Sony Computer Entertainment Sells All its Square Enix Shares: Expects a Profit of 4.8 Billion Yen

Sony Corporation just announced with a press release that Sony Computer Entertainment reached an agreement to sell all its 9,520,000 shares of Square Enix to SMBC Nikko Securities.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Huge news!

I never thought this would happen. Best of luck to Square Enix. Sony has been their biggest supporter for many years.

[TomShoe]

Meanwhile, at Sony...

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[UnwanteDreamz]

If this money goes to funding new fresh experiences im all for it.

[pompombrum]

Someone needs to remake that video but change the music to the FF victory theme.

[CrossingEden]

Thats actually the complete opposite of their financial situation. They are very much in the red compared to Nintendo and Microsoft, which is why they had to do this in the first place.

[ZodTheRipper]

Good move, I would have done that right when Square announced that FF13 Versus is now a multiplatform release.

[LexHazard79]

@unwanted,

I dont think that money is going towards any games. Maybe the money is going towards R&D. Its not cheap1 developing VR and other experiences for the PS4, plus their 1st party games all have big budgets their so good.

[AsimLeonheart]

I do not think they are using that money to party... They probably sold the shares because they did not see any further reason for maintaining their stake in SE. SE is washed up now days and are no more the influential juggernaut they once was. The new gamers may find it hard to believe but during the second half of the 90s and early 2,000s Squaresoft's support determined the winning console of the generation. Now SE has ruined FF series, the company is going in red, share price is falling and is desperately in need of a hit to make them relevant once again.
Suppose Sony purchased each shares for $50 10 years ago when Square was on the boom and now the price has fallen to $30. They have already lost $20 on each share with no hope of recovering them. If the SE share price is expected to fall any further then Sony will sell the shares as soon as possible to mitigate any further loss.

[Ritsujun]

TomShe's mad!!

[mewhy32]

Can't really blame Sony. Square isn't very profitable lately. I think this is just part of Sony's trimming the fat effort.

[UltraNova]

I still remember the moment I inserted FF7's 1st out of 4 discs in my ps1 and started playing what turned out to be the reason for my life long addiction to video games...those were the days when Squaresoft was king.

[Thehyph]

There's really only one proper explanation at this point:
Sony is selling off these shares because, at this point in time, it makes financial sense.

That's all there is to know. Lots of conjecture and anecdotal comments here.

[GTgamer]

IMO Sony did the Right Thing they owned allot of share in Square Enix, a Company that has literally not been on its game lately especially with the latest Final Fantasy series But they did make some good games last generation like Sleeping Dogs/TR/DxRevolution but They are still struggling http://www.eurogamer.net/ar... then theirs FFVersus which was supposed to be PS exclusive but went multiplatform So is it really a Shock that Sony isn't supporting Square anymore :/.

[tbone567]

Sony needs cash. ASAP.!

[Fluke_Skywalker]

4.8 billion Yen?
Is that not about £30 or something.

[chrismichaels04]

Sonys TV and PC divisions have been hurting them for years, but to say Sony "needs the money" and "isn't doing well" is ridiculous. Square Enix has been hurting as a game publisher for years. Plus their games are no longer exclusive to the Playstation brand. It made perfect sense for Sony to get rid of their investment with the company.

[DragonKnight]

*sigh* There had to be someone start the doom comments on this hadn't there.

[Mankey]

Nah.

Good Move.

No Point in hanging out the shares when Square is putting out Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III on competitors platform.

Think of this from a business perspective.

[chrismichaels04]

It's hysterical how Sony-haters are trying to find a reason to bash Sony making a 4.8 Billion profit. Those are the same people that don't want to talk about "sales" when Sony reports higher PS4 sales over the competition....but they have no problem talking about behind the scenes sales reports when they can try and twist it against Sony.

[stragomccloud]

@UnwanteDreamz
Actually it's going to offset their losses to make their fiscal year look better.

@chrismichaels
Sony incurred a fiscal net loss for 2013 at about 1.5 billion. This is even after shutting down Sony's computer division and cutting loose 5000 jobs.

[strifeblade]

But why would sony do this they are the saviour of gaming. Man they would do anything for money...

[darthv72]

Did they sell with the option to buy back at a later time? If not, then those shares are attainable by any company. Be it MS, Nintendo or even Square themselves...etc.

