Post by shadow on Feb 25, 2005 13:34:22 GMT -5
Ex-Square star set to create two games for Microsoft's next box but won't take Cloud and Zidane with him
Sometimes you can spend too long in one job. Sometimes you need to move on to gain a new perspective, a fresh challenge or just a huge pile of cash.
Or perhaps you are the bloke who wasted a fortune of your company's cash making a duff CGI movie that emptied cinemas more swiftly than the Sudan 1 in the nachos.
But just like the Littlest Hobo or Bruce Banner, Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasies I to VI, has decided to wipe the footprint off his rear and move over to Microsoft.
And once the former executive vice president of Square has untied the red and white spotted handkerchief from the end of his stick, he will start work on two non-Final Fantasy RPG games for the Seattle-based giant.
Through his Mistwalker studio Sakaguchi will create the two unnamed and undated games, promising that Microsoft's cutting-edge next-gen technologies will allow him to bring an array of long-planned ideas to life.
He enthused, "I want these games to be alive with a new vision for gaming and vividly depict new characters that will transcend the game, find a place in the hearts of gamers, and make time spent with my games a fond and long-lasting memory."
But Bill also has another reason for nabbing the former Square man - his intimate knowledge of the Japanese gamer and what makes them part with their yen.
Microsoft are desperate to avoid the debacle of the Japanese Xbox launch, where the original edition of Microsoft's colossal console went down in the land of midget digits like a lead-filled kamikaze plane.
"Sakaguchi has taken role-playing games - traditionally a niche market - and introduced them to a broad and diverse audience across the globe," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing at Microsoft.
"We are ecstatic to work with Sakaguchi and celebrate what this news means, not only for Xbox but for gamers worldwide."
We will have more on Mistwalker's two titles just as soon as we have it.
Sometimes you can spend too long in one job. Sometimes you need to move on to gain a new perspective, a fresh challenge or just a huge pile of cash.
Or perhaps you are the bloke who wasted a fortune of your company's cash making a duff CGI movie that emptied cinemas more swiftly than the Sudan 1 in the nachos.
But just like the Littlest Hobo or Bruce Banner, Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasies I to VI, has decided to wipe the footprint off his rear and move over to Microsoft.
And once the former executive vice president of Square has untied the red and white spotted handkerchief from the end of his stick, he will start work on two non-Final Fantasy RPG games for the Seattle-based giant.
Through his Mistwalker studio Sakaguchi will create the two unnamed and undated games, promising that Microsoft's cutting-edge next-gen technologies will allow him to bring an array of long-planned ideas to life.
He enthused, "I want these games to be alive with a new vision for gaming and vividly depict new characters that will transcend the game, find a place in the hearts of gamers, and make time spent with my games a fond and long-lasting memory."
But Bill also has another reason for nabbing the former Square man - his intimate knowledge of the Japanese gamer and what makes them part with their yen.
Microsoft are desperate to avoid the debacle of the Japanese Xbox launch, where the original edition of Microsoft's colossal console went down in the land of midget digits like a lead-filled kamikaze plane.
"Sakaguchi has taken role-playing games - traditionally a niche market - and introduced them to a broad and diverse audience across the globe," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing at Microsoft.
"We are ecstatic to work with Sakaguchi and celebrate what this news means, not only for Xbox but for gamers worldwide."
We will have more on Mistwalker's two titles just as soon as we have it.
I can't wait to see what the new rpgs are going to be like. 
