Square Co., Ltd.

Overview

Square was founded in Yokohama in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. Initially, it was a computer game software division of Den-Yu-Sha, a power line construction company owned by Miyamoto's father. While at the time game development was usually conducted by only one programmer, Miyamoto believed that it would be more efficient to have graphic designers, programmers and professional story writers working together on common projects. Square's first title was The Death Trap (1984), a text adventure with graphics designed by part-time employee Hironobu Sakaguchi.

In 1986 Square gained independence from Den-Yu-Sha, but just one year later the company was on the verge of a financial disaster. The salvation came from Sakaguchi and a game he called Final Fantasy, assuming it would be his final contribution to video games. The game quickly gained popularity, and during the following years spawned many sequels and spin-offs, becoming one of the most popular RPG series of all times.

Square developed and produced games in many genres, but their main focus has always been on Japanese RPGs. Besides Final Fantasy games, the company worked on Chrono series as well as stand-alone RPGs such as Live a Live (1994), Xenogears (1998), Vagrant Story (2000), and others.

In 2003, Square merged with their long-time RPG-making rival, Enix Corporation, creating Square Enix Co., Ltd. The final game published by the company before the merge was the Japanese release of Final Fantasy X-2.

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