Square-Enix News

[BreakABone]

Well as of today, the two biggest RPG makers in the world combine into one powerful development team under the new moniker of Square-Enix.

With the merger and new name, comes a new logo:
http://www.gamerfeed.com/media/mvgf/logo.jpg


In an interview today, Square Enix President Yoichi Wada, stated that based on their sheer size now, that they should be a candidate for console developers to partner up with them to decide which direction the future of video games should go. They made it a point to say that this doesn't mean exclusivity's to one console or another, but that they should be a part of the development process that is currently under way for the next generation console. This would allow Square Enix to gather information on the systems before other publishing houses get to do so. This would obviously be in their best interest, and at the same time, console developers would get the benefit of having Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest appear on their consoles.
Even though, it's true, Square-Enix is already using their new found strenght as a powerplay against the console makers.

Within the interview it was noted that yying up their operations has also reduced the vulnerability of Enix and Square, which separately were highly dependent on one title.

Yoichi Wada said the new firm will aim to stablise earnings by releasing 20 new games annually, including the rotating launch of one new mega hit title.
So does that mean something like 19 so-so or ok-ish titles, then every year will see either a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game?

http://www.gamerfeed.com/index.php?story=2365

[DarkMaster]

This is from IGN

Square-Enix uttered its first words as a new company recently, and the folks over at Reuter's of Japan had their video cameras set to record. New company president Youchi Wada (previous president of Square) shared some thoughts with the news service on a variety of issues.

First off, and most directly related to an actual game, is talk of a Kingdom Hearts sequel. It's a no-brainer that Square-Enix wants to make the sequel happen, seeing how the original sold 850,000 units in Japan, 1.5 million units in America and 500,000 units in Europe, with an additional 300,000 units sold in Japan through the Final Mix rerelease version. In the interview, Wada expressed his company's intention for a sequel, stating "Although there are still some remaining negotiations with Disney on the matter, we will release a sequel to Kingdom Hearts and make it, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest into three pillars of the company."

Yes, kids, pillars. That's the key word in this interview. What Wada means is, the three series will serve as the company's main titles -- its backbone. This seems to suggest that Square-Enix is interested in more than just a single sequel to the Kingdom Hearts, but plans to develop an entire franchise around the name as well.

The interview continues with Wada's ideas on software development. Wada comments that Square-Enix won't say no to any given genre, but it will focus on original, story-driven RPGs. Also, subcontracted developers used by Enix for the development of its main RPG titles (such as Tri-Ace for Star Ocean 3 and Level Five for the upcoming Dragon Quest VIII) will continue to be used. Certainly news that will make many a Square and Enix fan happy.

The rest of the interview is filled with lots and lots of business jabber. Wada comments that the reason for developing the three above-mentioned titles with the intention of making them into the pillars of the company is to reduce the time between major releases, thereby achieving stability in business performance. Also adding to stability are increased profits, which will be driven in part through the use of a direct method of software sales, previously used by Enix. This will apparently help reduce the risk of unsold stock, something that tends to get in the way of big-time profits.

I hope they show some new stuff at E3.

[Crono]

Wow... I can't believe it's finally happened. The two best RPG developers and publishers for RPGs, have merged. What's even more interesting is that they plan to make Kingdom Hearts one of their main series, bout time they get another series going. Add Tri-Ace in there and SE is all set. Also, Enix has some sort of publishing contract with Game Arts (Grandia, Lunar), so thers another good RPGer under their belt for now, depending on how long Game Arts stays contracted with SE.

I really looked forward to Square-Enix's future.

[Perfect Stu]

They'll run out of ideas with the Disney liscence, but Kingdom Hearts has potential to be the best action RPG series EVER. A darker atmosphere, more brutal combat and a bunch of new characters and storylines would be amazing :eek:

[Stonecutter]

Assuming this isn't an April Fools joke.


WOW.

[CrOnO_LiNk]

Originally posted by Stonecutter
Assuming this isn't an April Fools joke.


WOW.

Well, they were set to merge today... And when I came home today and saw Kingdom Hearts 2 confirmed, I nearly fainted...

And yeah Crono, Tri-Ace is in with SquareEnix... This is some nice ****... It's a gaming dream for me. :)

[Crono]

Originally posted by Stonecutter
Assuming this isn't an April Fools joke.


WOW.

You know, that's what I always thought too, until I realized that the fiscal year for SE starts on April 1st. And, April fools day has already gone by in Japan. Also, in case you forgot, this was announced months ago.

[Stonecutter]

Well, yeah, but were you at the confrence? There's nothing to stop IGN from making that up. I'm not saying square and enix are making the joke, just IGN, and just because square bought Enix (or ea, whatever, same thing) it doesn't mean that the two are going to merge.

[Crono]

There were pictures from the conference. And Square never bought anyone. If you're talking about the SquareEA thing, that's just a publishing contract. EA published Squaresoft games in the US, and Square published EA's games in Japan.

[DarkMaster]

http://www.square-enix-usa.com

This is proof of their merge. Unless the 2 biggest RPG development companies in the world are playing a terribly cruel joke on everyone, I would think this was official.

Can you imagine the riots in Japan if this turned out to be a April Fools joke?

[BlueFire]

This is great news :)

[tarakan69]

Now they should create a bit more than PS2 games, and a 1 FF game for gamecube.

X-Box support dammit... I mean those guys derserve a bone... even if it's a late port.