Square Enix

'''Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.''' (株式会社スクウェア・エニックス・ホールディングス, ''Kabushiki-gaisha Sukuwea Enikkusu Hōrudingusu''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_sets ?) is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_role-playing_game console role-playing game franchises, which include the ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy Final Fantasy'' series, the ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest Dragon Quest'' series, and the action-RPG ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Hearts_%28series%29 Kingdom Hearts'' series.

'''Square Enix''' was formed as the result of a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mergers_and_acquisitions merger between http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Co. Square Co. and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enix Enix Corporation. The merger occurred in April 1, 2003, with Square stockholders receiving 0.89 shares of stock in the new company compared to Enix stockholders receiving a one-to-one trade. At the time, 80% of Square Enix staff were made up of former Square Co. employees. As part of the merger, many of the top officials within Square Co. assumed the leadership roles in the new corporate hierarchy, including http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President president http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dichi_Wada Yōichi Wada, who was appointed president of the corporation. The original founder of Enix, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuhiro_Fukushima Yasuhiro Fukushima, is currently the largest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder shareholder of the corporation.

The company also owns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taito_Corporation Taito Corporation and Square Enix Europe (which owns fellow publisher and developer Eidos Interactive). Eidos will cease to exist as a publisher, as it has been absorbed into a new subsidiary Square Enix Europe. Square Enix will now publish all of Eidos' owned IPs and currently owns Eidos' development studios. Eidos was most well known for publishing ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_%28series%29 Tomb Raider'' and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitman_%28series%29 Hitman which Square Enix will now publish and is also well known for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championship_Manager Championship Manager series of games.
==Corporate history==
*April 1, 2003 - Square Enix formed.
*July 2003 - Square Enix relocated its headquarters to Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo.
*March 2004 - Square Enix acquired UIEvolution, Inc. in order to strengthen its wireless market.
*January 2005 - Square Enix founded Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd (China), expanding their interests in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China People's Republic of China (The company also has a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlling_interest controlling interest in Community Network Software Engine of Beijing, China which focuses on network middle-ware for gaming)
*August 22, 2005 - Square Enix announced its acquisition of the gaming developer and publisher, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taito_Corporation Taito Corporation, renowned for their arcade hits, ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Invaders Space Invaders'' and the ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Bobble Bubble Bobble'' series.
*September 28, 2005 -The acquisition of Taito is completed.
*week of September 5, 2006 - Square Enix sued for breaking a contract with http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soft-World_International&action=edit&redlink=1 Soft-World International.
*December 2007, UIEvolution splits from Square Enix to become an independent company
*August 29, 2008 - Square Enix made plans for a friendly takeover of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecmo Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of 22.3 billion yen.
*September 4, 2008 - Square Enix withdrew their offer after http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecmo Tecmo rejected the proposed takeover. Pure Dreams series formed.
*February 12, 2009 - Square Enix announced a takeover deal worth £84.3 million (32p per share) for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidos_plc Eidos plc, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holding_company holding company for http://deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Eidos_Interactive Eidos Interactive, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom UK-based publisher of the ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_%28series%29 Tomb Raider'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitman_%28series%29 Hitman'' and Deus Ex (series)|Deus Ex franchises.
*April 22, 2009 - The acquisition of Eidos is completed

==Business model==
The business model of Square Enix is centered on the idea of "polymorphic content", which consists in developing franchises on all potential hardware or media rather than being restricted by a single gaming platform. An early example of this strategy is Enix's ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga series, which has been adapted into two anime TV series, a movie and several novels and video games. Other polymorphic projects include ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compilation_of_Final_Fantasy_VII Compilation of Final Fantasy VII'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Age Code Age'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Mana World of Mana'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivalice_Alliance Ivalice Alliance'' and ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabula_Nova_Crystallis_Final_Fantasy_XIII Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII''. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoichi_Wada Yoichi Wada, "it's very difficult to hit the jackpot, as it were. Once we've hit it, we have to get all the juice possible out of it".

The standard game design model of Square Enix is to establish the plot, characters and art of the game first. Battle systems, field maps and cutscenes are created next. A typical game of the company involves a team of at most 200 people. Square Enix doesn't usually use other companies' engines, preferring to code from scratch. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taku_Murata Taku Murata, Square Enix has settled into this game making model since http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Co. Square's ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII'' in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_in_video_gaming 1997 and did not try other approaches since, as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enix Enix did not have any internal development studio. Similar to Sony's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_Greatest_Hits_games Greatest Hits program, Square Enix sometimes re-releases games under the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Hits Ultimate Hits label, a designation given to games that have achieved a certain level of sales, at a reduced retail price.

