News

As of April 1st, the Square Enix merge has been completed.
No longer seperate companies, they have released their new website and logo.

Source :  NEWFF.com
/**********/

Woo. The merger has finally been completed, and the new Square Enix has been revealed.

I really like the new logo. It's really simple, yet it stands out.
It's good to see Square & Enix getting a jump on the future and a face lift at the same time.

What are everyone else's opinons on the new logo and website?

In a startling move,  Microsoft announced early this morning that they had reached an agreement with Square-Enix stockholders concerning the purchase of the corporation.  The Square-Enix stockholders will get 0.45 of a share in Microsoft  for every Square Enix share that they own.  Originally it was believed that deal might not go through because Microsoft was originally only offering 0.30 of a share. Said Masufumi Miyamoto (the main shareholder of Square Enix), "We just thought we were getting a raw deal, Dog.  Big Billie Gates has plenty of bling.  If he really wanted our company then he would ante up. Word to your mother."  

While Square Enix have yet to release a game, they have announced their first title for the Xbox. Chrono Break!

Read about Chrono Break here at RPGamer

Furthermore, every Final Fantasy after FFXII is going to be an Xbox exclusive.  The Square-Enix arm is rumored to be known within Microsoft as the Shirt or "Square Hides It's Real Motives." One can only guess what that means.  There is speculation that Square-Enix really let themselves be purchased in order to make a sequel to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.  Or Shirt could also mean Square Enix is finally "clothing" the Xbox with some real software.

Source: TheGia

/~~~~~~~~~~~~~/

I don't even know what to say to this.   I'm quite literally shocked.  Sure, Microsoft bought my old favorite (that being Bungie), but I didn't see this one coming.  A Chrono series game on the Xbox?  Final Fanatsy an Xbox exclusive?  Even worse, a FF:TSW sequel?  Oi.  What next?  Nintendo buying Sega?  Give me your thoughts

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the strategy RPG for the Gameboy Advance from Square, has been finally confirmed for a North American release.

Complete RPGamer Article Here

Released in Japan back on Valentine's Day, FFTA has been quite successful there.  The original Playstation Final Fantasy Tactics has been successful in North America (Note:  This is not a port of the Playstation game, it is an entire new game and story), so this news does not comes as much of a surprise.  While a concrete release date has not been set as of yet, Square is currently working on localization (translation) of the gameplay  (And considering the translation of the original, one can only hope this one will be a bit better ).

Source: RPGamer

*~*~*~*

There was never really a question whether this game was going to be released on this side of the Pacific, but it's still nice to see a confirmation and to hear that work is progressing well on it.  For those who were unaware of this game's existance or just don't know anything about it, you can see a past news update of mine about it HERE

So... what does everyone think about this game?  Does it have a chance to leap over Ramza and the gang as the best Final Fantasy Tactics game?  

Special thanks goes out to new forum member Silent Moon for pointing out this story.

Square has reported a significant profit in the current fiscal year, which ends on the 31st of March.
Earlier projections estimated the company's net worth at 4.8 billion yen (39.85 million USD). Square now projects a profit  of 11.5 billion yen (95.47 million USD).

This is a significant profit for Square, especially when compared to the 16.6 billion yen (137.81 million USD) that they lost the year before.

Square cites the success of Kingdom Hearts in the US, and Final Fantasty X-2 in Japan as the reasons of their increased profits.

Source : RPGFan

/*******/

It's good to see Square getting out of the red, and back on their feet.
Though It was to be expected, with Kingdom Hearts selling 1.5 million copies in the US alone, and FFX-2 selling 1.2 million on it's first day in Japan.
Still it's good news, and we can expect some good things from Square this up and coming year.

Square finally has a release date for its Nintendo GameCube Final Fantasy game:

http://www.gamespot.com/gamecub....93.html

It is set for release in Japan on July 18th.  Square had previously decided to delay the game (see here for more information on that: http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/forums....;t=1071 ) to rework the battle system.

Square also has announced that they will have a big announcement about concerning the game during the E3 Conference (For those of you who don't know, E3 is a big electronics conference in which gaming companies comprise a significant section) in May.

Source: Gamespot

/***/

Not much room for commentary on this one.  It's good to see that they have a release date for the game again though.

The release of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Square Enix's first game for the Nintendo GameCube (and Square's first for a Nintendo console since the Super Nintendo for that matter), has been pushed backed:

http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q1-2003/031303f.html

The game was originally supposed to be released this spring in Japan.  As of right now though, a new date yet to be determined.  

The reason for the delay is that Square Enix does not feel the battle system is of good quality.  They are going to do a major overhaul to the system. Because of the possible significance of the changes, the delay could end up being quite lengthy.

Source: RPGamer

/****/

While GameCube owners will probably be a bit disappointed by this news, the delay should be beneficial for the game in the long run.  Battle systems are an integral part of a game.  One of the main issues that people have with Final Fantasy VIII is its battle system.  There are those who will never play the game again just because of the battle system it used.  For Square to hold back the game to rework Crystal Chronicles' system to something they believe in being of higher quality can only a positive delay.  

This is a direct quote from an earlier RPGamer news update concerning the battle system of the game as it was before the changes:

The battle system supports up to four players, whose stats and mini-map are displayed on a Game Boy Advance screen, and uses corresponding buttons to either attack, defend, or use a special skill. The characters' hit points are displayed as hearts. Magic Stones will be required to use spells in the game; these stones are represented by spheres floating above the characters' heads.

You can read the article in its entirety here: http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q4-2002/122102d.html.  From the sound of that quote its appears like the battle system was Secret of Mana-ish in style.  We'll just have to wait and see how the new system will turn out.