{{Short description|Japanese video game company}} {{good article}} {{Use American English|date=June 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox company | name = Square Co., Ltd. | logo = Square Logo.svg | native_name = 株式会社スクウェア | romanized_name = Kabushiki Gaisha Sukuwea | type = Kabushiki gaisha | fate = Merged with Enix | successor = Square Enix | founder = Masafumi Miyamoto | founded = {{start date and age|1986|9}}<ref name="Foundation"/>{{efn|On April 24, 1991, Square was merged into another company established on July 11, 1966, that became the new Square Co., Ltd.<ref name="Fiscal2019"/>}} | defunct = {{start date and age|2003|4|1}} | location = Meguro, Tokyo, Japan | industry = Video games | products = See complete products listing | key_people = Tomoyuki Takechi (chairman)<br>Hironobu Sakaguchi (EVP, 1991–2001)<br>Hisashi Suzuki (president and CEO, 1995–2001)<br>Yoichi Wada (CFO, 2000–2001, president, 2001–2003) | num_employees = 888 (September 2002) | subsidiaries = See subsidiaries | website = {{url|https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.square.co.jp|www.square.co.jp}} | footnotes = <ref name="profile"/> }}
{{Nihongo foot|'''Square Co., Ltd.''',|株式会社スクウェア|Kabushiki-gaisha Sukuwea|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} also known under its international brand name '''SquareSoft''', was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto, who spun off the computer game software division of Den-Yu-Sha, a power line construction company owned by his father. Among its early employees were designers Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Initially focusing on action games, the team saw popular success with the role-playing video game ''Final Fantasy'' in 1987, which would lead to the franchise of the same name being one of its flagship franchises. Later notable staff included directors Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita, designer and writer Yasumi Matsuno, artists Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora, and composers Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu.
Initially developing for PCs, then exclusively for Nintendo systems, Square cut ties with Nintendo in the 1990s to develop for Sony Computer Entertainment's upcoming console PlayStation. Their first major project for the console, ''Final Fantasy VII'', was a worldwide critical and commercial success and was credited with boosting the popularity of role-playing video games and the PlayStation outside Japan. Alongside the ''Final Fantasy'' series, the company developed and published several other notable series, including ''SaGa'', ''Mana'', ''Front Mission'', ''Chrono'' and ''Kingdom Hearts''. Over the years, many staff left to found studios such as the still active Monolith Soft and Mistwalker, and the now defunct Sacnoth and AlphaDream.
In 2001, the company saw financial troubles due to the commercial failure of the feature film ''Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'', which ultimately led Sakaguchi to leave the company in 2003. The film's failure disrupted merger discussions with Enix, publisher of the ''Dragon Quest'' series. Following the success of ''Final Fantasy X'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'', negotiations resumed and the merger went ahead on April 1, 2003, forming Square Enix.
==History== ===Origins=== Square was initially established in September 1983 as a software subsidiary of Den-Yu-Sha, an electric power conglomerate led by Kuniichi Miyamoto.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="history"/> His son Masafumi Miyamoto, then a part-time employee of the Science and Technology Department at Keio University, had little interest in following his father into the electricity business.<ref name="history"/><ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Miyamoto instead became a software developer at the Yokohama branch of Den-Yu-Sha in Hiyoshi, with a focus on the emerging video game market.<ref name="history"/><ref name="paper"/> Their original offices were based in a former hairdresser's salon.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> The company's name referred to a golfing term, and represented its aim to face challenges head-on. It also referenced a town square, emphasizing a production environment based on cooperation.<ref name="SquareName"/>
At the time, video games in Japan were usually created by a single programmer. Miyamoto, on the other hand, believed that graphic designers, programmers, and professional story writers would be needed to keep up with advances in computing and video game development.<ref name="paper"/> During these early years, the group was compared to a family business; one of the early hires, Shinichiro Kajitani, joined because he was a friend of Miyamoto, and later compared the company at that time to a "college club".<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> To recruit for this new organizational structure, Miyamoto organized a salon in Yokohama and offered jobs to those who demonstrated exceptional programming skills.<ref name="history"/> This led to the part-time hiring of university students Hironobu Sakaguchi and Hiromichi Tanaka, as well as Hisashi Suzuki, who would go on to become Square's CEO.<ref name="history"/><ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Miyamoto's initial plan was to recruit from Keio University, but this never materialized.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/>
