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is a leading Japanese producer of video games and manga. Square Enix is best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series and the Dragon Quest series (previously known as Dragon Warrior in North America). Square Enix was formed as the result of a merger between Square Co., Ltd. and Enix that took effect as of April 1, 2003. Enix officially absorbed Square, with Square stockholders receiving 0.81 shares of stock in the new company compared to Enix stockholders receiving a one-to-one trade. Despite this, many top officials within Square assumed leadership roles in the new corporate hierarchy, including Square president Yoichi Wada, who was appointed president of the new corporation.
Corporate developments Square Enix has regional operations, including Square Enix, Inc. (for all of North America) and Square Enix Ltd (for Europe and other areas that use the PAL-television standard). In July 2003, Square Enix relocated their headquarters to Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. In March 2004, Square Enix acquired UIEvolution, Inc. in order to strengthen its wireless market. On August 22, 2005, Square Enix announced their acquisition of the amusement gaming developer and publisher, Taito Corporation, renowned for their arcade hits, Space Invaders and the Bubble Bobble series. By September 28, 2005, Square Enix had wholly acquired Taito. In January 2005, the company expanded operations to Beijing, China by establishing Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company also has a controlling interest in Community Network Software Engine of Beijing, China which focuses on network middleware for gaming. Computer and video games Main article: By far, Square Enix's video gaming properties are its most valued assets. Square Enix's Dragon Quest franchise is considered the second most popular game series in Japan, after Pokemon, and each new installment of the series routinely reaches the top of Japanese sales records. The Dragon Quest franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide, with about 39 million from Japan. The Final Fantasy franchise, however, can be considered Square Enix's most important asset, with total worldwide sales exceeding 68 million units. *. More recently, Square Enix's ''Kingdom Hearts'' series (developed in collaboration with Disney's Buena Vista Games) has become massively popular worldwide, adding another valuable asset to the company. In May 2004 Square Enix announced an agreement with Sony Online Entertainment for the Japanese publishing rights to EverQuest II. As of 2006, Square Enix has produced titles for the Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox 360 video game consoles, as well as for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable handheld game consoles. The company has announced titles for the upcoming PlayStation 3, and Wii consoles, as well as for the Xbox 360. In addition, they have published games for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers, and for various models of mobile phone. Square Enix mobile phone games are available on the Vodafone network in some European countries, including Britain, Spain, and France. Twenty five of Square Enix's video games were included in Famitsu magazine's top 100 games, seven being in the top ten list *. They are mostly Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games. Final Fantasy is Square Enix's most successful franchise, with Dragon Quest being second. Square Enix's other franchises lag behind many non-Square Enix franchises saleswise. Recently, Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix, spoke about the upcoming 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 has revealed that a new seventh generation game engine called the White Engine will power Final Fantasy XIII and other future PS3 games. Originally in development for the PlayStation 2, the White Engine was moved to the PlayStation 3 after they developers realized the power of that console. Square Enix game franchises Film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a CGI-animation movie based on Squaresoft's successful PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII that is set two years after the events of the game. Manga The company also has a manga publishing division in Japan (from Enix) called Gangan Comics. It publishes manga for the Japanese market only. It also publishes a popular Japanese manga anthology called Monthly Shonen Gangan. Titles published by Gangan Comics include Papuwa, Pani Poni, , , , , and Fullmetal Alchemist. Also contains manga adaptations of diverse Enix, and later Square-Enix games, like Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts. Fullmetal Alchemist was licensed for release in North America by Viz Media, while Kingdom Hearts and were licensed by Tokyopop. Pani Poni Dash! anime series based on the Pani Poni manga has been licensed in North America by ADV Films Studios See also List of Square Enix games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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