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Square Enix drops Tecmo bid, hints at new deals

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Sep 5, 2008 4:18 pm PT

Japanese RPG giant formally scuppers $200 million offer for Ninja Gaiden maker, in talks with "quite a few" companies regarding mergers and buyouts.

Less than 24 hours after Tecmo said no thanks to its $200 million offer, Square Enix has officially withdrawn it. Initially, the Japanese role-playing game giant didn't rule out a hostile bid for Tecmo. However, the day the Ninja Gaiden maker announced it was pursuing a union with Dynasty Warriors publisher Koei, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada threw in the towel.

"If they truly dislike Square Enix, there is no point," Wada told the Reuters news service. "All [game] creators would leave the firm the moment the deal was done. It would be the equivalent of buying a building."

But while the Tecmo takeover may be dead, that doesn't mean the minds behind Final Fantasy XIII aren't laying plans for other buyouts or mergers. "We are talking with quite a few companies in and outside of Japan," said Wada.

While Wada did not go into further detail, and downplayed any on going negotiations as "routine," the fact Square Enix is talking to non-Japanese parties raises an array of intriguing possibilities. First, that the Tokyo-based company might acquire a Western developer, as Sega did with Secret Level (US) and The Creative Assembly (UK). There's also the possibility of some sort of agreement with a Western publisher, such as the recent Grasshopper Manufacture/Electronic Arts deal.

121 Comments

  • taddia

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 1:43 pm PT

    RavenSoS said:

    Good freaking lord. Can there be one article that doesn't degrade into "this is why this is good for [360/PS3] and why [360/PS3] sucks". Not everything is about your favorite console. This article is simply about a merger of companies. I still can't believe that people continue the pathetic console-wars BS.

    Omg man i so agree with u!

  • kos1085

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 11:45 am PT

    Those two companies did not seem like they would mix anyway.

  • shabulia

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 10:56 am PT

    If you ask me, Tecmo has just gone WAY downhill. With the loss if Itagaki-san, and then all of Team Ninja, then the scandal and abrupt leaving of the president of Tecmo, and now choosing Koei over Square-Enix as a merger, it would seem like Rain Man is at the helm for Tecmo's latest moves. It would seem no more hope for Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive is just plain "Dead"

  • RavenSoS

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 9:50 am PT

    Good freaking lord. Can there be one article that doesn't degrade into "this is why this is good for [360/PS3] and why [360/PS3] sucks". Not everything is about your favorite console. This article is simply about a merger of companies. I still can't believe that people continue the pathetic console-wars BS.

  • hellpolice

    Posted Sep 20, 2008 12:12 pm PT

    I'm glad it was dropped because Team Ninja will not disband after all.

  • Tigervamp

    Posted Sep 14, 2008 5:15 pm PT

    http://www.teamteabag.com/2008/09/05/square-enix-the-electronic-arts-of-the-east/

  • gunswordfist

    Posted Sep 11, 2008 2:22 pm PT

    I'm glad the merger failed. Tecmo is no good w/o Itagaki and the way they treated him shows that they need to continue to suck w/o him and w/ Koei.

  • lightwarrior179

    Posted Sep 9, 2008 9:11 am PT

    I was surprised with Tecmo rejecting Square's "friendly" deal but then Tecmo is now in talks with Koei another company like Tecmo that knows how to spoil it's franchises.
    Hopefully,Tecmo and Team Ninja will make quality games even after the merger.

  • Gamer4Iife

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 4:58 pm PT

    I can already see the countless Ninja Gaidens and DOAs. We're talking about Koei, the dudes that keep making Dynasty Warriors over and over again. Square-Enix was by far the better choice in almost every aspect. What were they thinking ?

  • iboo01

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 4:34 pm PT

    I really dont know why they would decline

  • Mafia217

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 3:34 pm PT

    Why would Tecmo deny the offer? It's great progress for them. tsk tsk tsk...

  • grand17

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 10:44 am PT

    Grampy_Bone
    They didn't want to buy the company because the talent would leave? Wow, that never stops EA...

    BAHAHAHAHA

  • zeke2040

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 9:40 am PT

    oh boy!

  • ebookerd1

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 9:32 am PT

    As long as no quality is lost because Koei sucks I'm happy.

  • Asmodai12

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 7:00 am PT

    I actually look forward to Koei and Tecmo merging. I may be alone in this, but I feel the talent that Tecmo keeps on hand could completely revitalize the 8 million Dynasty Warriors and ROTK franchises.(Games that are my secret guilty pleasure.)

  • Asmodai12

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 6:56 am PT

    Lach0121 wrote - "all these mergers, and buyouts, and offers, and money money money money money money.... it isnt about us gamers anymore. and not about the devs anymore... the music industry pt2."

    It never was... They just didn't know what sold before, so they had to try harder. It's always about money, one way or the other.

  • Grampy_Bone

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 6:41 am PT

    They didn't want to buy the company because the talent would leave? Wow, that never stops EA...

  • centuryslayer

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 4:38 am PT

    naww, poor square, no one wants to play with them ;__;

  • ASnogarD

    Posted Sep 8, 2008 2:15 am PT

    The only game for the PC by that company in the works is Concerto Gate, a free to play MMO... hardly in the same league as the Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts franchises, which is what most players associate Square Enix with.

    I stand by my statement that Square Enix is not a true PC developer, even FF VII and VIII were rather lazy ports (didnt update the background art for the superior res of the PC).

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