Square

Established in 1986, Square Co., Ltd. was a leading third-party developer and publisher with annual sales of more than $345 million dollars and 1,200 employees worldwide. Based in Japan, the foundation of Square's success was the release of the first title in the acclaimed role-playing game series, Final Fantasy in 1987. A decade later, when Final Fantasy VII was released in Japan for the PlayStation, sales soared to over 2.3 million units within the first three days. A North American and European release followed in late 1997 and total sales for Final Fantasy VII were calculated to be 6.57 million worldwide (as of Jan 1999). Final Fantasy VIII was released in February 1999 in Japan and broke pre-sell records with more than 2 million units on reserve before the product was on store shelves. Within the first month, 3.3 million units were sold, breaking the record of Final Fantasy VII.

Square's heritage is based upon cutting-edge technology with motion picture visual effects wizardry. In addition to the Final Fantasy series, other titles that have achieved "million-seller" status include the Sa-Ga series and the Seiken Densetsu series. Furthermore, titles such as Parasite Eve have been recognized as the most cinematically advanced video games in the industry, while others such as Chrono Trigger have made Square famous for exploring new realms in development encompassing time travel and multiple endings in one game.

Square formally expanded into the North American market in 1989 by establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary called Square Soft, Inc. Originally based in Redmond, Washington, Square Soft relocated its offices to Costa Mesa, California in 1996.

In 1998, Square joined forces with Electronic Arts to establish two joint venture companies; one in Japan and one in North America. Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. located in Costa Mesa has the exclusive publishing rights in North America for all interactive entertainment titles created by Square. Square Soft, Inc. is the majority shareholder in Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.

In late 1998, Square expanded its worldwide presence by establishing Square Europe Ltd. located in London, England. Square Europe was granted exclusive publishing rights in Europe and other PAL territories for all interactive entertainment titles developed by Square.

Announced in November 2001, Square and Enix laid out plans to merge. By April 2002 the merger was complete and Square ceased to exist, supplanted by Square Enix.

Software Highlights from Credited Titles

Square's first work that SPOnG is aware of is the 1986 title, "Dragon Quest" (NES).

The company has been involved titles released on the PC, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, PlayStation, SNES and NES. Of these, "Final Fantasy VI" (PlayStation), "Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles" (GameCube), "Final Fantasy IX" (PlayStation), "Final Fantasy X" (PS2), "Final Fantasy X-2" (PS2) has been a best selling title.

The company's most recent involvement was on the 2005 release "Magical Vacation" (GBA).

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