Sony to Sell off all its Shares in Square Enix - Est. $47mil

[Indigo Rush]

Wuh oh.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/16/sony-to-sell-its-shares-in-square-enix

 

Sony has announced that it is selling all of the shares it currently holds in Square Enix.

 

Sony has owned around 9.5 million Square Enix shares for a decade, making it the publisher's third-largest shareholder - but it will now be selling them to a global firm called SMBC Nikko Securities.

 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the stock will book a Y4.8 billion (nearly US$47 million) one-off profit for the fiscal quarter ending in June; the exact price for which the shares sell will be revealed on Thursday.

 

The expected sale price is significantly lower than the Y16 billion (nearly US$157 million) that the shares are currently worth, according to their current market value.

 

Exclusive Square Enix titles such as earlier Final Fantasy games and the Kingdom Hearts series launched exclusively on PlayStation consoles, but in 2008, the publisher broke that trend by releasing Final Fantasy 13 on Xbox 360 as well as PS3.

 

 

 

So this is big news. Sony isn't doing so hot right now, but they gotta do what they gotta do, right? I'm not too learned in the business and marketing field, so do you guys think that this will help Sony in the long run? Will we see more Square Enix games on other consoles now? 

[The drunkard from space!]

EDIT: Ignore this. I'm an idiot.

[JaidynReiman]

I hardly think 8% shares is much of anything. People are making more of a big deal about this (regarding Square's games getting on other consoles more) than the other issues at stake here.

 

First of all, the fact that Sony is in such dire straights that not only they need to lay off a ton of people, sell one of their buildings, but also sell their shares they had in Square Enix (which honestly isn't that much, only 8%; they have a lot more than others would probably but its still only a fraction of Square's shares).

 

Second of all, there's only one reason that Sony would have to sell Square shares; they're NOT making a profit from Square. This is the bigger news regarding Square in this whole thing that the possibility of more games appearing on other consoles (which hasn't really stopped Square at all in the past few years). The fact that Square isn't making Sony a profit is a big deal and may mean that Square simply needs to get their shit together and fix their games (which hopefully they are working on).

 

 

I love Square Enix, I love Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts (to an extent) and I don't want Square to die. I want them to pull out of this rut and improve their games so I can love them again. And I don't just want them to go all the way back to the "classic" gameplay formula. I want them to backtrack to the classic old school formula and improve on it in a GOOD way, rather than destroying it all-together like they did with XIII.

[Sami]

This isn't really a good or bad thing in itself, just a symbol of Square's current situation as Jaid said above. Sony doesn't really have any need for those shares and Square's been multiplat for a while now.

[VO.SUPER]

Yeah, from the beginning, this looked like a Square problem more than anything. I do hope things pull out for the better with them, and they make more quality products.

[KHCast]

I honestly hope this doesn't give Square the idea to rush on popular upcoming games so they can get money quicker. We need quality games!

[Sami]

If anyone needs to be off their asses and get more productive, it's Square. There comes a point when a game needs to actually be out the fucking door. Square and SCEJ are both awful about that, and have lost tons of relevance last gen as a result.

[KHCast]

In cases like The Last Guardian and FFXV, yeah I agree. They should be out by now, and its sad that they aren't. But game like KH3, which just started development not that long ago, I think could take another year or two.(I'm expecting 2016 for that so, around that time would be best IMO.)

[JaidynReiman]

If anyone needs to be off their asses and get more productive, it's Square. There comes a point when a game needs to actually be out the fucking door. Square and SCEJ are both awful about that, and have lost tons of relevance last gen as a result.

Square screwed up Final Fantasy XIV and has taken so long on Final Fantasy XV its RIDICULOUS. XV has GOT to release this year, its been in development so damn long.

 

 

On the other hand, there's KH3. I've heard people commenting on how that game has been in development hell as well. Actually, no, probably the only thing that WAS done on the game before E3 last year is that the story was written. KH3 only started development, and if they get a big enough team on it, they MIGHT get it done next year, otherwise its probably 2016 at the latest.

 

KH3 is taking so long not because of a long development cycle, but because Final Fantasy XV is taking so long. And Final Fantasy XV is likely a huge factor in why Square Enix is in such dire straights right now.

[HippyAmy]

They are wasting too much time on making too many silly cellphone games imo, and not enough time on FF XV and KH 3

 

 

 

All The Bravest was just a massive insult, and Final Fantasy VI cellphone has a glitch where the game cannot be even winnable.

[Mr Loopone]

It is understandable for Sony to sell shares in the company, not only that they weren't making as much profit (if any) as Sony would like but there isn't an incentive for them to continue. Square-Enix bring out their games on various devices, not just PlayStation consoles but also the currently more profitable in Japan handheld market. Also 8% doesn't have much of a say in the company as the other 92% might have a different opinion than Sony.

 

Then again Square-Enix hasn't been as efficient as they have been. Not the UK/European side (ex-Eidos) since they are doing quite well even if they are ambitious regarding sale targets e.g. Tomb Raider 2013, it's the main Japanese side that brought them down a bit. While games getting cancelled is part of any game developer, Square didn't seem to bring as much and only recently that brought out plenty of games e.g. Kingdom Hearts remakes, Final Fantasy X remake, Bravely Default and Lightning Returns. Square wasted money on various Final Fantasy games that weren't completed plus any projects that weren't mentioned publically, taking longer than expected development of their games, spending money to completely remake FFXIV due to the poor reception of the original that itself costed money and to get as much revenue as possible charging a high price of their RPGs on mobile plus the money grabbing focused All the Bravest. People wanted a localisation of FF Type Zero and for some reason Square cancelled it despite working on one.