===1985–1987: First games, ''Final Fantasy''=== [[File:Hironobu Sakaguchi in 2015 (16102150083) (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=A man speaking into a microphone|Hironobu Sakaguchi (pictured in 2015) was an early employee of Square and created its popular ''Final Fantasy'' franchise.]] Square's first attempt at a game was an adaptation of the television game show ''Torin-ingen''. As Miyamoto had not secured the license to adapt it, the show's producers forced Square to cancel the game, prompting its team to be reshuffled.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Square's first completed game was ''The Death Trap'' (1984) for NEC PC-8801, a text adventure set in a war-torn African nation. ''The Death Trap'' was the first game published under the Square brand.<ref name="SquareInfo1998"/><ref name="LastStoryAsks"/> Its sequel, ''Will: The Death Trap II'', was released the following year to commercial success.<ref name="paper"/> Many of Square's early titles were produced for PC devices, and focused on the action genre.<ref name="SakaguchiForbes"/><ref name="PUsakaguchi"/>
In 1985, the company negotiated a licensing agreement with Nintendo to develop titles for the Family Computer.<ref name="SquareInfo1998"/> The company shifted to developing for the Famicom to benefit from its stable hardware, compared to the constantly changing components of PCs.<ref name="PCbook"/> Square's first Famicom release was a port of the run and gun game ''Thexder'' (1985), and its first original game was the scrolling shooter ''King's Knight'' (1986).<ref name="paper"/><ref name="SakaguchiForbes"/> During this period, the team also hired new developers Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, Iranian-American programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/><ref name="IwataKawazu"/><ref name="FFVillustrator"/><ref name="1UPff"/> Yusuke Hirata joined that year as sales manager, and later became the company's publicity manager.<ref name="Hirata"/><ref name="HirataEGM"/>
In April 1986, Square moved into new offices based in Ginza, noted as one of the most expensive areas for companies to operate; Sakaguchi later speculated Miyamoto was hoping to attract business by appearing affluent.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Square was re-established as an independent developer in September of that year with capital of ¥10 million, buying the original Square gaming division from Den-Yu-Sha in December.<ref name="Foundation"/> Sakaguchi was appointed as a Director of Planning and Development,<ref name="bio"/> and Hisashi Suzuki became one of the company's directors.<ref name="SuzukiInfo"/> Due to the high cost of Ginza rents, the company was forced to move into smaller offices in Okachimachi, Taitō.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Square began struggling financially following multiple commercial failures for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System peripheral.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/><ref name="RetroDisk"/> Miyamoto asked the company's four directors for game proposals, with plans to have their staff vote on the best idea. Sakaguchi proposed making a role-playing video game (RPG), believing it to be a viable project after the success of Enix's ''Dragon Quest'' (1986).<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/>
While skeptical, Miyamoto allowed production of the RPG on the condition it only had a five-person team. Sakaguchi led development, bringing in Gebelli, Kawazu, Ishii, and Uematsu.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Production of the game, eventually called ''Final Fantasy'', proceeded in "fits and starts". Sakaguchi eventually received help from the other team at Square led by Tanaka, which included Shibuya and newcomer debugger Hiroyuki Ito.<ref name="1UPff"/><ref name="ff12_zjs_ultimania"/><ref name="ff9_ultimania"/> Production on the game lasted roughly ten months. While shipments of 200,000 units were planned, Sakaguchi persuaded Square to double that number.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/><ref name="1UPff"/> ''Final Fantasy'' was released in 1987 to commercial success, selling over 400,000 copies in Japan.<ref name="1UPff"/> It saw greater sales success in North American when it was released in 1989, selling 700,000 copies.<ref name="FFna"/> Two other Japanese successes from 1987 were ''Rad Racer'' and ''The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner''.<ref name="NextGenSakaguchi"/>
===1987–1995: Expansion and notable staff=== The success of ''Final Fantasy'' prompted development of ''Final Fantasy II'' (1988), which established many of the series recurring elements. This and four more ''Final Fantasy'' titles would appear on the Famicom and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom), culminating in ''Final Fantasy VI'' (1994). These were among a string of projects that Square produced exclusively for Nintendo consoles, including the portable Game Boy.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/><ref name="PolygonRetro"/> In 1990, Square moved its offices to the Akasaka district, and then to Ebisu, Shibuya in 1992.<ref name="SquareInfo1998"/> In April 1991, Square merged with an identically named dormant company in order to change its share prices. As a result of the merger, Square's foundation was backdated to the other company's July 1966 founding date.<ref name="Foundation"/>
