I think Sony wouldn't try to push them into a buyout. Especially as they sold their stake years ago and don't seem to be pursuing it at all. Nintendo might and the 100 page report was pretty stupid in pointing out the comparison to Nintendo IPs and revenue. They're trying to say let Nintendo handle your IPs in a roundabout way.
Astray
Member
Voted for no sale because Square is a ridiculously bad buy for anyone atm. The TGAs came and went with basically zero announcements, they are basically expecting to drive 2026 on like.. FF7R3 and a DQ remake? Incredible weaksauce in what's gonna be a very competitive year.
But the stupidity of gaming CEOs knows no bounds and one of them is bound to think this is a great idea.
But the stupidity of gaming CEOs knows no bounds and one of them is bound to think this is a great idea.
blacktout
Member
There absolutely are possible outcomes that are less severe than being "sold for parts." Often these plays by activist investors are about trying to effectuate a change in corporate strategy or leadership, both of which could happen without selling or dismantling the company. Those threats exist as leverage to help push for the outcome that the investor wants, but are often not the actual desired outcome.
Hudo
Member
I am just so happy that Dragon Quest is multiplatform these days. And I mean that as a fan. I want this series to get played by a lot of people because it deserves it, imho. There were times when each mainline DQ game was a platform exclusive, usually the platform that was the most popular in Japan at that time.
Fess
Member
We haven't seen day 1 multiplats on any big IP by Square Enix in ages. We just know that timed exclusivity is killing hype, and sales potential, on the lttp platforms. Everything is old news.
Witchilich
Member
Bought by a company whose fans don't even play those games.
Ahh yes the dude bros. They surely are missing those Xbox sells which will save their company. You forgot that they were doing just fine in PS1 and PS2 by making actual good games.
Vyse
Gold Member
The dead wrestler?
mayham2199
Member
No what I'm saying is that just being multiplat doesn't guarantee that all their IPs will be successful now. All the TR games were multiplat (except #2) and they were still not satisfied with how those games performed. I just don't believe going multiplat is going to be enough for them.
We will see what happens but I think they have a lot more work to do than just going multiplat. You have to remember they do get paid for being exclusive. It's not like they are running a charity. It comes with benefits as well. So the question is will going multiplat outweigh the benefits they've been getting from being exclusive? I don't know.
Pejo
Member
Sony or maybe Nintendo are the only ones really in a place to buy S-E, but I honestly don't care anymore. They've clung on to memberberries/remakes/spinoffs for so long, any soul that original existed from Squaresoft is gone, and their new stuff isn't to my taste. They really gave a masterclass in completely devaluing one of gaming's iconic IPs in Final Fantasy though. Could be a good case study for college kids in 2040.
nial
Member
The first poiht is arguable, Bungie is literally due to Sony not being able to touch their management as per the acquisition clause, unless their financial goals weren't met (which was the case, hence the somewhat expected restructuring next year).
March Climber
Member
I know disgruntled Final Fantasy fans are salivating at this potential news, but they do have a ton of unique I.P. and they have been releasing smaller, good projects lately. It feels like they are just starting to do a turn on giving people good projects.
I would be okay with most options listed in this thread except Bandai Namco and Xbox.
Either company would absorb, do mass firings, and then hold the I.P. hostage for eternity. For Bandai Namco especially, as I feel like they would be fine with erasing Square Enix from the face of the earth than using any money at all to do justice to any of their I.P.
I would be okay with most options listed in this thread except Bandai Namco and Xbox.
Either company would absorb, do mass firings, and then hold the I.P. hostage for eternity. For Bandai Namco especially, as I feel like they would be fine with erasing Square Enix from the face of the earth than using any money at all to do justice to any of their I.P.
Felessan
Member
For Japanese companies there is usually poison pill in place
Unless they got blank approval of corresponding Keiretsu (meaning management vs owners conflict) - it's kinda hard to change things even if you are bright blablabla activist investor.
But being in Singapore they probably is a watchdog
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Baki
Member
As mentioned in the OP, they've done successfully in Japan 3x before. They're not investing a $B without being sure they can't force some drastic action to pump the stock.
yurinka
Member
They won't sell the company because some moron made a 100 pages powerpoint full of graphs with 99% made up data.
3D Investment Partners opinions and claims don't mean a shit, they have zero control and can't apply any pressure at all on SE actions: if you look at the list of the top 10 SE shareholders, they aren't there, and the top 10 one barely has 2% of the shares.
Meaning, if these 3D Investment Partners are investors, they have a super tiny stake and pretty likely no voting rights.
Do Square Enix room to improve in different areas? Yes. Are they in a position where they need or want to sell? No.
If something, they'll do something Square Enix said years ago: what Ubisoft started to do, to create subsidiaries to put there IPs and studios and allow external investors (like the Saudis, Tencent, Sony, etc) get a small portion (or maybe in some case even a majority) of them. But not to sell the company.
