Square Enix President Steps Down as Publisher Expects "Extraordinary Loss"

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has stepped down. The executive made his resignation following the company's latest financial report, in which it revised its forecast for the year and warned that it was expecting to suffer an 'extraordinary loss'.

The report in question, titled "Announcement of Revisions to Consolidated Results Forecasts and Expected Extraordinary Loss," notes the "slow sales of major console game titles" in the West, as well as poor performance within its arcade business.

In an accompanying document, the publisher announced a reshuffle of its representative directors. As such, Wada has stepped down as president into a vacant role. Representative director Yosuke Matsuda is expected to replace him in late June.

Square Enix's latest forecast tells of "extraordinary loss" that will come from "major reforms and restructuring in its development policy, organizational structure, some business models, and others." It is not an unfamiliar story, sadly - fellow major Japanese publisher SEGA also saw a huge re-organisation last year following a crippling loss within its core games division.