At that time, Square drew some of its development funding from loans from Shikoku Bank. Due to increasing development costs, the bank sent Tomoyuki Takechi on secondment to be their office manager in 1990. Takechi's secondment lasted until 1994, by which time Square had annual sales worth ¥16 million per year.<ref name="TakechiInterviewA"/><ref name="TakechiInterviewB"/> In August of that year, Square registered with the Japan Securities Dealers Association to offer shares for public purchase.<ref name="SquareName"/> Sakaguchi was by now a prominent figure within the company, and was promoted to Executive President in 1991.<ref name="EuroSakaguchi"/><ref name="bio"/> His increasing corporate involvement lessened his creative input, prompting him to give greater influence to other staff.<ref name="development2"/> Gebelli left Square in 1993, retiring on royalties from the ''Final Fantasy'' series.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/><ref name="NextGenSakaguchi"/> Miyamoto stepped down as Square's President in 1991 while remaining a major shareholder, and was replaced by Tetsuo Mizuno.<ref name="Security1995"/><ref name="RPGFmiyamoto"/> In 1991, Suzuki became Vice President.<ref name="SuzukiInfo"/>
As ''Final Fantasy'' became a featured property for the company, Square produced additional projects that became successful series of their own.<ref name="EuroSakaguchi"/> The Japan-exclusive real-time strategy series ''Hanjuku Hero'', which began in 1988, parodied conventions of the RPG genre.<ref name="HeroA"/><ref name="HeroB"/> Kawazu helmed an RPG project for the Game Boy. Released in 1989, ''Makai Toushi SaGa'' (''The Final Fantasy Legend'') spawned the ''SaGa'' series, which Kawazu would continue to be involved over the years.<ref name="gpara"/><ref name="RetroInfo"/> After the release of ''Final Fantasy III'' (1990), Ishii was offered the chance to create his own game, leading to the production of ''Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden'' (''Final Fantasy Adventure'') for the Game Boy in 1991. Ishii went on to develop additional ''Seiken Densetsu'' titles, released outside of Japan as the ''Mana'' series.<ref name="IshiiManaInterview"/><ref name="NWRmana"/> A famous game from the period was ''Chrono Trigger'', born from a collaboration between Sakaguchi, ''Dragon Quest'' creator Yuji Horii, and ''Dragon Ball'' artist Akira Toriyama.<ref name="vjump1"/><ref name="Mitsuda1UP"/> Among other standalone titles were the Western-exclusive ''Secret of Evermore'',<ref name="Evermore"/> and the ''Mario''-themed ''Super Mario RPG'' co-produced with Nintendo.<ref name="Max2"/> Reflecting on this period, Sakaguchi noted that ''Final Fantasy'' was the company's most recognized property, while celebrating the fact that the company would still be profitable on the merits of their other successful game series.<ref name="8yBnj"/>
Additional staff joined Square by the early 1990s, inspired by the successful ''Final Fantasy'' series, with several first working on ''Final Fantasy IV'' (1991),<ref name="FFIVstaff"/><ref name="SEgames95-91"/> Yoshinori Kitase acted as a writer and later director,<ref name="KitaseCareer"/> artist Tetsuya Nomura began as a graphic designer,<ref name="SilNomura"/> and Tetsuya Takahashi and Kaori Tanaka were both artists and writers.<ref name ="live"/><ref name="part1"/> Takashi Tokita became a full-time employee at the company,<ref name="GamaTokita"/><ref name="IVfaninterview3"/> and Hiroyuki Ito began his work as a game designer.<ref name="ff9_ultimania"/><ref name="1upIto"/> Chihiro Fujioka worked on several projects including co-directing ''Super Mario RPG''.<ref name="Fujioka"/> Kenichi Nishi worked in minor roles on ''Chrono Trigger'' and ''Super Mario RPG''.<ref name="CubedNishi"/> Masato Kato, who joined in 1993, became scenario writer for ''Chrono Trigger''.<ref name="KatoInterview"/><ref name="KatoTrigger"/> Artist Yusuke Naora first worked on ''Final Fantasy VI''.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="NaoraDesign"/> Kazushige Nojima, known for his work on the ''Glory of Heracles'' series, joined as a scenario writer.<ref name="GparaNojima"/> Future director Motomu Toriyama, who had no experience with game development, began as a scenario writer.<ref name="GStoriyama"/>
Square also hired additional music staff.<ref name="Mitsuda1UP"/><ref name="RocketInterview"/> Kenji Ito contributed to both the ''SaGa'' and ''Mana'' series.<ref name="ItoRPGF"/><ref name="GamaIto"/> Hiroki Kikuta worked on the ''Mana'' series and standalone projects.<ref name="RocketInterview"/> Yasunori Mitsuda started as a sound designer and was lauded for his work on the ''Chrono'' series.<ref name="Mitsuda1UP"/> Yoko Shimomura, formerly a Capcom composer, did her first work on ''Live A Live'' (1994).<ref name="GamaShimomura"/> In 1995, Square moved its headquarters to the Shimomeguro district in Meguro.<ref name="SquareInfo1998" />
