Square Selling Shares According to Core Magazine, Square will be making a percentage of stock in the company publicly available on the Tokyo Stock Extchange as of August 2nd. No word on the price or number of available shares. Other publically traded game companies include Nintendo, Konami, Enix, and Koei.
Chrono Cross Release Pushed Back Despite previous accusations, Chrono Cross will arrive in stores on August 15, two weeks the later to recent belief. The word comes officially from SquareSoft headquarters.
New Sounds Available From Official Square Site Square's new official site now offers a Final Fantasy Sounds section in the Japanese language area of the site. Serveral MP3s samples are available in the new section, including clips from Final Fantasy IX's battle theme and Melodies of Life. Link
Final Fantasy IX Translation Tidbit It was revealed in a recent IGN preview that Zidane Triball will be Zidane Tribal in the English version, as Vivi Ornitier will become Vivi Orunitia.
The Bouncer Delayed, Given Bilingual Development According to Core Magazine, Square's PS2 action title, The Bouncer will be delayed until this winter in order to receive fully bilingual development. This means that all text, voices, and even signs within the game will be created in both languages. Core Magazine also quoted director Takashi Tokita as saying that the game will ship in Japan with both languages on a single DVD.
Gekikuukan Pro Baseball Delayed Square has announced that it will release it's PS2 baseball title Gekikuukan Baseball on September 7th in Japan. The game had been delayed in Japan due to the fact that Square used characters and images belonging to the Japanese Professional Baseball League without permisision. Square has now reached a settlement with Konami, which held exclusive rights to the JPB league's license.
Final Fantasy IX Interview PSM recently held an interview with Hironobu Sakaguchi and Shinji Hashimoto, two important members of the Final Fantasy IX development team. Full Article
Chrono Cross Ships Today Chrono Cross has shipped and should be available in most retail stores by tomorrow. More information about Chrono Cross is available from our Chrono Cross coverage.
People apparently buying Chrono Cross Chrono Cross tops PlayStation sales charts for the week of August 13. Disgruntled hick asks "How long will that daggon thing stay up thar??
Final Fantasy VIII joins Greatest Hits line Final Fantasy VIII will soon be available for $19.99 under Sony's Greatest Hits titles, a selection of titles under $20 that have sold more than 1 million copies.
Square plans Nasdaq listing A major planned increase of funds from the upcoming Final Fantasy movie has Square USA aiming for a fall 2001 listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Square's expansion into Hollywood should create bigger recognition for the company.