New President For Square Enix U.S. Division

Tokyo-headquartered Square Enix on Wednesday announced that video game industry veteran Mike Fischer will take the reins as president and CEO of the company's U.S. division. Fischer replaces John Yamamoto, former head of the Los Angeles-based U.S. operation. Fischer will oversee the Square Enix brand and other properties including Eidos and Taito in the Americas. Fischer previously worked with companies including Sega and Namco in the U.S., and most recently was consumer and online marketing officer for Microsoft in the UK. Former U.S. head Yamamoto will now take on the role of executive advisor. Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix has been making efforts to gain a better foothold in Western territories through partnerships with Western companies and the acquisition of UK-based Eidos last year. "We are pleased to have the benefit of Mike's global leadership experience in interactive entertainment and look forward to the significant contribution he will bring to the growth of our North American business," said Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada in a statement. Wada noted Japan's shift in focus to Western-style games in a recent Gamasutra interview. "...Until just a few years ago, Japanese game companies were really not making Western types of games at all, and it almost looks like, thanks to the pent up demand for Western-style games, that they are starting to do this today," he said.