===1995–1999: Move to PlayStation=== [[File:PSX-Console-wController.jpg|thumb|Due to Nintendo's continued use of cartridges with the Nintendo 64, Square moved game production over to the PlayStation which used CD-ROMs.|alt=The Sony PlayStation]] Following the release of ''Final Fantasy VI'' and ''Chrono Trigger'', Square staff began planning the next entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, and entered the emerging 3D gaming market. With the production of ''Final Fantasy VII'', Square decided to shift their projects to Sony Computer Entertainment's new PlayStation console, prompted by the affordability of CD-ROM distribution, compared to Nintendo's continued use of expensive cartridges.<ref name="VIIinterviews" /> This shift caused a long-standing rift between Square and Nintendo; one Square employee recalled Nintendo telling the company to "never come back".<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> In 1996, Square's final project with Nintendo was Sting Entertainment{{'}}s ''Treasure Hunter G'' for the Super Famicom, while the company debuted DreamFactory's ''Tobal No. 1'' for the PlayStation that same year.<ref name="SquareInfo1998"/><ref name="1UP1thg"/> Soon after, the company signed a licensing agreement with Sony, who gained the exclusive right to publish Square's next six games in the West.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="SquareInfo1998"/>
Square continued work on ''Final Fantasy VII'', with Kitase as director, Naora as art director, Nomura as lead artist, and Nojima as scenario writer. Released worldwide in 1997, ''Final Fantasy VII'' was a worldwide commercial and critical success, bringing Square international fame.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> Also in 1997, at Square's invitation, Takechi returned and took Mizuno's place as President.<ref name="TakechiInterviewB"/> Three new hires during the period were Shinji Hashimoto, Yasumi Matsuno, and Masashi Hamauzu.<ref name="ten"/><ref name="MatsunoDorimanga"/> Hashimoto joined in 1995 as promotions producer for ''Final Fantasy VII''.<ref name="ten"/> Matsuno, along with a number of other developers, had left Quest Corporation following the release of ''Tactics Ogre'' (1995), and worked with Sakaguchi on ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' (1997).<ref name="MatsunoDorimanga"/><ref name="FFTinterviews"/> Hamauzu joined in 1996, and worked on ''Final Fantasy'' spin-off titles and the ''SaGa'' series.<ref name="Hamauzu"/> Sakaguchi, working on other projects, took on the role of executive producer for the series beginning with ''Final Fantasy VIII'', and Hashimoto stepped in as producer.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="development2"/> Hirata went from an administrative position to lead producer, focusing on diversifying Square's library into new game genres.<ref name="Hirata" />
Several properties were introduced during this period.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> These included ''Parasite Eve'', based on a novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena;<ref name="IGNinfo"/><ref name="Sena"/> ''Front Mission'', which began on the Super Famicom but was transferred to the PlayStation beginning with its second entry;<ref name="dengeki2004"/> and the ''Final Fantasy'' spin-off series ''Chocobo'', starring an incarnation of the titular mascot character.<ref name="RetroChoco"/> As Square was estranged from Nintendo at the time,<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> the company supported other platforms including the WonderSwan and Windows.<ref name="SquareName"/><ref name="jeuxvideopc"/> Late in the PlayStation's lifecycle, Square continued to support the console with multiple releases, such as ''Threads of Fate'' (1999) and ''Vagrant Story'' (2000).<ref name="GSupdate"/> The company also began work on PlayOnline, a digital storefront and a platform for online game services and web content.<ref name="PlayIGN"/><ref name="millennium"/>
During the late 1990s, Square launched an initiative to give teams of younger staff members a chance to create experimental titles on smaller budgets. Among such titles were ''Xenogears'', ''Soukaigi'', and ''Another Mind''.<ref name="SoukaigiBook"/> Around this time, several staff members departed Square due to creative differences or a desire to work on their own projects.<ref name="ANNstudios"/> These included Takahashi and Tanaka,<ref name="ANNstudios"/> Fujioka,<ref name="Fujioka"/> Nishi,<ref name="NishiiUSG"/> Kikuta,<ref name="RocketInterview"/> Mitsuda,<ref name="GMOint"/> and ''Mana'' artist Shinichi Kameoka.<ref name="IGNbrown"/> In April 2000, Suzuki was appointed Square's new President, while Takechi became a company chairman. Also at this time, two outside directors were appointed, Kenichi Ohmae of Ohmae & Associates and Makoto Naruke of Microsoft. The corporate reshuffle was intended to strengthen Square's overseas connections and bring in technical and administrative support for future digital and online content.<ref name="SuzukiInfo"/> Alongside this, Yoichi Wada joined the company as a company director and eventually COO.<ref name="SEdirectors"/> In August 2000, Square was listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, which includes the largest companies on the exchange.<ref name="SquareName"/><ref name="TSE"/>
