The end of the partnership will see Square buying out EA’s 30 per cent stake in their US joint venture, Square EA LLC, while EA will buy out Square’s 30 per cent of their Japanese venture, Electronic Arts Square KK.
In future, EA will handle all of its own publishing and marketing in Japan, while Square plans to rename its US arm, Square Soft Inc, to Square Enix USA Inc, and will market forthcoming releases from the merged company through this division.
The original partnership deal between Square and EA came in May 1998 as Square saw interest in its RPG titles skyrocket in the USA following the release of Final Fantasy VII. Since the formation of Square EA LLC, the company has become an important fixture in the PS2 software publishing landscape of the US market. However, the fortunes of EA’s joint venture in Japan have not been so good, with the company – like all other western publishers – struggling to make any impact on the software market there.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz, Bloomberg
