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Even a full generation later, as Nintendo prepared to
launch the GameCube, the company remained cold,
refusing to allow Square to publish for it at first. In 2002,
with Yamauchi preparing to retire, incoming Nintendo
boss Satoru Iwata was keen to patch things up with the
publisher that helped assure the PS1’s success.
It wasn’t straightforward. Sony owned 19% of Square,
and an agreement existed which stated that Square
could only create games for PlayStation hardware.
Square’s solution was sneaky and clever. They founded
a new ‘shell’ company, The Game Designers Studio,
of which they owned 49%. The other 51% belonged
to Akitoshi Kawazu - the creator of the FF: Crystal
Chronicles series and one of FF’s original developers.
With this a new studio, Nintendo provided some funds
to get the team up and running and it got around the
Sony agreement. All this was allowed by Sony, broadly,
as long as the studio did not effect the decision-making
process driving projects at the rest of Square.
Even a full generation later, as Nintendo prepared to
launch the GameCube, the company remained cold,
refusing to allow Square to publish for it at first. In 2002,
with Yamauchi preparing to retire, incoming Nintendo
boss Satoru Iwata was keen to patch things up with the
publisher that helped assure the PS1’s success.
It wasn’t straightforward. Sony owned 19% of Square,
and an agreement existed which stated that Square
could only create games for PlayStation hardware.
Square’s solution was sneaky and clever. They founded
a new ‘shell’ company, The Game Designers Studio,
of which they owned 49%. The other 51% belonged
to Akitoshi Kawazu - the creator of the FF: Crystal
Chronicles series and one of FF’s original developers.
With this a new studio, Nintendo provided some funds
to get the team up and running and it got around the
Sony agreement. All this was allowed by Sony, broadly,
as long as the studio did not effect the decision-making
process driving projects at the rest of Square.
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