square enix microtransactions

Square Enix: ‘Games as a Service’ Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Microtransactions

Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda has once again reiterated that ‘Games as a Service’ (GaaS) means more than just microtransactions, and said that the gaming community tends to take the phrase negatively.

In the latest issue of EDGE magazine (via Wccftech), Matsuda stressed that the idea behind GaaS is to keep games fresh and exciting post release.

I think a lot of the time when people hear the phrase “games as a service”, they always focus on the problem of microtransactions – they really close out the meaning to just being that. We look at it in a much broader sense. If you look at the idea of adding things to a game after release to keep it fresh and exciting, to keep people playing over a long time, and all the different ways you can do that, it comes to express a lot more. People are too focused on the problems.

In September last year, Square Enix expressed an interest in the GaaS model. The company wrote in a note to its clients that going forward, it will develop games with an emphasis on long-term user engagement. This news wasn’t received particularly well by the gaming community as many fear such a model will result in increased monetization.

What do our readers think of Matsuda’s comments?

[Source: Wccftech via Reddit]

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