===2000–2003: ''The Spirits Within'', final years=== In addition to leading production on ''Final Fantasy IX'' (2000), Sakaguchi also worked at the 1997-established Square Pictures studio on a ''Final Fantasy'' feature film.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="KZ6TV"/> Titled ''Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'', it was planned as Sakaguchi's first push towards cross-media storytelling; however, the project ran over budget and ended up costing Square and co-producer Columbia Pictures US$137 million.<ref name="EuroSakaguchi"/><ref name="dream"/> Upon its release in 2001, ''The Spirits Within'' was met with mixed critical reception, and grossed only $85 million. Labeled as a box-office bomb, the film damaged Square's finances, and led to the closure of Square Pictures.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/>
Following both the failure of ''The Spirits Within'' and a delay of ''Final Fantasy X'' (2001) for the PlayStation 2, Square suffered a financial loss for the first time, prompting Sakaguchi, Takechi, and director Masatsugu Hiramatsu to resign from their positions.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="FamResigned"/> Sakaguchi was kept on as executive producer for ''Final Fantasy'', while Takechi and Hiramatsu were retained as external consultants.<ref name="FamResigned"/> This period left Sakaguchi in a state of low morale.<ref name="SakaguchiGamer"/> In late 2001, Suzuki stepped down as President, and was replaced by Wada.<ref name="KQ4S7"/> Yosuke Matsuda became Senior Vice President.<ref name="SEdirectors"/> Kenji Ito also left during this period to work as a freelance composer.<ref name="ItoRPGF"/> Prior to the film's release, rival company Enix was proposing merging with another game company to alleviate development costs, opening serious discussions with Square in 2000.<ref name="EnixMerger"/><ref name="hesitant"/> Square's financial losses with ''The Spirits Within'' prompted Enix to halt discussions.<ref name="hesitant"/>
Under Wada, the company underwent restructuring with the intent of streamlining production and resources, and cutting development costs to increase profits.<ref name="Xhi14"/> After evaluation of its financial position, and with changes to the console war due to Microsoft's Xbox, Square opened talks with Nintendo for the first time since their breakup in the 1990s.<ref name="developer"/><ref name="studios"/> The talks were successful, with ''Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles'' beginning development for the GameCube in late 2001.<ref name="studios"/><ref name="unlimited"/> Square also began production on ''Final Fantasy X-2'', the first direct sequel to a ''Final Fantasy'' game.<ref name="Xhi14"/><ref name="igndeveloperinterview"/><ref name="SakaguchiSequels"/> ''Final Fantasy X-2'' was Sakaguchi's last credited project at Square, and he left the company in 2003.<ref name="IwataAsks1"/> Around this time, Square also began development on ''Kingdom Hearts'' (2002), with Nomura making his directorial debut. The game was a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company, blending Disney characters with ''Final Fantasy'' elements in an original story.<ref name="IGN-TGS04-NI"/><ref name="Insider-KHU-NI"/> ''Kingdom Hearts'' was Shimomura's last project as an in-house composer before going freelance in 2002.<ref name="ShimomuraInterview"/> Also released in 2002 was the Japanese version of ''Final Fantasy XI'', the company's first MMORPG.<ref name="XIrelease"/><ref name="jeuxvideopc"/> Conceived by Sakaguchi, it was developed by the ''Chrono'' team and led by Ishii.<ref name="jeuxvideopc"/> ''Final Fantasy XI'' and its first expansion was Kato's last work for Square before leaving in 2002 to go freelance.<ref name="XIkato"/>
Following the commercial success of ''Final Fantasy X'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'', Square and Enix resumed talks and agreed to merge their two companies. Wada described it as a merger of two companies "at their height".<ref name="ua89H" /> Despite this, the merger had its skeptics, particularly Miyamoto who did not want to see his controlling stake diluted in a merged company.<ref name="RPGFmiyamoto"/> Miyamoto's issue was resolved by altering the exchange ratio to one Square share for 0.85 Enix shares, and the merger was greenlit.<ref name="3i4VG" /> Square Enix was formed on April 1, 2003, with Enix as the surviving corporate entity and Square dissolving its departments and subsidiaries into the new company.<ref name="3i4VG" /><ref name="EnixSurvive"/> Around 80% of Square's staff transitioned into Square Enix.<ref name="SQEXoneyear"/> Square's final release was the Japanese version of ''X-2''.<ref name="SquareLast"/>
==Structure== ===Development structure=== During reports on the merger with Enix, Takashi Oya of Deutsche Securities contrasted Enix's tradition of outsourcing development versus Square's approach to developing "everything by itself".<ref name="OyaComments"/> When Square was founded in the early 1980s, there was no set development structure, with the ten-person staff freely shifting between roles and projects. This eventually evolved into two loosely defined production groups, led by Sakaguchi and Tanaka, respectively.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Following the release of ''Final Fantasy IV'', Sakaguchi divided the production team, assigning different staff members to the ''Final Fantasy'', ''SaGa'' and ''Mana'' series.<ref name="SilNomura"/> A secondary studio was founded in Osaka in 1990, with ''Final Fantasy Legend III'' (1991) as their first project.<ref name="SaGaFujioka"/>
