Out of the door

John Riccitiello is not the only high-profile video game executive to be heading for the exit door, as Square Enix gaffer Yoichi Wada has been ousted from the company following a dire financial forecast for its current fiscal year. The outgoing boss had been in the job since 2000, but he’ll now be replaced by former company president Yosuke Matsuda in June.

The change in leadership is just one of many that the Japanese publisher plans to implement over the coming months, as it reorganises its management team and restructures its business operations. “The company has decided to implement major reforms and restructuring in its development policy, organisational structure, some business models, and others,” it said in a statement.

As a result of the process, the company has revised its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year ending 31st March. While it primarily blamed sluggish sales in North America and Europe, it confirmed that the restructuring initiative will cost the firm ¥10 billion ($106 million). It now expects to record an incredible ¥13 billion ($138 million) net loss for the business year, as opposed to the ¥3.5 billion ($37 million) net profit originally predicted. Ouch.

Fans have been calling for Wada’s head for a while, citing the executive as one of the primary reasons for the company’s lack of direction. Ironically, Square Enix’s biggest successes in recent years have come from its acquired western arm, Eidos – a deal that the under fire executive helped to broker back in 2009.

[source hd.square-enix.com, via hd.square-enix.com, eurogamer.net, vg247.com, computerandvideogames.com, polygon.com]