Square Enix facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

Global headquarters in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Native name	株式会社スクウェア・エニックス・ホールディングス
Romanized name	Kabushiki-gaisha Sukuwea Enikkusu Hōrudingusu (K.K. Square Enix Holdings)
Formerly	Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Type	Public
Traded as	TYO: 9684
Industry	Entertainment
Predecessors	Enix Corporation Square Co., Ltd.
Founded	April 1, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-04-01)
Headquarters	Shinjuku Eastside Square, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Yasuhiro Fukushima (honorary chairman) Takashi Kiryu (president) Yoshinori Kitase (director)
Products	Arcade facilities Manga Merchandise Video games Publishing
Revenue	¥365,3 billion (2022)
Net income	¥26.94 billion (2021)
Owner	Yasuhiro Fukushima (19.80%)
Number of employees	4,712 (2023)
Subsidiaries	§ Subsidiaries

Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. is a big Japanese company that makes video games and other entertainment. They are famous for popular role-playing games like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts. Besides games, they also sell cool stuff like toys and clothes, run arcades, and publish manga comics under their Gangan Comics brand.

The company we know today was formed in April 2003. It happened when two older game companies, Square and Enix, joined together. Most of the staff from the new company came from Square. The head of Square, Yoichi Wada, became the new president. Yasuhiro Fukushima, who started Enix, became the chairman. In 2008, Square Enix changed its structure. It became a "holding company" called Square Enix Holdings. This means it owns other smaller companies, like the one that makes the games, which is still called Square Enix Co., Ltd. The company has offices all over the world, including in Los Angeles, Beijing, Bangalore, and London.

Many of Square Enix's games have sold millions of copies. For example, Final Fantasy has sold over 173 million copies! Dragon Quest has sold 85 million, and Kingdom Hearts has sold 36 million. In 2005, Square Enix bought an arcade company called Taito, which made games like Space Invaders. Later, in 2009, they bought a British game company called Eidos plc. Square Enix's main office is in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. They have more than 5,000 employees around the world.

How Square Enix Began

Square Enix was created when two separate Japanese game companies, Square and Enix, decided to merge. Both companies had a long history of making popular games before they joined forces.

Enix's Story (1975–2003)

Enix was started in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima. They focused on publishing games made by other companies. In the 1980s, Enix teamed up with developers like Chunsoft to publish the Dragon Quest series.

The first Dragon Warrior game came out in 1986. It sold 1.5 million copies in Japan and became Enix's most successful game series. Even though Square decided to make games only for PlayStation, Enix announced in 1997 that they would make games for both Nintendo and Sony consoles. By 1999, Enix was a very big company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Square's Story (1983–2003)

Square was founded in 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It started as a part of his father's power line company. Miyamoto believed that making games would be better if different people, like graphic designers and story writers, worked together.

In 1986, Square became its own company. After some games that weren't very successful, Square moved to Ueno, Tokyo in 1987. They then made a role-playing game called Final Fantasy. This game was inspired by Enix's success with Dragon Quest. Final Fantasy was a huge hit, selling over 400,000 copies. It became Square's most important game series, and new games are still being made today.

Because Final Fantasy was so popular, Square made other famous games. These include Chrono, Mana, and Kingdom Hearts (which they made with The Walt Disney Company). By 1994, Square was known for making high-quality role-playing games. Square decided to make games for the Sony PlayStation because it was cheaper to develop games on CDs. Final Fantasy VII was one of these games. It sold 9.8 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games on the PlayStation.

The Big Merger (2003)

Square and Enix had thought about joining up since 2000. But Square had a movie, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, that didn't do well in 2001. This made Enix hesitant to merge. After Square's finances got better with successful games like Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts, the merger plans moved forward.

On November 25, 2002, it was announced that Square and Enix would officially merge. The goal was to lower costs and compete better with game companies from other countries. The merger happened on April 1, 2003, and the new company was named Square Enix. Most of the employees at the new company were from Square. Yoichi Wada, Square's president, became the president of Square Enix. Yasuhiro Fukushima, who founded Enix, became the honorary chairman.

After the merger, Enix was the company that continued to exist, and Square Co., Ltd. was closed. In July 2003, the main office of Square Enix moved to Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, to bring the two companies closer.

Square Enix Today

Square Enix has grown a lot since the merger. They've bought other companies and changed how they make games.

