Editing Square (video game company) (section)

==Structure==
===Development structure===
During reports on the merger with Enix, Takashi Oya of Deutsche Securities contrasted Enix's tradition of outsourcing development versus Square's approach to developing "everything by itself".<ref name="OyaComments"/> When Square was founded in the early 1980s, there was no set development structure, with the ten-person staff freely shifting between roles and projects. This eventually evolved into two loosely-defined production groups, led by Sakaguchi and Tanaka, respectively.<ref name="EdgeSakaguchi"/> Following the release of ''Final Fantasy IV'', Sakaguchi divided the production team, assigning different staff members to the ''Final Fantasy'', ''SaGa'' and ''Mana'' series.<ref name="SilNomura"/> A secondary studio was founded in Osaka in 1990, with ''[[Final Fantasy Legend III]]'' (1991) as their first project.<ref name="SaGaFujioka"/>

By 1997, the company was divided into eight development divisions, with two based in Osaka.<ref name="FiscalMarch1997"/> In 1998, the old development divisions were restructured into Production Departments, and the Osaka branch was closed down.<ref name="FiscalOctober1998"/> The system was reshuffled again in 2002 to promote "greater understanding", and allow for reassignment between divisions.<ref name="Divisions2002"/> Among the heads of divisions at this time were Kitase, Kawazu, Tanaka, Matsuno and Hirata.<ref name="Divisions2002"/> Following the merger with Enix, the eight divisions were incorporated into the new company, with two additional divisions brought in from Enix.<ref name="RPGFsqex"/>

===Publishing and localization===
{{see also|Localization of Square Enix video games}}
Square self-published the majority of its games in Japan,<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="history"/> and sporadically acted as a publisher for third-party developers.<ref name="SoukaigiBook"/><ref name="Thexder"/><ref name="FrontMup"/> By contrast, their Western presence during the 80s and early 90s was small.<ref name="NextGenSakaguchi"/> RPGs were not popular in the North American market at that time, and Square's presence in Europe was limited.<ref name="NextGenSakaguchi"/><ref name="SuperLive"/> The original ''Final Fantasy'' was published in North America in 1990 by Nintendo of America close to the launch of the Super Nintendo, resulting in its two sequels being passed over for localization at that time.<ref name="XboxRetro"/><ref name="Cancelled"/> One of their third-party North American releases was the original ''[[Breath of Fire (video game)|Breath of Fire]]'' by Capcom, who were busy enough to outsource publishing and localization to Square. The Redmond office later closed, with some localization staff choosing not to relocate to California.<ref name="SuperLive"/><ref name="GamasutraWoolsey"/>

Square initially did not have an internal localization department, instead outsourcing to a number of translators.<ref name="FF2"/> Following the release of ''Final Fantasy VII'', which saw criticism for its localization, Square created a new internal department to encourage higher quality.<ref name="SQlocalization"/> Initially having only two employees, it grew steadily over the years.<ref name="1upLocalPanel"/> Individual games still ran into difficulties due to their large text sizes, difficulties translating some culture-specific elements, potential censorship, and the introduction of voice acting with games including ''Final Fantasy X''.<ref name="SQlocalization"/><ref name="gamaSmith"/><ref name="USgamerLocal"/> Notable localization staff included Kaoru Moriyama,<ref name="FF2"/> [[Ted Woolsey]],<ref name="SuperLive"/> Michael Basket,<ref name="SQlocalization"/> [[Richard Honeywood]],<ref name="SQlocalization"/> and [[Alexander O. Smith]].<ref name="gamaSmith"/>

Many Square titles remained exclusive to Japan, for reasons including design complexities, low graphical quality, and technical difficulties.<ref name="SuperLive"/><ref name="Hollywood"/><ref name="RomancingLocalB"/> In the 1990s, Square's first six PlayStation releases were published by Sony as part of a contract between the two companies.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/> [[Eidos Interactive]] notably handled the Windows ports of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]''.<ref name="SQEAOwnership"/><ref name="SquareEUfaq"/> In Europe, Square's local branch self-published a number of games including mainline ''Final Fantasy'' titles.<ref name="SquareEUlist"/> It also partnered with third-party companies including Eidos, [[Crave Entertainment]], and [[Infogrames]] for either publishing or distribution of different titles.<ref name="SquareEUfaq"/><ref name="Infogrames"/><ref name="SonySquareEU"/>

