The merged Square-Enix didn't hesitate to get into the mobile market fairly early-a decision that paid off quite well, helping carry them through the rough transition to HD gaming that saw many Japanese developers and publishers, including Square-Enix itself, struggling to catch up.īut a question still remains: Why did the companies choose to merge at that exact point in time? Perhaps it's because things only looked rosy for the Japanese industry at the time, and there were rumors swirling about other big mergers in the industry. Despite how fancy and powerful Japanese phones were at the time, most mobile games were still very basic Java games with wonky number pad controls and restricted availability based on phone model and carrier.īut as we all know, things would change dramatically for the game industry, and by the end of the decade, console gaming in Japan was on a sharp decline as portable systems and more advanced phone apps began to dominate. ![]() Nintendo DS was still a ways off, and mobile phone gaming was still in its infancy. Major game releases frequently sold over a million copies in Japan alone-a rarity for non-Nintendo titles nowadays-and the big franchises from Square and Enix's stables were among these massive megahits. Meanwhile, PlayStation 2 was selling gangbusters, as was GBA (GameCube, less so). Relations with first-party companies were also making news: While Enix and Nintendo were always on amicable terms, Square had just begun its post-PlayStation-exclusivity "reconciliation" with the house of Mario, starting with a few games published on Game Boy Advance.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Enix was riding high off of the tremendous sales of 2000's Dragon Quest VII, which was still doing numbers years later, and Square was prepping Final Fantasy X-2, the first-ever direct sequel to a numbered Final Fantasy. Square, through a publishing partnership with Electronic Arts, was doing quite well in the West, though Enix was still struggling.īut the main market for the two at the time was Japan. Both companies had attempted to make a push into Western markets in the early '90s, retreated at the end of the 16-bit generation, and then worked to re-establish themselves overseas during the PlayStation's massive success. ![]() Square did much of its game development in-house, while Enix subcontracted with numerous other developers for most of its software output. Square was first and foremost a game development and publishing company, while Enix was a more multifaceted company, publishing not just software but books and manga as well. The idea of these two once-rival companies at the forefront of the industry joining forces to create new media experiences was very exciting, to say the least. The Japanese console gaming market was at a zenith, and optimism about the future of the industry was sky-high. I was living in Japan at the time, and to say it was a big deal was an understatement. ![]() This meant that the holders of the number one and number two RPG franchises in Japan-Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, respectively-were going to combine their forces. ![]() It was late 2002 when the announcement came: Two massive Japanese game publishers, Square (known as SquareSoft in the West) and Enix, would be merging into a single company effective April 1, 2003. Below, we take a look back at the social and economic conditions surrounding the deal, from the perspective of a Japanese resident.Ģ0 years ago, the Square-Enix merger created a Japanese gaming Goliath amongst a gaming boomīut there was a lot going on in the background overseas observers weren’t aware of. The merger between Square and Enix is celebrating its 20-year anniversary today, April 1, 2023.
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