[troylazlow]

4.8 million Yen = $46,939.15 USD

sooooooooo... my question is, why? whats the point?

this should be pocket change

[SolidStoner]

@tbone567

Everyone needs cash. ASAP! ;)

[XboxFun]

Thats great that Sony can make some kind of profit for their struggling business. But at the same time it sux that they had to let go of what was the biggest company with the most popular frqnchise to do it.

oh well, I'm sure it was no big deal as Square knew Sony had to do it. Which is probably one of the main reasons sony couldnt keep FF exclusive to its platform contrary to what most on he said.

lol@ the spin the sony defenders are putting up. Remeber guys...sales dont matter!

[scott182]

@DragonKnight

Yes, it's kinda sad that the trolls come out of the wood works to spout doom and gloom on these articles. What else is there for them to grasp at anymore?

[chrismichaels04]

@xboxfun - With a name like "xboxfun" commenting on a Playstation article....i should have known you were a comedian. Too bad you only have one bubble....I would have liked to hear more of your crazy stories.

[gameon1985]

Only a Sony fan boy would try and twist this as good news. Sony is selling off assets to stay afloat end of story. so that link couldn't be any more inaccurate. Like I said, Sony fans like to live in this fantasy land where ever thing is all well at Sony, and your reaction is proof. Then again, maybe you just didn't know better. However judging by the amount of disagrees you got most of N4g knows better.

[hay]

At least It'll produce a quality title which Square is unable of doing.

[BlackTar187]

@troylazlow

Did you even read the article? The math is in the article. Maybe next time you get this excited you should fact check

4800000000 Japanese Yen equals
46915200.0000 US Dollar

@XboxFun FF isn't the biggest franchise and Square isn't the biggest either.

[MysticStrummer]

Gotta love how the "Sony is doomed" stuff keeps on rolling, despite PS4's domination. Straws come in many graspable forms I suppose.

Square Enix hasn't made a game I was interested in for years and years, so I'm all for this whether it's to fund new projects or help pay for old ones.

[morganfell]

Sony was just being smart and some people are insisting on finding doom. Mainly those that are supporting a console other than the PS4.

http://sqex.info/square-eni...

[SilentNegotiator]

@CrossingEden

Except Sony was profitable last quarter, thanks in large part to their gaming department. So, actually, yes, they're probably doing that about now, being profitable for once. Selling worthless shares for almost $50M USD is going to be another little push for another profitable quarter.

[Gamer1982]

Not surprising since S-E has basically turned on them the past generation making Star Ocean originally as an exclusive for 360 and bringing FF and Tomb Raider games to Xbox too. The only reason FF14 never came to Xbox was because of Xbox live issues. Sony is in the business of making money and when S-E showed zero loyalty to a major shareholder a major shareholder basically jumped ship.

As for what this means for the future who knows?? It means S-E has Zero backing from Sony now and although they are a huge company they aren't the juggernaut they used to be.

[jetlian]

TR wasnt even part of SE till 2010!!! If sony was in the business of making money even if the games were sold on xbo they still would make money for sony.

Sony did this cuz they going broke and needed cash now. SE still gonna make ps games anyway

[Nitrowolf2]

"SE still gonna make ps games anyway"

You just proved his point. Why bother holding any shares if it's not going to benefit them in any way? SE has show int he past decade that the shares Sony own mean squat.

It's just like any other devs that SOny doesn't own Share for. Activision is still gonna make games for them, same with EA.

There's no denying that SOny isn't in a finacial crisis, but this TBH wa sjust a smart decision.

[Death]

You guys make it sound like Sony didn't approve of Square releasing these games on other platforms. By releasing on the Xbox, Sony received part of the profits since they were pretty significant share holders.

[DragonKnight]

@Death: No they weren't. They used to be significant shareholders, but over the years the percentage dropped from 20% to the now 8% that they are selling off. The height of the partnership between Sony and Squaresoft was Final Fantasy 7, after the merger it dropped off but they still maintained a presence.

You are correct that they'd receive a cut of the profit, but they'd have received more if SE games were PS exclusives.

[k3rn3ll]

Xbox live issues? Pray tell

[kingdom18]

@k3rn3ll, meaning Microsoft most likely wouldn't have allowed the servers to be connected or what ever I can't think of the right term. PC and PS4, PS3 players are all connected on FF14, I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't have allowed that.

