Squaresoft No More!

Beginning today, November 26th, Japanese video game development companies Squaresoft and Enix will begin a merger scheduled for completion by April 1, 2003. In a financial sense, Squaresoft will be absorbed by Enix and the resultant company will be called Square Enix. Squaresoft chairman Yoichi Wada will serve as president of Square Enix. Enix representative director chairman Yasuhiro Fukushima will serve as Square Enix Chairman.

The merger is a defensive move planned to counter the possibility of smaller companies like Squaresoft and Enix being phased out of the console video game market by larger publishers like Electronic Arts, Infogrames, and Activision. Squaresoft only recovered from financial losses from the Final Fantasy movie late last year, and is still suffering from having no blockbuster release title in 2002. Enix enjoys massive success in Japan with titles including Dragon Quest and Torneko’s Adventure but has very little market power outside of Japan.

Source: GamePro and Games Are Fun