
Eidos/Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld
WorldwideIP creation is tough -- in the sense that creating IPs that sell globally is very, very tough. I think that, actually, there really aren't many games that really do sell well in all three major global territories.
So, moving in with this organization coming together, that now spans Europe and North America strongly, North America and Japan strongly... Creating worldwide IP through Eidos and Square Enix that can work together; how is that process a priority for you?
YW: We're not considering that one certain title is going to be sold on a worldwide basis in all of the territories. For example, there might be one title that we're going to be giving to two of the territories, and another title that we'll be giving to one of the territories; one that would only cater to one particular territory.
But as long as there is going to be a well-balanced portfolio as a company, it's going to be fine, because if we tried to forcibly make a certain title work worldwide, and if that's going to be degrading the quality, we don't want to go down that path. But rather than that, even if that certain title only ever worked for two out of the three major territories, but still it is going to be selling deeply and thoroughly, then I believe that is going to be the better path to take.
And in order for that to happen, there needs to be a deep-rooted understanding of the culture of the particular culture ofthe particular country -- and Eidos and Square Enix both have 20 years of history residing in that particular country, so we are native in that particular area that we grew up in.
If [a company] is going to be an office, only an office, that is going to be operating in a different territory, then that will still be a foreign entity, and it will not work; but I think that the strength that we have is that we are both in the native in that particular area, and it's a good combination in that sense.
What do you think about it? I mean, I know it's stupid to just say, "What do you think about it?" but...
PR: Oh, no, no, no. Well, actually, I was going to ask this question of you: what do you think about it? I mean, you're a consumer, so you could get any media form -- look at TV; look at film; look at radio... Certain things work better than others.
Absolutely.
PR: You know, there have been some successes, of some IPs that have worked better, and truly achieved great things on a worldwide stage. You know, I don't -- I suspect, in years, we will see success, but it is a hard challenge.
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As someone who just finished his MA in women's and gender studies, I found it interesting that diversity is being stressed on both sides, but it seems that the concept is only being considered for internal personnel at the companies. However, the fact is that culture is diffused amongst consumers, too, and that diversity applies to their tastes just as it applies to company employees.
Many Western consumers prefer Japanese games precisely because of the various Japanese cultural elements, philosophies, viewpoints, etc that are found within them, and I believe that the same is true for Japanese (or East Asian in general) consumers who enjoy Western offerings. This has become more apparent as East Asian entertainment has become more widely available in the West during the past 15 years or so. Furthermore, the growth of the WWW and Internet has caused much faster, broader diffusion of cultural values and communications. On the other hand, this trend has also created many instances of miscommunication and misperception because people receive information through their own ethnocentric filters.
I am very concerned that companies, particularly East Asian companies, would focus on attempting to create products that appeal to Western consumers, or that appeal to specific regional demographics in the overall global marketplace. The ever-increasing pace of communications and cultural exchange indicates that this type of approach runs against the actual real life experiences of people in the various regional markets. I do not think that this is a positive approach to take as far as the potential of popular entertainment media is concerned. I do not think that employees of a company, regardless of their level or position, can truly ascertain the diverse tastes of any particular region of the world. I don't think this is possible because the state of diversity is in constant flux, and the rate of change is constantly increasing or is too variable to be accurately analyzed by any company or institution.
I think it would be much better for businesses and consumers if the "uncertainty principle of markets" (to borrow from physics theories) was simply accepted and creative efforts were offered with a basic understanding that some will fail and some will succeed, but that no one can offer any sort of accurate predictions about which ones will be the former and which will be the latter.
Editors: Is there a reason why there are numerous missing spaces throughout the interview? It makes reading it a bit of a challenge.
Personally, I can't wait to see how they balance stealth gameplay with the Bahamut summon in the next Thief game. (I kid, I kid)