FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Kyoko Yama****a, Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.
Monica Bouldin or Nurha Hindi, Ruder Finn
SQUARE ANNOUNCES ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES FOR NORTH AMERICAN MARKET
Changes Reflect Establishment of New Company Square Enix U.S.A. and Sunset of Joint Venture With Electronic Arts
LOS ANGELES, Calif., (Feb. 18, 2003) ?ESquare Co., Ltd. (Square) and the exclusive publisher of all SQUARESOFT® products in North America, Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. (Square EA), announced today changes in its North American operations.
Square will merge with Tokyo-based video game publisher Enix Corporation (Enix) on April 1, 2003. The new company, headquartered in Tokyo, will be named Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix) and led by Yoichi Wada as president (current Square president). With this, Square Enix U.S.A., Inc. (Square Enix U.S.A.) will be established to handle North American operations. Located in Los Angeles, Calif., Square Enix U.S.A. will localize, market and publish Square Enix products under the leadership of Jun Iwasaki, the newly named president and CEO, Square Enix U.S.A., Inc.
Also, the joint venture between Square and Electronic Arts™ (EA) (Nasdaq: ERTS), the world’s leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment will come to an end as scheduled March 31, 2003. EA distribution of Square products in North America will end this summer. The exclusive partnership that focused on sales and distribution began in May 1998 in North America and Japan. Financial details of the joint venture were not disclosed.
“As Square and Enix begin the worldwide implementation of the merger, our goals for the North American market will shift to include not only increasing our market share for our franchises, but also expanding the role-playing game market in North America,?Esaid Wada “We are currently evaluating the best strategy to accomplish these goals and look forward to growing our business as a new company. We have enjoyed a very successful partnership with Electronic Arts over the past five years and we are currently exploring opportunities for a new relationship.?E
“We are looking forward to this new structure in North America,?Esaid current Enix president, Keiji Honda. “Together, Square and Enix will deliver a gaming experience that everyone will enjoy. We are committed to developing and marketing innovative, creative and original titles. We hope to accomplish our goals by providing quality role-playing games to gamers in North America.?E
Square has established itself as one of the world’s premier video game developers and publishers and is best known for the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY® series, which has sold over 42 million units worldwide. The latest installment in North America, FINAL FANTASY X for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, has sold over 1.5 million units to date. Enix, most famous for its Dragon Quest® role-playing series, has shipped over 30 million units of the series worldwide.
About Square Electronic Arts L. L. C. and Square Co. Ltd.
Square Co., Ltd. is the leading third-party developer and publisher of home video game console software in Japan with annual sales of more than U.S. $275 million consolidated base (based on exchange rate of 133.20 Japanese Yen per U.S. Dollar as of March 31, 2002) and 900 employees worldwide. Square Co., Ltd. became famous for its role-playing games, including its world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series, which has sold more than 42 million units to date, and now publishes other titles under the SQUARESOFT brand spanning all genres. Square, Co., Ltd. can be found on the Internet at http://www.playonline.com.
Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. is the exclusive publisher of all SQUARESOFT products in North America. Square Co., Ltd. publishes its SQUARESOFT titles in North America through Square Electronic Arts L.L.C., located in Los Angeles, Calif. Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. is a Limited Liability Company established on May 1, 1998, by Square Soft, Inc. and Electronic Arts to manage the marketing and distribution of SQUARESOFT products in North America. More information about SQUARESOFT products can be found on the Internet at http://www.playonline.com
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.7 billion for fiscal 2002. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS?E EA GAMES?E EA SPORTS BIG?Eand EA.COM(SM).
About Enix Corporation
Enix Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is best known for the Dragon Quest video game series, which has shipped 30 million units worldwide. With annual sales of more than 230 million yen (fiscal year ending March 31, 2002), Enix develops, publishes and distributes game software as well as publishes comic books, magazines and develops toys and hobby goods. More information on Enix and its products can be found on the Internet at http://www.enix.co.jp/company/about/
FINAL FANTASY and the SQUARESOFT logo are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. Dragon Quest is a registered trademark of Enix Corporation. “PlayStation?Eand the “PS?Efamily logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Kyoko Yama****a
Marketing Communications Manager
Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.
6060 Center Drive, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90045