===Subsidiaries===
[[File:Square Soft logo.svg|thumb|249x249px|The logo of SquareSoft]]
In 1989, Square established Square Soft in [[Redmond, Washington]], to provide development and publishing support in the West. After opening their North American offices, Square began publishing selected titles under the "SquareSoft" brand.<ref name="SquareNin"/><ref name="i8YtN"/> As Square moved its projects to PlayStation in 1994, a second Western R&D subsidiary called Square LA was founded in August 1995 in [[Marina del Rey, California]], renamed Square USA in October 1996.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref name="SquareInfo1998"/> Square Soft itself would notably develop ''Secret of Evermore'' in 1995 for the Super Nintendo<ref name="Evermore"/> and later moved to [[Costa Mesa, California]] near Square USA.<ref name="PolygonRetro"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://labusinessjournal.com/news/ocbjstory/|title=Ocbjstory|date=April 6, 1997}}</ref>  In 1997, a second Square USA branch was opened in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to focus on new interactive entertainment research,<ref name="SquareHawaiiStart"/> going on to help with CGI development on ''Parasite Eve'' and ''Final Fantasy IX''.<ref name="HawaiiCG"/> Square Europe was founded in 1998 in [[London]], England, focusing on publishing in Europe.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="SquareInfo1998"/> 

A publishing brand called Aques was established by Square in 1996. The name was an anagram of Square's name, as well as an acronym for "Advanced QUality Entertainment and Sports", representing the company's diversification outside of role-playing games.<ref name="Aques" /> That same year, Square established a distribution company called [[DigiCube]], with convenience stores as their main strategy.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="cost" /> The subdidiary expanded into book publishing, stocked games from other companies, and at one point published games under its own brand.<ref name="DigiVending" /><ref name="GSjp" /><ref name="offerings" /> DigiCube survived the Square Enix merger, though it declared bankruptcy in 2004 after years of declining sales.<ref name="SQEXreport" /><ref name="cost" />

In 1999, Square created a number of subsidiaries with dedicated roles: [[Square Enix Image Studio Division|Square Visual Works]] to focus on producing CGI animation, Square Sounds for music and sound effects, Squartz for quality control and user support, and Square Next to support smaller game projects.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="SquareInfo1998" /> Following the success of ''Final Fantasy VII'' in 1997, Sakaguchi founded a dedicated CGI film studio called Square Pictures in Hawaii; his aim was to both develop ''The Spirits Within'' and help with further development of Square's CGI technology.<ref name="PolygonRetro" /><ref name="KZ6TV" /> By the end of 2001, Square Pictures was dissolved and merged into Visual Works.<ref name="SQEXreport" /> Square USA's Hawaiian branch developed the CGI short "Final Flight of the Osiris" that later formed part of the 2003 anthology film ''[[The Animatrix]]''.<ref name="FlightInterview"/> The branch was shut down in 2002 following a failed attempt to find a film studio partner.<ref name="SquareHawaiiEnd"/>

In 2002, Square Next was rebranded as The Game Designer Studio, with ownership between Square's Product Development Division 2 and Kawazu. The aim was to allow for development of games for Nintendo consoles without impacting production on Sony platform games.<ref name="developer" /><ref name="studios" /><ref name="NextChange" /> The Game Designers Studio was absorbed back into Square Enix after the completion of ''Crystal Chronicles'', first renamed to SQEX Corporation and eventually dissolved entirely in 2010.<ref name="CCsqex" /><ref name="third company" /><ref name="FourthCompany" /> Square Sounds was dissolved into the main company in March 2002 as an internal division, a move attributed to cost cutting.<ref name="SoundsGone" /> The Square Soft subsidiary established in 1989 was rebranded as Square Enix Inc. when its parent company merged with Enix in 2003.<ref name="SQEXreport"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/company/history.html|title=History｜About Square Enix Group｜SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD.|website=www.hd.square-enix.com}}</ref> All the other subsidiaries were folded into Square Enix during the merger, with Visual Works becoming its own dedicated department.<ref name="SQEXreport" />

