Yes, but the game for GC they are making seems more like an afterthought so they can tap into the GBA market.
And how does that in any way affect future Square/Enix games on GCN especially if FF:CC sells well?
Yes, but the game for GC they are making seems more like an afterthought so they can tap into the GBA market.
$764 million?! Thats it?! At one point Square wanted a billion or two from MS for a minority stake in the company!
Is this simply to cut operating costs and consolidate business?
Square will be disbanded after this and SONYs share of the company will be a lot less now. Less SONY control means a higher chance of making games for other consoles in the future.
I doubt that you'll see any limitations on EniSquare (such as "you can't develop for GCN or Xbox") stick around for very long.
Ingenu said:BTW, Ozymandis, how good is Resident Evil Zero ?
Microsoft wouldn't likely acquire another gaming company against the wishes of that company's management, and certainly not through a hostile takeover. Third parties are not their competition, so Microsoft wouldn't be bolstering their standing in the market by throwing their weight around and pushing these partners of theirs about. They'll try to entice third parties with excessively lucrative deals, but their game of hard ball will likely be saved for their direct competition - Sony and Nintendo.Most likely, as a MS road rep has argued in a teambox forum, the devs would have left and MS would be only left with company assets (trademarks).
Unlikely... For one, Sony has little control over Square (however none of the involved studios are huge multi-platform studios, and going multi-platform would be ridiculously costly especially when they're trying to reduce costs). Secondly, both Square and Enix have pretty tight development teams, you don't want to break up development crews and destroy what operating synergy they have. Most of any restructuring will likely involve corporate infrastructure (e.g. accounting, sales, stuff like that). Enix (and perhaps GameArts) will for instance gain the benefit of Square's CGI facilities (instead of farming out to Gonzo)...
archie4oz said:It's a collaborative merger not a buyout... Besides back when M$ was waving around money at Square, Miyamoto (the founder) didn't want to sell his shares, and the movie hadn't flopped yet...
Lazy8s said:Different Miyamoto.
RaolinDarksbane said:Kinda interesting that two people from Enix is going to fill in job of the CEO and VP of the new company, couple that with the fact that Sony now has 8.1 %(?)..... wouldn't that loosing the grip that Sony has on Square(or the new company).
Tagrineth said:Shiggy?
Finally, the prospect of a gaming company being bought out by a company like Microsoft brings a lot of job security to the employees in a time when their company might have been struggling financially or in business.
While a few of the financially well-off producers could afford to leave, start new companies, or take a job at another developer, the great majority of Square's personnel aren't rich or assured enough that they could just leave their post and start at a new one without a hitch or a risk of missing a paycheck in Japan's troubled economic climate.
Enix hasn't really needed to do much cross-platform development and publishing yet. However, that possibility becomes greater as this hardware cycle moves on and the other platforms establish themselves. Though they haven't done much cross-platform development, Enix has never really been opposed to it. Their ties with many different developers like GameArts also pulls them in broader directions as well.
I definitely think that some choice GameCube support will be annouced by this prospective merged company in the future. And of course, Game Boy Advance plans will only increase from what they already were as they really try to tap that market for all its worth.
The article said Square would be disbanded.
Shiggy? Or am I missing something here...?
Overall how well are Square titles selling in Japan
So you like Enix and Square games and you don't have and don't like PS2? Well, sucks to be youI really *really* hope that XBox or Gamecube get the bulk of the games. Why? Cause I've got a cube and I'm getting an XBox soon. Phooey on PS2.
Too bad they didn't call the new company "Squenix" (Skwen-ix), it really rolls off the tongue!