Square Enix's Mike Fischer on trends and the changing game industry

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In an interview with Gamasutra, Mike Fischer, recently appointed president of Square Enix's US operations, spoke at great length about the current state of the game industry.

Fischer noted that Square Enix is necessarily focused on building games for "gamers," primarily because he believes that the definition of gamer is "very subjective."

As an example, Fischer pointed to television networks canceling soap operas because their primary audience are spending time playing games. "If they're playing more games an hour than a college student, who is the gamer?" he asked.

That said, even though social games are "hot" right now Square Enix won't abandon traditional game development for the sake of a trend that Fischer believes may not last. The company has, according to Fischer, a "strong lineup and strong IP" that gives him "confidence in a long term success" and an opportunity to take part in current trends outside of core games.

Check out Gamasutra for the full interview, which covers Square Enix's strategy going forward and Fischer's thoughts on new IP, the console development cycle and more.