By 1997, the company was divided into eight development divisions, with two based in Osaka.<ref name="FiscalMarch1997"/> In 1998, the old development divisions were restructured into Production Departments, and the Osaka branch was closed down.<ref name="FiscalOctober1998"/> The system was reshuffled again in 2002 to promote "greater understanding", and allow for reassignment between divisions.<ref name="Divisions2002"/> Among the heads of divisions at this time were Kitase, Kawazu, Tanaka, Matsuno and Hirata.<ref name="Divisions2002"/> Following the merger with Enix, the eight divisions were incorporated into the new company, with two additional divisions brought in from Enix.<ref name="RPGFsqex"/>
===Publishing and localization=== {{see also|Localization of Square Enix video games}} Square self-published the majority of its games in Japan,<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="history"/> and sporadically acted as a publisher for third-party developers.<ref name="SoukaigiBook"/><ref name="Thexder"/><ref name="FrontMup"/> By contrast, their Western presence during the 80s and early 90s was small.<ref name="NextGenSakaguchi"/> RPGs were not popular in the North American market at that time, and Square's presence in Europe was limited.<ref name="NextGenSakaguchi"/><ref name="SuperLive"/> The original ''Final Fantasy'' was published in North America in 1990 by Nintendo of America close to the launch of the Super Nintendo, resulting in its two sequels being passed over for localization at that time.<ref name="XboxRetro"/><ref name="Cancelled"/> One of their third-party North American releases was the original ''Breath of Fire'' by Capcom, who were busy enough to outsource publishing and localization to Square. The Redmond office later closed, with some localization staff choosing not to relocate to California.<ref name="SuperLive"/><ref name="GamasutraWoolsey"/>
Square initially did not have an internal localization department, instead outsourcing to a number of translators.<ref name="FF2"/> Following the release of ''Final Fantasy VII'', which saw criticism for its localization, Square created a new internal department to encourage higher quality.<ref name="SQlocalization"/> Initially having only two employees, it grew steadily over the years.<ref name="1upLocalPanel"/> Individual games still ran into difficulties due to their large text sizes, difficulties translating some culture-specific elements, potential censorship, and the introduction of voice acting with games including ''Final Fantasy X''.<ref name="SQlocalization"/><ref name="gamaSmith"/><ref name="USgamerLocal"/> Notable localization staff included Kaoru Moriyama,<ref name="FF2"/> Ted Woolsey,<ref name="SuperLive"/> Michael Basket,<ref name="SQlocalization"/> Richard Honeywood,<ref name="SQlocalization"/> and Alexander O. Smith.<ref name="gamaSmith"/>
Many Square titles remained exclusive to Japan, for reasons including design complexities, low graphical quality, and technical difficulties.<ref name="SuperLive"/><ref name="Hollywood"/><ref name="RomancingLocalB"/> In the 1990s, Square's first six PlayStation releases were published by Sony as part of a contract between the two companies.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> Eidos Interactive notably handled the Windows ports of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and ''Final Fantasy VIII''.<ref name="SQEAOwnership"/><ref name="SquareEUfaq"/> In Europe, Square's local branch self-published a number of games including mainline ''Final Fantasy'' titles.<ref name="SquareEUlist"/> It also partnered with third-party companies including Eidos, Crave Entertainment, and Infogrames for either publishing or distribution of different titles.<ref name="SquareEUfaq"/><ref name="Infogrames"/><ref name="SonySquareEU"/>
===Subsidiaries=== thumb|249x249px|The logo of SquareSoft In 1989, Square established Square Soft in Redmond, Washington, to provide development and publishing support in the West. After opening their North American offices, Square began publishing selected titles under the "SquareSoft" brand.<ref name="SquareNin"/><ref name="i8YtN"/> As Square moved its projects to PlayStation in 1994, a second Western R&D subsidiary called Square LA was founded in August 1995 in Marina del Rey, California, renamed Square USA in October 1996.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="SquareInfo1998"/> Square Soft itself would notably develop ''Secret of Evermore'' in 1995 for the Super Nintendo<ref name="Evermore"/> and later moved to Costa Mesa, California near Square USA.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://labusinessjournal.com/news/ocbjstory/|title=Ocbjstory|date=April 6, 1997}}</ref> In 1997, a second Square USA branch was opened in Honolulu, Hawaii to focus on new interactive entertainment research,<ref name="SquareHawaiiStart"/> going on to help with CGI development on ''Parasite Eve'' and ''Final Fantasy IX''.<ref name="HawaiiCG"/> Square Europe was founded in 1998 in London, England, focusing on publishing in Europe.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="SquareInfo1998"/>