If WBD is selling isn't because some random user in 4Chan or Reddit said that they should sell.
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Sojiro
Member
Same here as another DQ fan, that is why I don't want either Nintendo or Sony to have it because both will lock it to their platform exclusively going forward.
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Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Sony would want it for the IP which would be useful for their transmedia operations. They also are publishing multi-platform which Nintendo aren't.
As per usual people are thinking the value is in the staff and current operation, when its all about the stuff they will actually own outright as a result. Which in SE's case are a lot of stuff that can feed into Manga, anime, music, TV and Movies on top of games - all of which are businesses Sony are already in.
I'd also add, Playstation will be looking to make acquisitions in future in order to avoid over-reliance on Microsoft. And given the shift in direction by the CEO to attempt to become more competitive in their home market, there could scarcely be a more tempting target, particularly after their Western side has struggled with the GAAS push.
As per usual people are thinking the value is in the staff and current operation, when its all about the stuff they will actually own outright as a result. Which in SE's case are a lot of stuff that can feed into Manga, anime, music, TV and Movies on top of games - all of which are businesses Sony are already in.
I'd also add, Playstation will be looking to make acquisitions in future in order to avoid over-reliance on Microsoft. And given the shift in direction by the CEO to attempt to become more competitive in their home market, there could scarcely be a more tempting target, particularly after their Western side has struggled with the GAAS push.
Felessan
Member
They are from Singapore
And Singapore are offshore haven, means no one knows who behind them
As I said - Japanese companies do like poison pill strategy and usually cross-owned by very large structures (Keiretsu). And without approval of latter it's kind of hard to do things, because even if you got 15% - all the rest owned by 100 companies that essentially is one owner and this owner has uniform opinion.
And what the target of current attack is not really obvious, SPV reprofiled all the time. Maybe it's really selling, or maybe it's management streamlining or maybe something else.
CentralScrutinizer
Member
Uhhhhh
Square Enix revenue tanks because they were making games exclusively for Sony so they should sell to Sony to save their revenue?
Square Enix revenue tanks because they were making games exclusively for Sony so they should sell to Sony to save their revenue?
Baki
Member
They own 14% and I did not mention WB. Did you actually read the op?
This isn't their first rodeo in Japan, they probably feel confident in either forcing divestment and share buybacks or a sale. 14% is enough influence to probably get themselves a board seat. SE would be more insulated from action if they were doing well, but there's probably more disgruntled investors.
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If it were for that, Kadokawa would already be globbed up since it has way more stuff into Anime/Mangas and IPs, yet they didn't dare and got enough % of the shares to the point they were comfortable...
CentralScrutinizer
Member
What percentage stake did they own in Toshiba and Fuji when they forced a sale? That's very important info the OP left out.
Felessan
Member
Let's go from the start - do you know what poison pill strategy imply? And what keiretsu cross-ownership means to ability to influence company decisions?
It looks like you judge from some news crap and know nothing about practical side of those things.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
The old management allowed their profile to slide in Japan. Totoki is not Jim Ryan.
yurinka
Member
Yes, I did read the OP and is a nice fanfic writing.
It includes multiple nonsensical things like falsely claiming that an "activist investor" can fire the CEO of a company when they only (supposedly, because they don't own that) have 14% of its stocks of such company.
As I mentioned before, they don't own 14% of Square Enix:
https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/stock/shareholder.html
I mentioned WB just as a random example to illustrated that random people claiming to have stocks in a company and making a guess or suggesting something regarding an acquisition doesn't have absolutely no influence in the actions of that company. Even if they include 100 pages full of charts that have mostly fake data ,like in this case.
If they own any Square Enix stock at all, it must be under 2.28% of the stocks.
And well, even if it would be true that they have 14%, this wouldn't be enough to fire the CEO or to force to sell the company. Things don't work like that.
PS: That Yasuhiro Fukushima with over 25% of Square Enix is the founder of Enix and honorary chairman of SE.
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ShadyAcshuns
Member
I'm tired of all the crybaby tears against exclusives. Hell, you're grown, so buy the damn machine that has the game you want to play.
Fess
Member
Xbox as a console is gone, multiplats now means PS5, PC, Switch 2, and yes that is needed and what happened in 1995 is not in any way interesting 30 years later. A late release will always sell worse than it could've sold day 1. There is no hype left. It's old news. Only thing they get from that is increased negativity around the unveil from those who realize they won't get to play until until years later. See the talk around literally any platform exclusive.
Fess
Member
I have every machine. Just to play how many exclusives per year? 2? What if I don't like those particular games one year or only half or none?
It's just not worth the money. I didn't even get yearly playtime stats on PlayStation this year because I had apparently played less than 10 hours.