In http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_in_video_gaming 2004, Square Enix began to work on a "common 3D format" which would allow the entire company to develop titles without being restricted to a specific platform: this led to the creation of a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_engine game engine, named http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Tools Crystal Tools, which is compatible with the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3 PlayStation 3, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360 Xbox 360, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows Windows-based http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer PCs and to some extent the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii Wii. Nevertheless, Square Enix has also begun considering other companies' engines and programming languages, licencing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games Epic Games' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_engine Unreal engine in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_video_gaming 2007 for use in ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Remnant The Last Remnant'', and using the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_%28programming_language%29 Squirrel language for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiiWare WiiWare title ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Crystal_Chronicles:_My_Life_as_a_King Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King''.



==Properties==
Square Enix's main concentration is on video gaming. Of its properties, the ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy Final Fantasy'' franchise is the best-selling of Square-Enix's properties, with total worldwide sales of over 80 million units as of 2007. Square Enix's ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest Dragon Quest'' franchise is considered the third most popular game series in Japan after ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario Mario'' and ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon Pokémon'', and new installments regularly outsell other games at the times of their release. Of the 53 million units of games in the series sold so far, about 49.7 million have been from Japan, and about 2.3 million have been from North America. More recently, Square Enix's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Hearts_%28series%29 ''Kingdom Hearts'' series (developed in collaboration with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company Disney's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Interactive_Studios Buena Vista Games) has become popular.

In early 2003, Square Enix's U.S. subsidiary registered the ''Dragon Quest'' trademark, retiring the ''Dragon Warrior'' moniker, which was necessitated in 1989 due a trademark conflict with the now defunct http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSR,_Inc. TSR, Inc.. In May 2004 Square Enix announced an agreement with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Online_Entertainment Sony Online Entertainment for the Japanese publishing rights to ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EverQuest_II EverQuest II''. Square Enix has produced or is producing titles for most major consoles beginning with the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System Nintendo Entertainment System, though never on a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega Sega platform. Square Enix has historically developed exclusively for certain consoles. The company developed its flagship games almost exclusively for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System Nintendo Entertainment System, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System Super Nintendo Entertainment System, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation PlayStation, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2 PlayStation 2 in their respective eras. However, Square Enix is not developing all of its major titles for one console exclusively in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoles_%28seventh_generation%29 seventh generation, as they have done in the past, but instead released the next major installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII Final Fantasy XIII'' on both the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3 PlayStation 3 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360 Xbox 360 in North America and Europe, and has recently announced that ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_X Dragon Quest X'' will be released on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii Wii. Square Enix has developed titles for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_game_console handheld game consoles, including the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Advance Game Boy Advance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS Nintendo DS and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable PlayStation Portable. In addition, they have published games for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows Microsoft Windows-based http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer personal computers, and for various models of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone mobile phones. Square Enix mobile phone games are available on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafone Vodafone network in some European countries, including http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland Ireland, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain Great Britain, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain Spain, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France France. Twenty-seven Square-Enix games were included in ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famitsu Famitsu'' magazine's 'Top 100 Games Ever', seven being in the top ten list, with ''Final Fantasy X'' claiming the number one position.

Before its launch, Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix, spoke about the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3 PlayStation 3, saying "We don't want the PlayStation 3 to be the overwhelming loser, so we want to support them, but we don't want them to be the overwhelming winner either, so we can't support them too much." Square Enix continued to reiterate their devotion to multi-platform publishing in 2007, promising more support for the North American and European gaming markets where console pluralism is generally more prevalent than in Japan. Their interest in multi-platform development was made clear in 2008 when the previously http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3 PlayStation 3-exclusive game ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII Final Fantasy XIII'' was announced for release on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360 Xbox 360.

In 2008 Square Enix and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_Powered_Games Gas Powered Games announced partnership on the game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Commander_2 Supreme Commander 2. On July 8, 2008, Square Enix released their first game for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod iPod, ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Summoner:_The_Unsung_Heroes Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes''. Also in 2008, Square Enix made a new brand for kids gaming, known as ''Pure Dreams''. Its purpose is to create games suitable for kids. The brand is now planning more games. Pure Dreams have just completed their first two games, ''http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Snoopy_DS:_Let%27s_Go_Meet_Snoopy_and_His_friends&action=edit&redlink=1 Snoopy DS: Let's Go Meet Snoopy and His friends'' (released in Japan on October 9, 2008) and ''http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pingu%27s_Wonderful_Carnival&action=edit&redlink=1 Pingu's Wonderful Carnival'' (released in Japan on November 6, 2008). Both games are planned for a US release.

In 2009, Square Enix acquired http://deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Eidos_Interactive Eidos Interactive the company responsible for popular game series such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_%28series%29 Tomb Raider and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitman_%28series%29 Hitman, as well as the publishing of the Windows versions of ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII'' and ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII VIII''. Square Enix has absorbed Eidos into a new division called Square Enix Europe. Future Eidos games will be published by Square Enix.
===Online gaming===
Before the merger, Enix published its first online game ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Gate Cross Gate'' in Japan, mainland China, and Taiwan in 2001 and Square release ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XI Final Fantasy XI'' in Japan on May 16, 2002 for the PlayStation 2. With the huge success after Square Enix released Final Fantasy XI worldwide in March 2004, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft Microsoft had the game ported into the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360 Xbox 360 two years later, making it the first ''Final Fantasy'' game ever to be on the Xbox console. Due to the success of their http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_role-playing_game MMORPG, Square Enix began a new project called ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Earth:_ZERO Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion''. GamePot, a Japanese game portal, got the license to publish ''Fantasy Earth'' in Japan and it was released in Japan as "Fantasy Earth ZERO." In November 2006, however, Square Enix dropped the ''Fantasy Earth Zero'' project, giving acquisition to GamePot.

