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Japanese businessman

Yoichi Wada (和田 洋一) is a former president and representative director of the Japanese video game and publishing company Square Enix as well as its subsidiary Taito. He is also the former chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA), the former chairman of the Digital Content Use Promotion Conference, former president of Shinra Technologies and a former member of the Japanese Brand and Contents Council. He is a current outside director of Metaps.

Wada was born on May 28, 1959, in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. As a teenager and young student, Wada was a fan of Pong, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Xevious. When he lived in Warsaw, he also enjoyed games from the Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdoms computer game series. After receiving a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Tokyo, he went through an apprenticeship in the financial services group and global investment bank Nomura Securities to build a track record of success. Starting in 1984, he served in the group as part of the corporate strategy division, the investment banking division, and the controller division. In 2000, he decided to join "a company with a 'theme'" and, thinking that one of the themes of the 21st century was "creating society", chose the video game company Square. He helped reform the company's management system. On March 26, 2013, Yoichi Wada announced his resignation as CEO of Square Enix and that former company director Yosuke Matsuda would replace him. The company planned the change to go into effect in June 2013. Square Enix revealed that Wada resigned from his post in May 2013 and in June 2013 took up a new position as Chairman of the Board of Square Enix Co., Ltd. However, he did not hold the “right of representation” for the company. On June 16, 2015, Wada left Square Enix after the end of his contractual term.

Wada became the chairman of the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) in May 2006. The association aims to promote the computer entertainment industry through research activities and exhibitions, including the annual Tokyo Game Show. In March 2012, it was announced that he would step down from his position at CESA in May 2012. Namco Bandai's Vice President Shin Unozawa replaced him. He had also held the Chairmanship of the Digital Content Use Promotion Conference of the Keidanren and was a Japanese Brand and Contents Council member. In September 2014, Square Enix announced the establishment of Shinra Technologies, an autonomous subsidiary offering cloud based gaming services. Wada acted as its founder and president. In an interview with GameSpot in March 2015, Wada said the companies' goal was to offer the cloud based gaming service as a platform with new and exclusive content instead of pre existing content like other services. He also said that their cloud based gaming service would utilize supercomputers, allowing developers to create higher quality games than what is possible for modern consoles and personal computers. On May 11, 2015, Metaps, an application analysis and marketing company, announced that Wada had joined their company as an outside director. On January 6, 2016, Square Enix announced that they would be dissolving Shinra Technologies due to a lack of investment.

In January 2010, Wada, asked about his opinion on "big budget, long in development" Square Enix games such as Final Fantasy XIII, noted: "[W]hether we are going to continue to internally create this type of game remains to be seen, because I actually feel that the team that was involved with Final Fantasy XIII should next move on to create and generate some 'next generation' forms of play. Internally and externally I feel there's an expectation of Square Enix to offer something new, and I really think that the Final Fantasy team could create something completely different, but at the moment they're strictly catering to the particular audience they have now." Wada proposed that the best strategy to combat this involved personalized saves and a social community built around gaming to help players understand the product's value.