Square Enix offers over $600 Million for Taito

SE wants to play with the big boys

August 25, 2005

Square Enix is working on acquiring rival Taito for about 67 billion Yen — over $600 million in U.S. funds. The proposed acquisition would make Square Enix the third-largest gaming company in Japan, after Nintendo and Namco-Bandai. The deal has yet to be made final, but Kyocera Corp, the largest Taito shareholder, has agreed to sell its 36% ownership of the company.

Square Enix is the leading developer of RPG video games, and was formed two years ago when Square Co. Ltd. (Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross) merged with Enix Co. (Dragon Quest).

The introduction of Taito, who focus mostly on Arcade and some mobile platforms, may create some new diversity in Square Enix's distribution and development strategy. The company is already involved in mobile gaming, and acquisition of Taito may see Square developing that area of its business, as well as releasing more games for the Japanese arcade market.