[Deano7394]

@ k3rn3ll MS don't wouldn't allow cross platform play, that is why they have no FF14.

[GeofferyPeterson]

And we can blame this all on her. What a beotch!
http://static.gamespot.com/...

[SpadeX]

B-b-but I love her...

[ArchangelMike]

I wonder, if the loss of FFXV exclusivity has anything to do with this. I know Sony are calculating the risk of investment in SE going forward, versus end-of-quarter profits; but I can help wonder if they would have still sold their shares if FFXV remained exclusive?

[LightofDarkness]

Doubtful. FF is simply not the money spinner it once was, and Sony decided to sell while share prices were still pretty high. Sony had a nice stake in SE, so SE doing well via multiplatform releases benefited Sony. Sony are not internet fanboys, they wouldn't take something like that as a perceived slight and would have been made aware of this decision long before the public were. I'm sure they even supported it at the time, Sony need money, which is the real reason why this is happening.

Sony have invested a HUGE amount of money into VR and their cloud services over the past 4 years, and will need a lot more before either project will come to fruition. That VR headset from last year was released as a reaction to pressure from investors to see SOME return on the investment in VR up to that point. Plus, Son'y partnership with SE has likely been unfruitful over the last few years, they have been struggling to maintain a profit and have eaten huge expenses over Final Fantasy XIV and their faltering mainline series sales. Eidos have basically been keeping them alive since 2010, it was a smart move for Sony to withdraw their stake and focus it on the direction they're really heading in. This is a good move by Sony, and really only highlights the industry's current opinion of Square Enix.

[MightyNoX]

I approve of this. Square-Enix has been making nothing but stupid decisions for years. They've been losing money, wandering in the desert trying to 'regain their core'

Exclusivity is already did WITH or without the shares, so why should Sony keep those? Better cash out while there's value in 'em still.

[LightofDarkness]

Funny, with one game, Bravely Default, they gave their core hope. Then they were surprised that it was successful, and people wonder why their Japanese division have been circling the drain in recent years.

[hay]

Bravely Default is by Silicon Studio, dudes behind 3D Dot Game Heroes, a reason why it's good.

[AsunaYuukiTheFlash]

@LightofDarkness Bravely Defauly was developed by Silicon Studios.

[Dark11]

Yean Not surprising , sony need every $$$ they can get.
they has been selling stuff right and left in the past few months.

[HugoDrax]

To put things into perspective, I read this comment from a mod over on IGN:

"Separately, the co and Hydro-Quebec announced that they have agreed to establish a joint venture to research and develop a large-scale energy storage system for power grids. Sony and Hydro-Quebec plan to establish the new company in June, 2014

So Sony is, wisely, looking to break into more profitable sectors. Good for them."

Not sure how much of it is fact, but everything isn't always a doom and gloom situation. Our job as gamers are to enjoy games, not concern ourselves with every single financial matter of Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo.

[Anon1974]

@HugDrax. It reminds me of when Sony was selling off real estate when the real estate market started to pick up again and posted huge profits due to that. Many where "OMG, look how bad off Sony is that they're making profitable real estate transactions" when at the same time Sony was making billions in acquisitions.

We all know that Sony's facing an uphill battle to turn the company around in a changing marketplace, but so many are quick to focus on every slightest, perceived weakness while ignoring the everything else to do with the company.

This is a perfect example, where Sony's making an investment decision which results in a profit for the company and people are acting like it's some move made out of desperation. You're supposed to sell investments when it'll profit you. I'd be more worried if Sony wasn't making moves like this.

[Revolver_X_]

@Hugo

What else would Xbots have to talk about? In 5-10 years we'll hear this again during the reign of the PS5.

[Magicite]

I wonder how this gonna influence Square Enix?

[lelo]

What the hell is going on with Sony ?

They are selling a lot assets, like properties, hardware divisions (PC Vaio) or other company shares (Square Enix). Several people leaving, or getting fired, from their gaming studios.
All this is not good news for Sony!

[SoulSercher620]

Care to explain why they NEED to keep their shares of Square Enix?

[Dark11]

Yeah they're so desperate that they're trying to liquidate everything they can now.

it could help them in the long run.