A publishing brand called Aques was established by Square in 1996. The name was an anagram of Square's name, as well as an acronym for "Advanced QUality Entertainment and Sports", representing the company's diversification outside of role-playing games.<ref name="Aques" /> That same year, Square established a distribution company called DigiCube, with convenience stores as their main strategy.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="cost" /> The subdidiary expanded into book publishing, stocked games from other companies, and at one point published games under its own brand.<ref name="DigiVending" /><ref name="GSjp" /><ref name="offerings" /> DigiCube survived the Square Enix merger, though it declared bankruptcy in 2004 after years of declining sales.<ref name="SQEXreport" /><ref name="cost" />
In 1999, Square created a number of subsidiaries with dedicated roles: Square Visual Works to focus on producing CGI animation, Square Sounds for music and sound effects, Squartz for quality control and user support, and Square Next to support smaller game projects.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="SquareInfo1998" /> Following the success of ''Final Fantasy VII'' in 1997, Sakaguchi founded a dedicated CGI film studio called Square Pictures in Hawaii; his aim was to both develop ''The Spirits Within'' and help with further development of Square's CGI technology.<ref name="PolygonRetro" /><ref name="KZ6TV" /> By the end of 2001, Square Pictures was dissolved and merged into Visual Works.<ref name="SQEXreport" /> Square USA's Hawaiian branch developed the CGI short "Final Flight of the Osiris" that later formed part of the 2003 anthology film ''The Animatrix''.<ref name="FlightInterview"/> The branch was shut down in 2002 following a failed attempt to find a film studio partner.<ref name="SquareHawaiiEnd"/>
In 2002, Square Next was rebranded as The Game Designer Studio, with ownership between Square's Product Development Division 2 and Kawazu. The aim was to allow for development of games for Nintendo consoles without impacting production on Sony platform games.<ref name="developer" /><ref name="studios" /><ref name="NextChange" /> The Game Designers Studio was absorbed back into Square Enix after the completion of ''Crystal Chronicles'', first renamed to SQEX Corporation and eventually dissolved entirely in 2010.<ref name="CCsqex" /><ref name="third company" /><ref name="FourthCompany" /> Square Sounds was dissolved into the main company in March 2002 as an internal division, a move attributed to cost cutting.<ref name="SoundsGone" /> The Square Soft subsidiary established in 1989 was rebranded as Square Enix Inc. when its parent company merged with Enix in 2003.<ref name="SQEXreport"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/company/history.html|title=History｜About Square Enix Group｜SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD.|website=www.hd.square-enix.com}}</ref> All the other subsidiaries were folded into Square Enix during the merger, with Visual Works becoming its own dedicated department.<ref name="SQEXreport" />
On May 1, 1998, Square formed a joint-venture partnership with Electronic Arts; Square Electronic Arts published Square titles in North America, while Electronic Arts Square published Electronic Arts titles in Japan.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="GWIeas"/> The partnership emerged the year following Electronic Arts winding down a similar partnership with Victor in December 1997.<ref name="EAreport"/> Shares were distributed between the two on a 70/30 basis relating to their role; Square Electronic Arts had Square owning 70%, while Electronic Arts owned 30%.<ref name="SQEAOwnership"/> Electronic Arts Square would also develop the PlayStation 2 launch title ''X-Squad''.<ref name="EAxsquad"/> In March 31, 2003, coinciding with the Square Enix merger, both ventures were dissolved, with each partner buying the other's shares. In its February press release, Square described the joint-venture as a success.<ref name="EASdissolved"/>
===Affiliates and acquisitions=== Between 1986 and 1988, Square led a collective of game developers dedicated to the production of games for the Famicom Disk System. The Square-owned label, called Disk Original Group (DOG), included Square, HummingBirdSoft, System Sacom, Microcabin, Carry Lab, Thinking Rabbit, and Xtalsoft. This coalition was able to pool financial resources, allowing them to overcome the prohibitive costs of acting individually.<ref name="RetroDisk"/><ref name="SquareHistoryShmup"/><ref name="DOGconfirm"/> The Famicom Disk System was rendered defunct by 1988 due to increased storage capacity in standard Famicom ROM cartridges.<ref name="DOGconfirm"/> In January 1994, Square acquired developer Cobra Team, turning it into a subsidiary called Solid and focusing their work on cooperating with external developers.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="SolidReport" /> In 1995, Square established DreamFactory as an affiliate studio, which developed fighting-based titles for the PlayStation and PS2. DreamFactory became an independent company in 2001 after Square transferred their shares.<ref name="DreamOrigin" /><ref name="SecureReport2001" /> Square later founded subsidiary Escape in March 1998 with DreamFactory staff. It only produced ''Driving Emotion Type-S'' (2000) before being liquidated in 2003.<ref name="SQEXreport" /><ref name="IGNescape" />