New Companies and Changes (2003–2013)

To get stronger in the mobile game market, Square Enix bought a mobile app company called UIEvolution in 2004. They later sold it and started their own mobile studio in 2008. In 2005, Square Enix started Square Enix China to expand into China.

In September 2005, Square Enix bought Taito, a famous game developer known for arcade games like Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble. In 2009, Square Enix bought Eidos, a British company that owned popular game series like Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, and Thief. Eidos then became part of Square Enix's European branch.

In 2011, Square Enix opened a mobile game studio called Hippos Lab. They also opened Square Enix Montréal in 2012.

Big Changes (2013)

In March 2013, Square Enix announced big changes because some of their major Western games weren't selling as well as expected. The president, Yoichi Wada, stepped down, and Yosuke Matsuda took his place. This led to other changes in the company's leadership.

Focusing on RPGs (2013–Present)

After 2013, Square Enix opened new offices in places like Mumbai, India (though it closed and reopened later), and Mexico. They also started a mobile studio in Indonesia. In 2014, they launched Square Enix Collective, which helps independent game developers.

Square Enix also teamed up with other big game companies like Bandai Namco Entertainment and Ubisoft. In 2014, after the success of Bravely Default, Square Enix said they would "go back to their roots" and focus on making games that their main fans would love. In 2015, they created a new studio called Tokyo RPG Factory to make new role-playing games.

In 2017, a new studio called Studio Istolia was formed, but it later closed in 2019. In 2017, the studio IO Interactive bought itself back from Square Enix and kept the Hitman game series. In 2018, Square Enix created Square Enix External Studios to publish games from other companies.

In 2021, a new mobile studio, Square Enix London Mobile, was announced. They are working on Tomb Raider Reloaded and a game based on Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In May 2022, Square Enix announced they would sell some of their studios and game series, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Thief, to another company called Embracer Group. Square Enix said this would help them focus on their main games and new technologies like blockchain. However, they kept popular series like Life Is Strange, Outriders, and Just Cause.

In February 2023, Luminous Productions, a studio that made Forspoken, joined with Square Enix internally. In March 2023, Yosuke Matsuda stepped down as president, and Takashi Kiryu took over.

How Square Enix Works

Square Enix Holdings is like a parent company that oversees many different parts of the business. These parts focus on different things, from making games to publishing books and selling merchandise.

Game Development Teams

Square Enix organizes its game development into different "Creative Business Units." Each unit focuses on specific game series.

• Creative Business Unit I is led by Yoshinori Kitase. This team works on main Final Fantasy games, some Final Fantasy spin-offs, SaGa, and Kingdom Hearts games.
• Creative Business Unit II is led by Yuu Miyake. This team focuses on Dragon Quest, Nier, Octopath Traveler, and Bravely series, as well as arcade games. It also includes some people from the former Luminous Productions studio.
• Creative Business Unit III is led by Naoki Yoshida. This team mainly works on online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like Final Fantasy XIV, and also developed the single-player game Final Fantasy XVI.
• Creative Business Unit IV is led by Kei Hirono. This team focuses on the Mana series and helps with remasters, ports, and mobile games like Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
• Creative Business Unit V is also led by Kei Hirono. This team works on series like Million Arthur and Schoolgirl Strikers, along with other mobile games.

Many of the games are actually developed by other companies that Square Enix works with. The Creative Business Units oversee and produce these games, making sure they fit the Square Enix style.

Business Ideas

Square Enix likes to develop its game series across many different types of media. For example, a game series might also have a manga, an anime, or movies. This way, they can get the most out of their popular stories and characters. They also re-release their best-selling games at lower prices under the "Ultimate Hits" label.

When designing games, Square Enix usually starts with the story, characters, and art. Then they create the battle systems, maps, and cutscenes. This method became popular after the success of Final Fantasy VII in 1997.

What Square Enix Does

Video Games and Franchises

Square Enix is best known for its video games, especially role-playing games.

• The Final Fantasy series, which started in 1987, has sold over 173 million copies worldwide.
• The Dragon Quest series, started in 1986, is super popular in Japan and has sold over 85 million copies.
• The Kingdom Hearts series, made with Disney since 2002, has shipped 36 million copies.
• Other popular series include SaGa (nearly 10 million sold), Mana (over 6 million sold), and Chrono (over 5 million sold).

