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is a Japanese video game company best known for its Console Role-playing Game franchises, which include the '' Final Fantasy '' series, the '' Dragon Quest '' series (known as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America from 1989 until 2005 ), and the '' Kingdom Hearts '' series. Square Enix was formed as the result of a Merger between rivals Square Co. and the Enix Corporation . On April 1 , 2003 , Enix legally 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 Yōichi 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 its 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. Square Enix has just recently acquired an Unreal Engine 3 license, to help in the development of future titles and game development tools.1 PRODUCTION TEAMS As of September 2003, Square Enix' production staff were divided in eight different Square teams:2
In addition to two Enix teams:
As of May 2005, Production Team 10 was headed by Yoshinori Yamagishi and was responsible for producing Tri-Ace 's games.3 Yusuke Hirata left Square Enix in June 2005 to join Aquaplus ,4 while Yasumi Matsuno left in August 2005 for speculated reasons.5 PROPERTIES Computer and video games . The ''Dragon Quest'' series is one of Square Enix's most valuable assets.]] See Also: List of Square Enix games List of Taito games 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 '' Pokémon '', and each new installment of the series routinely reaches the top of Japanese sales records, selling over 41 million units so far, with about 39 million from Japan. Overall, the '' Final Fantasy '' franchise can be considered the company's most important asset, with total worldwide sales of over 75 million units as of 2007.6 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 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 TSR, Inc . 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 Console s, as well as for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance , Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable Handheld Game Console s. The company has announced titles for the PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 and Wii consoles, as well as for the Nintendo DS . In addition, they have published games for Microsoft Windows -based Personal Computer s, and for various models of Mobile Phone . Square Enix mobile phone games are available on the Vodafone network in some European countries, including Ireland , Great 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.7 Square Enix's other franchises lag behind many non-Square Enix franchises saleswise. Before its launch, Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix, spoke about the 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."8 This reiterated Square Enix's commitment to all three next-gen consoles. Square Enix has revealed that a new seventh generation game engine called the White Engine will power the PlayStation 3 exclusive '' 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 developers realized the power of that console. In addition, the company has licensed Epic Games ' Unreal Engine 3 for use outside White Engine projects. movie]] Square Enix game series
Online Gaming Square Enix first started its online gaming business phase back in 2000. The first online game Square Enix created was ''''. 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. Film
Manga , volume 1]] The company also has a '' and '' Fullmetal Alchemist ''. Also contains manga adaptations of diverse Enix, and later Square Enix games, like '' Dragon Quest '', '' Kingdom Hearts '' and '' Star Ocean ''. Some of these titles were also adapted into anime series. '' Fullmetal Alchemist '' so far is the most successful offspring of Square Enix's manga branch. The anime series obtained great popularity in Japan and even spawned a movie sequel. Both series and movie are licensed to many locations worldwide (in North America by FUNimation Entertainment ). The same occurs with its manga series, licensed in North America by Viz Media . ''Kingdom Hearts'' and ''Spiral'' were licensed in North America by Tokyopop , however, due to unknown reasons, Tokyopop dropped ''Spiral'', and the title is now pending release by Hachette's Yen Press . '' Pani Poni Dash! '', an Anime series based on the ''Pani Poni'' Manga , was licensed in North America by ADV Films . STUDIOS
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