Enix comments on development plans

[05.10.01] » Square-Namco-Enix collaborations will appear soon; Dragon Quest VIII won't.

   Core Magazine today reported that Enix software director Kogi Taguchi has confirmed that Square, Namco, and Enix will collaborate on upcoming titles. Such a move was widely speculated on after the three companies invested in one another, but remained unconfirmed until now. The first team effort games will reportedly be announced in June at a shareholders' meeting.

   It's still unclear how this alliance pertains to Xenosaga, a Namco-developed title that is for all practical purposes a prequel to Square's Xenogears. While Xenosaga was announced before the stock-swap agreement, its formal unveiling on July 8th will take place after the shareholders' meeting. In other words, it's still quite likely that Xenosaga is the first title to come out of the agreement.

   Taguchi also confirmed that Dragon Quest VIII would not be released before the end of this fiscal year in March 2002 -- not a terrible surprise, given the long development time of DQ VII. Taguchi did,however, leave the door open for possible remakes of past Dragon Quest titles to appear before March.