A next-gen MMORPG code named ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture_%28video_game%29 Rapture'' is currently in development by the ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XI Final Fantasy XI'' team using the company's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Tools Crystal Tools engine. It was unveiled at E3 2009 that the MMO, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIV Final Fantasy XIV, for PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows, will be released in 2010. A code to have a chance to be included in the Final Fantasy XIV beta was included with the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS3 PS3 version of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII Final Fantasy XIII. Also included is a code for an in-game item upon the release of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIV Final Fantasy XIV.
===Other media===
The company has made two forays into the film industry. The first, ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy:_The_Spirits_Within Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'' (2001), was produced by Square subsidiary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Pictures Square Pictures prior to the merger (Square Pictures is now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix). Its box-office failure caused Enix to delay the merger, which was already considered before the creation of the film, for fear of associating itself with a company that loses money. In 2005, Square Enix released ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII_Advent_Children Final Fantasy VII Advent Children'', a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-generated_imagery CGI-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation animation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film movie based on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation PlayStation game ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII Final Fantasy VII'', set two years after the events of the game.

The company also has a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga manga publishing division in Japan (originally from Enix) called '''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangan_Comics Gangan Comics''', which publishes content for the Japanese market only. Titles published by Gangan Comics include ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_God Black God'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papuwa Papuwa'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pani_Poni_Dash%21 Pani Poni'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral:_Suiri_no_Kizuna Spiral'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_is_My_Master He is My Master'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumekui_Kenbun Yumekui Kenbun'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubt_%28manga%29 Doubt'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_Blade Bamboo Blade'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Butler Black Butler'',''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Eater_%28manga%29 Soul Eater'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_Loan Zombie Loan'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist Fullmetal Alchemist'', and ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni Higurashi no Naku Koro ni''. Other titles include manga adaptations of diverse Square Enix games, like ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest Dragon Quest'', ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Hearts Kingdom Hearts'' and ''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Ocean Star Ocean''. Some of these titles have also been adapted into anime series.

''http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist Fullmetal Alchemist'' so far is the most successful offspring of Square Enix's manga branch, with more than 30 million volumes sold in Japan alone. The anime series obtained great popularity and even spawned a movie sequel. Both series and movie are licensed to many locations worldwide (in North America by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FUNimation_Entertainment FUNimation Entertainment). The same occurs with its manga series, licensed in North America by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viz_Media Viz Media. ''Kingdom Hearts'' and ''Spiral'' were licensed in North America by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyopop Tokyopop; Tokyopop dropped ''Spiral'', but the title was later licensed again by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachette_Book_Group_USA Hachette's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yen_Press Yen Press, which has licensed other Square Enix titles including ''Soul Eater'', ''Bamboo Blade'' and ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni''. Other titles like ''Soul Eater'', ''Sekirei'', ''Bamboo Blade'' and ''Shikabane Hime'' also were adapted to TV and licensed to other countries, including a second ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' anime series which debuted on Japanese television in 2009 and America on adult swim in 2010.
==Subsidiaries==
*Square Enix. (Japan, Headquarters) ''Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Shibuya, Tokyo.''
*Square En. (North America) ''the third floor of 999 North Sepulveda Boulevard in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Segundo,_California El Segundo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California California, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States United States.''
*Square Enix Ltd. (Europe/ PAL areas) ''the second floor of the Castle House in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough_of_Islington Borough of Islington in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London London, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom United Kingdom.''
**Square Enix Europe
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Game_Studios Beautiful Game Studios
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Dynamics Crystal Dynamics
***Eidos Montréal
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidos_Shanghai Eidos Shanghai
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IO_Interactive IO Interactive
*Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd. ''Room 610 of Golder Plaza, No. 10 in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haidian_District Haidian District, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing Beijing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China People's Republic of China.''
*Digital Entertainment Academy Co. Ltd.
*Square Enix Mobile
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taito Taito (Headquartered in Japan), founded in 1953, acquired on September 28, 2005.
*UIEvolution
==Reviews and rating==
*The company won http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGN IGN's award for Best Developer of 2006 for the PlayStation 2.
*Square Enix's North American subsidiary, Square Enix, Inc., joined The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Business_Bureau Better Business Bureau in July 2007 and was assigned a rating of "C++". The BBB rating has since been upgraded to "A+".
Category:Video game developers
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