Summary

  • Yoshida isn't listed as an executive director in Square's most recent management update.
  • Yoshida never enjoyed being an executive despite his successive promotions.
  • Yoshi-P will still sit on a new Executive Management Committee.

Following changes to Square Enix's management structure, Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida is no longer listed as a member of the company's board of directors (nice spot, Automaton).

On the back of Final Fantasy 14's success, Yoshida was promoted to executive officer in 2015, and then again to executive director in 2018. Yoshida's second promotion compelled him to sit on Square's board of directors alongside the company's president and other executive directors. However, the company's latest management structure update lists Yoshi-P as an "executive officer" once more, suggesting a demotion.

Yoshida, A Reluctant Executive

In all likelihood, Yoshida has voluntarily stepped down from his position on the board. He's stated publicly that he doesn't enjoy being an executive, instead preferring to be directly involved with creating video games. Yoshi-P even tried to quit his executive role in the past (via Dot Esports), but Square Enix insisted he stay on. It would appear Yoshida has finally been granted his request. Note that Square Enix's website still lists Yoshida as a director, despite the wording in the management update.

Square isn't letting him completely off the hook, however. Yoshida will comprise part of a new Executive Management Committee which is intended to "drive the formulation and execution of various measures to achieve Square Enix Group's medium-term business plan." Yoshida will sit alongside president Takashi Kiryu and five other executive officers on this committee.

The "medium-term business plan" is a new direction for Square, which prioritises "quality over quantity", "bold new IP" and an "aggressive shift" towards releasing its games on several platforms. Square had previously been prioritising new releases on PlayStation 5, a long-time practice for the company. However, Square recently reported that several of its recent triple-A releases have failed to meet sales forecasts, and the decision-makers likely feel that releasing their games on more platforms will boost sales numbers. It's something that Xbox is also experimenting with - porting exclusives to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

The new committee is intended to speed up the company's decision-making, enabling the success of its medium-term plan. It seems that Square isn't willing to lose Yoshida's management expertise, even if the board allows him to step down from his executive position. Yoshida's expertise has been instrumental in many facets of the Final Fantasy series, with him acting as a producer for Final Fantasy 16 despite his ongoing work with Final Fantasy 14.

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Final Fantasy 14

MMORPG Systems 10.0/10 Released August 27, 2013 ESRB T for Teen - Language, Mild Blood, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix
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