The company held a stake in ''Bushido Blade'' developer Lightweight, founded in 1995.<ref name="LightweightA" /><ref name="LightweightD"/> It sold that stake to software company Forside in 1999.<ref name="LightweightB"/><ref name="LightweightC"/> ''Front Mission'' developers G-Craft were initially independent, developing the original ''Front Mission'' with Square collaborating through their Solid subsidiary and acting as publisher.<ref name="FrontMup"/> Square bought out G-Craft and incorporated it in 1997 during production of ''Front Mission 2''.<ref name="dengeki2004" /> Other affiliates associated with Square between the early 1990s to 2000 were font company Kusanagi, and developers Positron and Luciola.<ref name="LightweightC"/><ref name="Subsidiaries"/> In 2002, ''Ogre Battle'' developer Quest Corporation withdrew from game development and was bought by Square. Absorbed and repurposed into a production division, their first project was ''Final Fantasy Tactics Advance'' (2003).<ref name="QuestSale" /><ref name="HobonichiAdvance" /><ref name="IGNadvance" />
==Related studios== Many Square employees went on to found notable development studios and other ventures.<ref name="ANNstudios"/><ref name="RPGFradical"/> Nishi founded Love-de-Lic in 1995, producing three games including ''Moon: Remix RPG Adventure''. Love-de-Lic staff went on to found other small studios including Skip Ltd. (''Chibi-Robo!''), and Punchline (''Rule of Rose'').<ref name="CubedNishi"/><ref name="NishiiUSG"/><ref name="Love1UP"/> Frustrated with Square's rigid hierarchy, Kikuta founded Sacnoth in 1997, which would become known for the ''Shadow Hearts'' series;<ref name="ANNstudios"/><ref name="RocketInterview"/> he left Sacnoth in 1999 following the release of his project ''Koudelka'' and founded the music label Nostrilia.<ref name="RocketInterview"/><ref name="SHint"/> Several ''Xenogears'' developers, including Takahashi and Tanaka, founded Monolith Soft in 1999 in order to pursue projects outside the ''Final Fantasy'' series, developing more games using the ''Xeno'' prefix.<ref name="ANNstudios"/><ref name="CreatorInterview"/>
Kameoka and other developers who worked on ''Legend of Mana'' (1999) founded Brownie Brown in 2000. Brownie Brown later worked with Square Enix on ''Sword of Mana'' (2003), a remake of ''Final Fantasy Adventure''.<ref name="IGNbrown"/><ref name="RETROseries"/> Also in 2000, Mizuno founded AlphaDream, engaging Fujioka and going on to develop the ''Mario & Luigi'' series.<ref name="Fujioka"/><ref name="AlphaHG"/> Staff members from Square Pictures, including ''The Spirits Within'' co-director Motonori Sakakibara, established Sprite Animation Studios in 2002.<ref name="SAS"/><ref name="ICVsas"/> After his resignation from Square, Takechi founded music label Dreamusic in 2001 with Kazunaga Nitta.<ref name="TakechiInterviewA"/> Mitsuda founded the music studio Procyon in 2001 so he could work while maintaining his health.<ref name="GMOint"/> After stepping down as president in 2001, Sakaguchi experienced a period of low morale before returning to game development, founding Mistwalker in 2004.<ref name="SakaguchiGamer"/> The studio became known for the ''Blue Dragon'' and ''Terra Wars'' series, as well as multiple stand-alone projects.<ref name="EuroSakaguchi"/><ref name="ANNstudios"/><ref name="SakaguchiGamer"/>
==See also== *List of Square video games
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}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==Further reading== *{{Cite web |last=Chun, Michelle |date=March 18, 2002 |title=SquareSoft: What's Behind the Hype? A Case History |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/htgg/cgi-bin/drupal/sites/default/files2/mchun_2002_1.pdf |access-date=September 2, 2011 |publisher=Stanford University |archive-date=November 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120195700/http://www.stanford.edu/group/htgg/cgi-bin/drupal/sites/default/files2/mchun_2002_1.pdf |url-status=dead }}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.square.co.jp Square Co., Ltd] Official website (archives) Wayback Machine *[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.squaresoft.com Square Soft Inc] Official website (archives) *[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.squareusa.com Square USA] Official website (archives) *[http://www.square-enix.com/jp/company/e/history/ History of Enix and Square (Square Enix's site)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530053804/http://www.square-enix.com/jp/company/e/history/ |date=May 30, 2007 }}
{{Square Enix}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Square (Company)}} Category:2003 mergers and acquisitions Category:Defunct video game companies of Japan Category:Japanese companies established in 1986 Category:Japanese companies disestablished in 2003 Category:Software companies based in Tokyo Category:Square (video game company) Category:Square Enix Category:Video game development companies Category:Video game publishers Category:Video game companies established in 1986 Category:Video game companies disestablished in 2003