The new company, Square Enix (or Squeenix to us wags in the western games press), now holds almost all of the leading RPG franchises in Japan. It’s expected to release around 20 games each year, with its two key franchises rotating on an annual basis – so there’ll be a Dragon Quest game one year, and a Final Fantasy game the next.

Other key franchises controlled by the company include Star Ocean (whose third instalment has been performing strongly at Japanese retail despite a product recall to fix a major bug), Chrono Trigger (the next chapter of which, Chrono Break, is thought to be in development) and Parasite Eve (the PlayStation era action RPG which is currently being updated for next generation platforms).

Perhaps the most interesting consequence of the merger is that Square Enix is now positioned to be a kingmaker for consoles in the Japanese market, in much the same way that EA is for western territories. With control over some of the most important franchises in the territory, any platform which has the support of Square Enix is almost guaranteed commercial success in the Far East – a fact which has not escaped the notice of Square Enix’ new president, Yoichi Wada.

Not only because of our blockbuster titles, but also because of our know-how in the game business, console makers should naturally know who to pick, he told news agency Reuters in a recent interview.

At present, the only platform not supported in some way by Square Enix is Microsoft’s Xbox; the company targets the PS2 with the vast majority of its products, but also develops for Nintendo’s GameCube and GameBoy Advance consoles. Square’s Final Fantasy Tactics was launched alongside the GBA SP in Japan in February, and sold at an almost 1:1 ratio with the redesigned console.

Analysts in Tokyo have broadly welcomed the merger, with most commentaries focusing on the fact that the newly merged company is significantly more financially secure and less dependant on individual hit franchises than the two companies were previously. Several market analysts have suggested that Square Enix is currently undervalued on the stock market, despite a capitalisation of around 200 billion yen.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz