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Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. (スクウェア・エニックス・ホールディングス Sukuwea Enikkusu Hōrudingusu?) TYO: 9684 is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Dragon Quest series, the Final FantasyKingdom Hearts series. Square Enix was formed as the result of a mergerSquare Co. and the Enix Corporation. On April 1, 2003, Enix legally absorbed Square, with Square stockholders receiving 0.85 shares of stock in the new company compared to Enix stockholders receiving a one-to-one trade. Despite this, many top officials within Square assumed leadership roles in the new corporate hierarchy, including Square president Yōichi Wada, who was appointed president of the new corporation.
Square Enix has regional operations, including Square Enix, Inc. (for all of North America) and Square Enix Ltd. (for Europe and other areas that use the PAL-television standard). In July 2003, Square Enix relocated its headquarters to Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo. In March 2004, Square Enix acquired UIEvolution, Inc. in order to strengthen its wireless market. On August 22, 2005, Square Enix announced its acquisition of the amusement gaming developer and publisher, Taito Corporation, renowned for their arcade hits, Space Invaders and the Bubble Bobble series. By September 28, 2005, Square Enix had wholly acquired Taito. In January 2005, the company expanded operations to Beijing, People's Republic of China by establishing Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company also has a controlling interest in Community Network Software Engine of Beijing, China which focuses on network middle-ware for gaming. On August 29, 2008 Square Enix made plans for a friendly takeover of Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of 22.3 billion yen. By September 4, 2008 Square Enix had withdrew their offer after Tecmo rejected the proposed takeover.
As of 2008 Square Enix's headquarters are in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its North American offices are on the third floor of 999 North Sepulveda Boulevard in El Segundo, California, United States. Its Europe offices are on the second floor of the Castle House in Borough of Islington in London, United Kingdom. Its China offices are in Room 610 of Golder Plaza, No. 10 in Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Before 2007, Square Enix's titles were published by other companies in Europe as Square Enix Ltd. did not have their own distribution network in place. Their titles were published by Nintendo of Europe (Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Children of Mana), Ubisoft (Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Drakengard 2), Electronic Arts (Final Fantasy X-2), Take 2 Interactive (Drakengard) or Infogrames (Unlimited Saga, Musashi: Samurai Legend). Their first self-published titles in Europe were Kingdom Hearts II for PlayStation 2 and Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS.
As of September 2003, Square Enix's production staff was divided in nine different Square teams and two Enix teams:
| Production team | Headed by | Notable game series | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square | |||
| 1 | Yoshinori Kitase | Final Fantasy | |
| 2 | Akitoshi Kawazu | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles | |
| 3 | Hiromichi Tanaka | Final Fantasy XI | |
| 4 | Yasumi Matsuno | Final Fantasy | |
| 5 | Yusuke Hirata | All Star Pro-Wrestling | |
| 6 | Toshiro Tsuchida | Front Mission | |
| 7 | Takashi Tokita | Hanjuku Hero | |
| 8 | Koichi Ishii | Mana | |
| 9 | Akitoshi Kawazu | Ivalice Alliance | |
| Enix | |||
| 10 | Ari Miyake | Dragon Quest | |
| 11 | Yosuke Saito | tri-Ace-developed games |
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