There had been some confusion recently over the leadership of Square Enix, with Yosuke Matsuda, who had served as president for 10 years, announcing that he would be handing over both positions to Takashi Kiryu, after which it was business as usual. However, Kiryu took the stage at the Final Fantasy 16 pre-launch ceremony to announce his appointment and quickly won the hearts of Square Enix fans.

Kiryu appeared after the latest Final Fantasy 16 trailer played and immediately began to incite the crowd to cheer and applaud the game. He then launched into a remarkable recollection of his own childhood, his own connection to Square Enix games, and how he falls asleep in class because he can't stop playing games.

"Welcome to the Final Fantasy 16 celebration. Thank you for being a part of our show."

"Thank you for being a part of our show. Your unrelenting support over the years has led our developers to miracles. I am a fan honored to serve as the new CEO of Square Enix." [This is when I began to realize that Square Enix really made a good choice.

"Now, I don't know how you felt when you saw that trailer. But I felt like a kid again, like a little boy back in the winter of 1987 who loved RPGs and loved Dragon Quest, which had come out the year before and was fantastic." As a reward for helping my parents pick oranges, and as a result of my begging for an early Christmas present, my father bought me my first Final Fantasy."

Within a minute or two of his first big public presentation, the audience was already paying attention to Kiryu's every word. It is clear that this is not something that a speechwriter has concocted, but a memory that is personal and meaningful to him. The audience began to cheer and applaud his story.

"I was surprised from the beginning," Kiryu continued. 'There is no title screen. No title screen. I began to think that maybe my father had bought the wrong game."

"But I kept playing, and playing, and eventually we left the castle and crossed the bridge, and the screen changed. That music, that moment when the title appeared, that surprise, that joy, is still burned into my memory.

"From then on, I was hooked. I was a lifelong Final Fantasy fan."

At this point, Kiryu could have said more or less anything. Somehow it gets even better.

"Every time a new title came out, I had to make time to play it. Forget homework, eating, sleeping. Sleep in class anyway. My friends were into sports and other activities, but I was focused on the game."

"Besides. A number of my teachers told me that if all I did was play games, I would never be successful in life. But you know what? They would be very surprised if they saw me standing on this stage with you right now."

I mean... It's a dream come true moment. Anyone who likes to play games has, to a greater or lesser degree, had their eyebrows raised at their hobby or been told negative things about how they spend their time. These are the teachers who lumped games in with smoking and sleeping in the back of the bike shed. With the cool-headed politeness of a Japanese executive, Kiryu smoked and instantly became a popular figure among Square Enix fans.

No one knows what Kiryu's future path as a leader of Square Enix will be. This is because some worry that Kiryu may be as interested in NFT and Web3 nonsense as his predecessor, Matsuda. However, as a first impression, nothing could be further from the truth.

"We believe that games have unlimited potential. Games have the potential to change our lives in profound ways." As the new CEO of Square Enix, I will cherish the childhood memories that instilled in me the gamer's spirit and strive to deliver entertainment that promises unforgettable new experiences for fans around the world.

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