On May 1, 1998, Square formed a [[joint-venture]] partnership with [[Electronic Arts]]; Square Electronic Arts published Square titles in North America, while Electronic Arts Square published Electronic Arts titles in Japan.<ref name="Foundation"/><ref name="GWIeas"/> The partnership emerged the year following Electronic Arts winding down a [[Electronic Arts Victor|similar partnership]] with [[JVC|Victor]] in December 1997.<ref name="EAreport"/> Shares were distributed between the two on a 70/30 basis relating to their role; Square Electronic Arts had Square owning 70%, while Electronic Arts owned 30%.<ref name="SQEAOwnership"/> Electronic Arts Square would also develop the [[PlayStation 2]] launch title ''[[X-Squad]]''.<ref name="EAxsquad"/> In March 31, 2003, coinciding with the Square Enix merger, both ventures were dissolved, with each partner buying the other's shares. In its February press release, Square described the joint-venture as a success.<ref name="EASdissolved"/>

===Affiliates and acquisitions===
Between 1986 and 1988, Square led a collective of game developers dedicated to the production of games for the Famicom Disk System. The Square-owned label, called [[Disk Original Group]] (DOG), included Square, [[HummingBirdSoft]], [[System Sacom]], [[Microcabin]], Carry Lab, [[Thinking Rabbit]], and [[Xtalsoft]]. This coalition was able to pool financial resources, allowing them to overcome the prohibitive costs of acting individually.<ref name="RetroDisk"/><ref name="SquareHistoryShmup"/><ref name="DOGconfirm"/> The Famicom Disk System was rendered defunct by 1988 due to increased storage capacity in standard Famicom ROM cartridges.<ref name="DOGconfirm"/> In January 1994, Square acquired developer Cobra Team, turning it into a subsidiary called Solid and focusing their work on cooperating with external developers.<ref name="Foundation" /><ref name="SolidReport" /> In 1995, Square established DreamFactory as an affiliate studio, which developed fighting-based titles for the PlayStation and PS2. DreamFactory became an independent company in 2001 after Square transferred their shares.<ref name="DreamOrigin" /><ref name="SecureReport2001" /> Square later founded subsidiary Escape in March 1998 with DreamFactory staff. It only produced ''[[Driving Emotion Type-S]]'' (2000) before being liquidated in 2003.<ref name="SQEXreport" /><ref name="IGNescape" />

The company held a stake in ''[[Bushido Blade (video game)|Bushido Blade]]'' developer [[Lightweight (company)|Lightweight]], founded in 1995.<ref name="LightweightA" /><ref name="LightweightD"/> It sold that stake to software company Forside in 1999.<ref name="LightweightB"/><ref name="LightweightC"/> ''Front Mission'' developers G-Craft were initially independent, developing the original ''[[Front Mission (video game)|Front Mission]]'' with Square collaborating through their Solid subsidiary and acting as publisher.<ref name="FrontMup"/> Square bought out G-Craft and incorporated it in 1997 during production of ''Front Mission 2''.<ref name="dengeki2004" />  Other affiliates associated with Square between the early 1990s to 2000 were font company Kusanagi, and developers Positron and Luciola.<ref name="LightweightC"/><ref name="Subsidiaries"/> In 2002, ''Ogre Battle'' developer Quest Corporation withdrew from game development and was bought by Square. Absorbed and repurposed into a production division, their first project was ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' (2003).<ref name="QuestSale" /><ref name="HobonichiAdvance" /><ref name="IGNadvance" />