Many Square Enix games have received great reviews. For example, Final Fantasy X was named the number one game ever by Famitsu magazine in 2006.

Square Enix makes games for many different game systems. They release games for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo consoles, and PC. They also make games for handheld devices like the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable, and for mobile phones and smartphones.

In 2008, Square Enix released their first game for the iPod, called Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes. They also created a new brand for younger kids' games called Pure Dreams. After buying Eidos in 2009, Square Enix Europe continued to publish Eidos games like Tomb Raider (88 million sales), Deus Ex (4 million), Thief, and Legacy of Kain (3.5 million). Square Enix also publishes games from other companies like Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft in Japan.

Some of the game series owned by Square Enix include:

• Games from the original Square, like Mana.
• Games from the original Enix, like Star Ocean.
• Games created by Square Enix, like Drakengard.
• Games from Taito, like Space Invaders.
• Games from Quest, like Ogre.
• Games they kept from Eidos Interactive, like Just Cause.
• Games created by Square Enix America, like Quantum Conundrum.
• Games created by Square Enix Europe, like Life Is Strange.

Game Engines

Square Enix uses special software called "game engines" to build their games.

• In 2004, they started working on their own engine called Crystal Tools. This engine was used for games like Final Fantasy XIII.
• Later, they developed the Luminous Engine, which was used for Final Fantasy XV.
• Square Enix also uses game engines made by other companies, like Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 (for Dragon Quest XI, Kingdom Hearts III, and Final Fantasy VII Remake) and Unity (for I Am Setsuna).

Online Gaming

Square Enix has been involved in online games for a long time.

• Before the merger, Enix released Cross Gate in 2001, and Square released Final Fantasy XI in Japan in 2002.
• Final Fantasy XI was very successful and was even released on the Xbox 360.
• In 2010, they released Final Fantasy XIV, another big online role-playing game.
• Dragon Quest X was announced in 2011 as an online RPG for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U consoles.

Square Enix also made browser games and Facebook games, like Legend World and Chocobo's Crystal Tower.

Cloud Gaming

In 2013, Dragon Quest X became available on iOS and Android in Japan using "cloud gaming" technology. This means the game runs on powerful computers elsewhere and is streamed to your device. Square Enix also tried other cloud gaming services like CoreOnline and Dive In, but these were later closed.

Arcades

When Square Enix bought Taito in 2005, they also got Taito's arcade game centers. They continue to make and offer arcade-only games in Japan. In 2010, Taito introduced NESiCAxLive, a system that lets arcade games be stored and updated online. In 2019, Square Enix announced a "Ninja Tower Tokyo" theme park.

Movies

Square Enix has tried making movies a few times.

• Their first movie was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), but it didn't do well.
• In 2005, they released Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, a computer-animated movie based on the Final Fantasy VII game.
• In 2016, they released Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, a movie based on the world of Final Fantasy XV, and a web series called Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV.

Publishing

Square Enix has a manga publishing division in Japan called Gangan Comics. They publish popular manga like Fullmetal Alchemist and Soul Eater. They also publish manga versions of their games, like Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts. Some of these manga have even been turned into anime shows. Fullmetal Alchemist is their most successful manga, with over 64 million copies sold worldwide. Since 2019, Square Enix has also started publishing some of its manga series in English.

Merchandise

Square Enix makes lots of cool stuff (merchandise) for almost all of their game series. Many items are only available in Japan. They sell things like toys, clothes, and collectibles.

• Popular characters like the Chocobo from Final Fantasy appear on many items, including plush toys and coffee mugs.
• The Slime character from Dragon Quest is also very popular in Japan. You can find Slime plush toys, game controllers, and even pork-filled steam buns shaped like Slimes!
• Rabites from the Mana series also appear on merchandise like plush dolls and T-shirts.

Square Enix also makes figures for other game series like Mass Effect and Halo. Since 2012, they have opened "Square Enix Cafe" shops in Tokyo, Osaka, and Shanghai. These cafes sell merchandise and serve food.

Subsidiaries

Square Enix Holdings owns many smaller companies, called subsidiaries, around the world. These companies help them with different parts of their business, like making games, publishing, and support.

Former Subsidiaries

Square Enix has also owned other companies that have since been closed, sold, or merged into other parts of the company.

Images for kids

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  A robot for kids.

See also

In Spanish: Square Enix para niños