Square Enix won't be happy until three-quarters of its income comes from foreign sources. That's the word from president Yoichi Wada, in a statement released today on the company's web site (PDF).
"It is crucial for use to expand our businesses on a global basis," Wada began. He went on to explain that, contrary to a recent Financial Times article, 50% of Square Enix's total revenue comes from outside Japan.
"Given the fact that the size of overseas markets is now more than three times as large as the domestic market, we recognize numerous growth opportunities," Wada said, noting that the company's goal is to raise their foreign sales to 75% in the next 3 to 5 years.
To do that, Wada says, Square Enix will need to follow a two-part framework: strengthen the distribution channels that local Square Enix subsidiaries have developed, and create more diversified content that will appeal to consumers in specific regions.
What he did not specifically mention is what his senior VP Michihiro Sasaki told the Times: to wit, that the company "needs to seek cooperation with a US publisher" to achieve these goals.
International expansion not just for Square Enix but for the Japanese games industry at large has been a favorite topic of Wada's as of late. As president of CESA, the organizing body of Tokyo Game Show, Wada gave the opening speech at this year's show (pictured above right).
Standing underneath a giant banner that read (albeit in Japanese) "Link Up, Reach Out, To The World", Wada stressed the need for Japanese game developers to adopt a more international outlook, creating games for the whole world.
Currently, the vast majority of Square Enix games are developed in Japan.