ShadyAcshuns
Member
Well, you always have options.
fran.fernandez
Member
Drama 
Baki
Member
lol, did you read your own image. That ownership is only current as of March 31, 2025.Yes, I did read the OP and is a nice fanfic writing.
It includes multiple nonsensical things like falsely claiming that an "activist investor" can fire the CEO of a company when they only (supposedly, because they don't own that) have 14% of its stocks of such company.
As I mentioned before, they don't own 14% of Square Enix:
https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/stock/shareholder.html
I mentioned WB just as a random example to illustrated that random people claiming to have stocks in a company and making a guess or suggesting something regarding an acquisition doesn't have absolutely no influence in the actions of that company. Even if they include 100 pages full of charts that have mostly fake data ,like in this case.
If they own any Square Enix stock at all, it must be under 2.28% of the stocks.
And well, even if it would be true that they have 14%, this wouldn't be enough to fire the CEO or to force to sell the company. Things don't work like that.
PS: That Yasuhiro Fukushima with over 25% of Square Enix is the founder of Enix and honorary chairman of SE.
Andrew Evenstar
Member
I hope Sony buys them out and then just pays From Software (or different developers) to make FF games. FF7 rebirth was good in a few ways. The actual gameplay and exploration was poor (battle system is great) . Square is lost when it comes to innovating in games, they're just for show now.
nial
Member
Data on Square Enix Holdings's website is as of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. 3D Investment Partners started investing on them a month later, and just recently (less than a day ago) raised stake to over 15%.
www.marketscreener.com
3D Investment Partners raise stake in Square Enix Holdings Co to 15.40% from 14.36%, filing shows
Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd: 3D Investment Partners raise stake in Square Enix Holdings Co to 15.40% from 14.36%, filing shows ...
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Totoki is scaling back investments in PlayStation; he is aiming for a 20% ROIC (Game), a payout ratio over 40% and is speeding up share repurchases, primarily funded by PlayStation. He is prioritizing short-term shareholder return over long-term growth.
Totoki and Nishino, the arsonists playing firemen.
Famitsu: Jim Ryan (Weeks: 177)
Famitsu: Totoki & Nishino (Weeks: 88)
There is no shift; they are trying to save face (thanks, Capcom)
Sony Group's CFO (Nov 2025)
You are correct.
Jim Ryan prioritized Japan over Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, and bolstered his relationships with Square Enix and Capcom.
Totoki prioritized a small financial gain over market share in Japan, and ended up alienating consumers and his business partners.
Not to mention, Kenichiro Yoshida and Hiroki Totoki allocate capital across segments, and decided against an acquisition (Kadokawa) when Jim Ryan had already retired.
As I mentioned before, they don't own 14% of Square Enix:
https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/stock/shareholder.html
And well, even if it would be true that they have 14%, this wouldn't be enough to fire the CEO or to force to sell the company. Things don't work like that.
PS: That Yasuhiro Fukushima with over 25% of Square Enix is the founder of Enix and honorary chairman of SE.
as of March 31, 2025 (outdated)
(Apr 2025) 3D Investment Partners Pte. Ltd acquired 5.47% stake in Square Enix (Apr 2025)
(Jun 2025) 45th Annual Shareholders' Meeting
Having said that,
Square Enix share price has increased year-to-date by 35% and has a strong credit rating with the Japan Credit Rating Agency (A+).
It's true that Square Enix financial performance has been mixed. However, the company has a strong balance sheet with significant cash reserves, and exhibits consistent, positive cash flow from its core operations.
3DIP aims to "unlock shareholder value" by shedding non-core businesses, pushing for share repurchases, in part because Square Enix has accumulated a massive cash reserve (¥247b), and implementing operational changes to reduce costs and refocus the business on its core strengths to boost margins.
EverydayBeast
ChatShitGPT Alpha 0.001
Recent signs (activision deal, bungie) argues not to buy these big developers
The Pleasure
Gold Member
Exclusivity has nothing to do with "killing hype" lol. You think nobody is going to be hyped when the new Zelda is announced?
FF isn't getting much hype anymore because the games genuinely suck now, and they wouldn't suck any less if the PC/Xbox versions were available at launch. Literally nothing of what made FF special in the older generations exists now, or has since been replicated/exceeded by other franchises and even within other genres.
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Witchilich
Member
You still didn't explain why adding an Xbox version would mean Square Enix games would sell a lot.
kazuyamishima
Member
It's a bad buy for Sony and most of the other players.
daninthemix
Member
Sont won't buy them but there'll still be Sony fanboys rubbing themselves down to a nub at the thought.
Lionel Richie
Member
Imagine being so butthurt over the Famitsu sales thread that you ask ChatGPT to write you fanfiction.
Bernardougf
Member
Hope its true ... we may finally see good FF games again in the future .. at least without current EE manegement its a possibility