 

Plus Square bought Taito and not doing much about it. All their game series and not doing much about it apart from the odd Space Invaders and Puzzle Bobble game or two. Taito was one of the big arcade companies, where their games are remembered especially in the UK where people who grew up in that era remember Chase HQ, The New Zealand Story, Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands with affection. At least the Taito Type X arcade hardware got some console ports and some illegally converted PC conversions.

[Dobkeratops]

Literally the first time those shares have ever been useful for something.

 

For the record these shares didn't give Sony any say in prominent mobile game developer Square-Enix's decisions, and given the disastrous direction the new management is taking it might be the right idea to sell them while they're worth some money. So no, this doesn't mean they're more likely to put games on other platforms than they already were or any other conspiracy theories.

 

 

In cases like The Last Guardian and FFXV, yeah I agree. They should be out by now, and its sad that they aren't. But game like KH3, which just started development not that long ago, I think could take another year or two.(I'm expecting 2016 for that so, around that time would be best IMO.)

 

As much as I'd like to pile on those games, switching generations must've required quite the overhaul so a grace period is acceptable. That being said, if E3 comes and goes and they don't have anything to show for either, we shall resume the well deserved booing.

 

[Jin.]

I don't actually mind games taking long to develop. Hell, Guild Wars 2 was announced in 2007 and released in 2012, and it was a pretty damn good game. On the other hand, you've got Duke Nukem Forever, but unlike GW2, that got handed around a lot. So I'm very much okay with waiting.

 

Besides. I can't let Square go down, I haven't had my FFVII and VIII remakes yet.

 

I just can't stand waiting for localisations from America to Europe

ATLUUUUUUS

[Gabz Girl]

If only Square could release their newest Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts game already...is it really because of their focus on stupid money grabbing mobile games that they're taking so long to release these games? Seriously, why waste so much time?

Hopefully FFXV will be released later this year (it better not be another FFXIII either!), while KH3 probably won't come out until late 2015/early 2016. No way in hell both will be released at the same time, but still Square needs to get their act together and release them soon. No wonder they're losing so much money! Final Fantasy hasn't really been relevant for quite a long time. =/

[Scar]

Wuh oh.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/16/sony-to-sell-its-shares-in-square-enix

 

 

 

So this is big news. Sony isn't doing so hot right now, but they gotta do what they gotta do, right? I'm not too learned in the business and marketing field, so do you guys think that this will help Sony in the long run? Will we see more Square Enix games on other consoles now? 

 

What was the last PlayStation exclusive game made by SqEnix? I don't keep up.

Frankly, I've seen the most number of SE games on the 3DS these days. The fact that Sony's shares didn't get them any leverage with future exclusives probably meant that they didn't see those shares as being of any use. Better to get rid of them and have $47 million extra in their cash reserves than to have shares in a company that isn't doing well, and isn't offering any value propositions to you.

[Dobkeratops]

What was the last PlayStation exclusive game made by SqEnix? I don't keep up.

 

Drakengard 3 and FFXHD I think. Next up KH2HD.

 

"Smaller" titles that simply aren't worth porting because the userbase in Xbox/PC/WiiU is irrelevant (with the big guns they can get at least 100k Xbone users to bite into their shitty ports). If they don't go full retard mobile next gen I'd expect a couple PS4/Vita only titles too but I don't have much faith in their management.

[Salamander]

They are wasting too much time on making too many silly cellphone games imo, and not enough time on FF XV and KH 3

 

 

 

All The Bravest was just a massive insult, and Final Fantasy VI cellphone has a glitch where the game cannot be even winnable.

 

Sounds more like they didn't spend enough time on those games, honestly.  But when the question is whether they deserved any time spending on them in the first place, I guess that's a different matter.

 

What mainly irritates me about SE's conduct - speaking as someone who only owns a 3DS and thus has no investment or interest in their languidly-developed main console titles - is just how long it takes them to localise many games, if they localise them at all.  I can't think of any other companies standing which frequently take a year or more to get stuff out in English after the Japanese release (not counting Japan-exclusive developers, of course).  It's probably a good thing that we had to wait a year for Bravely Default as we got the upgraded version that was a lot better, but where the heck are the 3DS Dragon Quest remakes - Monsters 1, Monsters 2, and VII?  Are we honestly to believe that they wouldn't have recouped the costs of translation?  Surely there are missed opportunities here.

 

...Actually, I just remembered that SE were astonished that Bravely Default sold well in the west.  Yeah, they just don't have a clue, do they.

[MegasonicZX]

Sounds more like they didn't spend enough time on those games, honestly.  But when the question is whether they deserved any time spending on them in the first place, I guess that's a different matter.

 

What mainly irritates me about SE's conduct - speaking as someone who only owns a 3DS and thus has no investment or interest in their languidly-developed main console titles - is just how long it takes them to localise many games, if they localise them at all.  I can't think of any other companies standing which frequently take a year or more to get stuff out in English after the Japanese release (not counting Japan-exclusive developers, of course).  It's probably a good thing that we had to wait a year for Bravely Default as we got the upgraded version that was a lot better, but where the heck are the 3DS Dragon Quest remakes - Monsters 1, Monsters 2, and VII?  Are we honestly to believe that they wouldn't have recouped the costs of translation?  Surely there are missed opportunities here.

 

...Actually, I just remembered that SE were astonished that Bravely Default sold well in the west.  Yeah, they just don't have a clue, do they.

Namco actually does this but with them its a bit more understandable because they don't have as much of a budget SE does.