Square-Enix the next generation company.

Final plans have been made for Enix to merge with Square. The new company will be called Square-Enix.

Summery produced by

"This merger is meant to be an offensive merger," says President of Square, Yoichi Wada, "… we made the decision to merge so we could make fans of our games happier than ever, and also so the two of us could survive."

In a shocking announcement to the gaming world, Square and Enix have announced plans to become a single company and form Square-Enix, a company designed to compete against large third-party developers. The two companies are currently taking steps to merge right now, but a complete merger will not take place until the beginning of the next fiscal year-on April 1, 2003, the two companies will completely merge and become Square-Enix.

Early financial projections provide a look into what the companies plan to gain from this merger. The new company is aiming to make 80 billion yen, or $656 million, in yearly sales and 15 billion yen, or $123 million, in profit by the end of the fiscal year of 2005.

Stockholders in the two companies will get their fair share in the new company, with Enix shareholders receiving the new stock on a one-to-one scale with the company, and Square shareholders receiving the new stock on a scale of .81 of a share for every share previously held. Technically, Square has been absorbed into Enix, but the partnership seems to remain on equal balance as Yoichi Wada, the current president of Square, will be the president of Square Enix. Keiji Honda, the current president of Enix, will serve as vice president of the new company.

A press conference held on November 26, 2002 clarifies some missing details about the merger. When asked what will happen to each company\'s previously announced projects, Wada stated that each company will remain unaffected by the merger and continue to supply software as before. Also, Sony\'s stock in Square will be carried into the new company-Sony will own 8% of Square Enix from the start.

Enix, famous for its Dragon Quest series, and Square, known for its Final Fantasy series, and the sudden merger have sparked an interesting question: Will we be seeing another crossover game, akin to Square and Disney\'s Kingdom Hearts? When asked this, Wada expressed a desire to work on a project which could not be done if the two companies were not together, but that it would not necessarily have to be a crossover of some sort. It seems that while the companies will continue their current projects independently, we will definitely see some cooperative projects between the two companies…

Summery

Direct quote from Gamepro

Enix and Square announced early today that, effective November 26, they will begin to merge operations and form Square Enix, a brand-new company created to compete in the world marketplace on the same level as America and Europe\'s large third parties. The two companies plan to complete the merger by April 1, 2003; their aim is to build a new firm that will produce 80 billion yen ($656 million) in yearly sales and 15 billion yen ($123 million) in profit by fiscal 2005.
"In the ever-changing world of entertainment software, the most important issue facing companies today is how quickly they can grow as the marketplace and opportunities for business expand and diversify," said a financial statement released by Enix today. "Enix and Square\'s response to this issue is the merger announced today...Together, we will aim to become producer of the highest-quality digital content in the world."

As part of the merger, shareholders will receive 0.81 shares of Enix stock in exchange for every Square stock they hold. Square, in its current company structure, will be disbanded, and (on paper, anyway) Enix will absorb Square\'s assets and liabilities. However, Yoichi Wada, current president of Square, will head up the new company, suggesting that Square will have more power than Enix in the merger\'s final structure.

"Starting around August, people inside the office started saying that there\'d be huge buzz if we went together with Square," commented Enix chairman Yasuhiro Fukushima at a press conference this afternoon. "So after I talked it over with Mr. Wada from Square, we realized we could make some incredible games together." "Our styles our different, but our ways of thinking are the same," added Enix president Keiji Honda. "I want to make games that the whole world will say are great."

Both Square and Enix are large Japanese companies having difficulty competing with EA, Activision, Infogrames and other Western software giants. Square returned to profit in the last half-year after taking a major hit from the failed Final Fantasy movie, but still faces deep losses in operational profit from the lack of any major hit in 2002. Enix, meanwhile, is the producer of the blockbuster Dragon Quest series in Japan but hasn\'t been capable of releasing any other major sellers. Together, the two companies will form a massive third party that will virtually corner the market for RPGs in Japan, a springboard they will undoubtedly use to challenge the Western market more seriously than before.

Wada commented that the merger is "an offensive move" for both companies--we\'ll see exactly what kind of offense the new company has in mind over the next couple of days. Don\'t take your eyes off GamePro.com for a moment--we\'ll be sure to keep you updated.

I had suspicions. But I never exspected this.

not being a huge rpg fan, I must say "meh"

being a huge rpg fan i must say ! " woohoo " !!

[Paul2]

I don\'t really understand.  I think Square is gaining profit whether or  not they merge with Enix.    The ff series seem to sell better in both Japan and America than DQ.  I think by merging, it might make RPG gamers happier if they combine can do something that a single company alone couldn\'t do.

Now all of Enixs games will suck too.

Originally posted by EThuggV2
Now all of Enixs games will suck too.

who the hell are Enixs ?

never heard of them...

what have they done ?

please remember I am a UK resident and as a result constricted to PAL limitations.

Enix\'s.... there, better?

Originally posted by EThuggV2
Enix\'s.... there, better?

yeah but what havethey done ?

are they as reconised as Square (in the PAL regions) ?

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/157.html

http://www.enix.co.jp/game/

[Bobs_Hardware]

Are you serious ooseven???

Dragon\'s Quest/Warrior.

It\'s basically the biggest RPG series in Japan.  

But not bigger then FF

ooseven = teh ghey

Interesting news non-the-less. Too bad I don\'t like RPG\'s.

Originally posted by Bobs_Hardware
Are you serious ooseven???

Dragon\'s Quest/Warrior.

It\'s basically the biggest RPG series in Japan.  

YES within Japan they are household names BUT

like i said have they made the

Lllllooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnngggggg

Conversion to PAL like (FF VII) (FX VIII) (FF IX) & (FF X) ?

ask Joe Public here in the UK what is Enix\'s and they would think is a new form of Anthrax or something.

Originally posted by Agnino
But not bigger then FF

In Japan, yes it is.

Originally posted by EThuggV2


In Japan, yes it is.

hey Numbnuts

i said IN PAL\'sville

as in

Europe,South Africa and Australia

Erix means Jack to most people here in the UK