In an interview with Game Informer, Square Enix President and CEO Yosuke Matsuda said that the objective of his company is to create some of his previous classics accessible in digital format. "We're working on this aspect: our primary games can be replayed because we've developed contemporary versions, while other classic titles, such as some NES games, are not yet accessible. We've already began a project to make them accessible on a multitude of platforms. We'd like to include them in a subscription service, so we're exploring the option of establishing a dedicated service.
The theme of maintaining the excellent video games of the past is always topical in the videogame discussion, as being able to lose pearls that in one manner or another have created history is a true danger. At the same time, nearly all producers of video games are equipping themselves with cloud gaming technologies: Bethesda also announced its new Orion service developed by I d Software at E3, for instance.
It is very essential for a video game producer to set up a company of this sort: firstly, to transmit its catalog of titles effectively through internet channels and then to maintain its characteristics in servers that it can monitor continuously. In addition, such facilities assist combat piracy, as well as maintaining players with "games as a service" type structures with which you can perform in-app purchases and subscriptions.
"I believe we're all going in that direction, so we want to be proactive in looking at those alternatives," Matsuda says. "We don't understand how to provide our service yet, but we want to create the most of our catalogue." Square Enix has been working on these techniques under the name of Project Flare for several years.
However, a issue appears to be preventing Square Enix from implementing its plan. "It's awkward to acknowledge, but for some classics from the past we can no longer find the source code," admitted Square Enix CEO. "It's sometimes very hard to find the codes because in those days, after releasing them, you wouldn't have imagined you could have sold those games like this in the future. Sometimes players ask us why we haven't revived that game yet. It's really simple: we don't understand where it finished."
Matsuda doesn't show the titles he's talking about, but acknowledges the issue is severe. For instance, in one situation, a developer carried his game's source code with him and that code was given up for lost when he left Square Enix. Luckily, it was later discovered and saved on his private PC. Time will say if Square Enix can maintain its games catalogue: it's nice to understand, though, that the issue is being solved actively right now.