[ps360s]

LOL

why would they need shares in SE?

You don't know much about the market I'm guessing

[THC CELL]

Pc and laptops are dying. More people buying tablets these days. I recommend a z2 tablet. Amazing

[Anon1974]

Actually, according to the experts, this streamlining of operations is exactly what Sony should be doing to turn things around. They've been saying for years that Sony had become too bloated and should be reorganizing in exactly the manner we've seen recently. Slimming down is just what the doctor ordered.

Now as for this move, it makes perfect sense. The stock had been kicked all to hell the last couple of years and no one needs that type of volatility in their equity portfolio. The stock was trading at it's highest point since last year Square warned of "extraordinary losses" and Sony jumped at it to the tune of 48 billion yen worth of profit. There's nothing but win here for Sony.

It'll be interesting to see if the spin off of Sony's TV division this summer will help TV's return to profitability. The entire Japanese Television industry still seems to be in free fall. Only time will tell.

[ginsunuva]

You haven't heard they've been in financial trouble for the past 7 years?

[MrSwankSinatra]

The problem I have is that they are getting rid of gaming assets when that's gaming is their only profitable division. You people keep talking about how sony and squares relationship hasn't been the best over the past generation, but that could have changed this gen. Don't expect to see any exclusive square stuff on PlayStation anymore. Sony has literally gone full retard.

[EXVirtual]

I suppose this has to do with FF15 and KH3 going multiplatform. Oh well.
To clarify, FF15 is still going to PS4. Last time I checked, MS doesn't have any SE shares and if that's the way all 3rd party publishers worked, Sony would have too many shares on their hands.

[ginsunuva]

Why would this have anything to do with those games going multiplatform?!?

If you own stock, might as well keep it until you can sell it at a high point.

They're trying to get money from their assets. They aren't 12-year old fanboys who care about multiplatform games.

[3-4-5]

* At most I can see this money going into paying off debts, but 4.8 million yen isn't a lot of money.

* 4.8 Million Yen is ONLY $46,934.40

[prankster]

Typo. If you read the article it's actually 4.8 billion yen.

[Darrius Cole]

There is a typo in the title.

The profit is 4.8 BILLION dollars (with a "B"). That's somewhere around 47 Million US dollars.

[Blaze929]

I guess Sony finally got around to playing the FFXIII trilogy....

Meanwhile I find it funny everyone is pointing the blame and reason at Square Enix. Last time I checked, they were doing just fine and with Disney purchasing the Marvel license, Kingdom Hearts just became as big as ever. Then FF15 incoming too.

So how exactly is Square the "not stable" ones? Financially or just in your little minds? What "risk" does Square currently have for it's shareholders lol? Lettuce he reality - since we apparently have so many accounting majors on N4G. Gotta love the career variety of the members on this website. Me? I'm just a gamer ;)

[BlackTar187]

Hey Blaze,

Square posted a loss last year of over 100 million USD and i also believe they posted a loss for the fiscal year in 2012.

neither company is doing just fine unless you consider multiple losses over a 2 yr period.

[AceBlazer13]

Good on Sony's part, I would've done this the moment KH3 and FFXV went multiplat. Putting Kingdom Hearts on the Xbox, what a load of bs. Why put KH3 on Wii U,on PS4, you know the brands that have been pushing it since birth, when you can put it on Xbox a platform that never had a thing to do with the series. Dammit Square Nintendo deserves KH3 almost as much as PlayStation.Then you have them weaseling FFV13 out of exclusivity by renaming it FFXV.Just sad.

Still love them for Kingdom Hearts though, but they screwin up lately. (Yes I know this most likely goes beyond 2 games going multiplat, this is just my view as a gamer).

[AnotherProGamer]

Weird how Sony has been big share holder of Square Enix but they have been making multiplatform games and exclusive games for other platforms like 3DS

[geddesmond]

Its about time they did as owning so much in SE did nothing for them exclusive wise. Now lets see if SE can afford to spend 10 years making a game when it has different investers it has to answer too.

[randomass171]

The decision will most likely help both companies in the long run. Recovery is a long road but both Sony and Square can find their own way. :)

[ITPython]

They sold over 9 and a half million shares and only got 4.8 million yen? (which is like $46,000 US dollars).

So each SE share is like a fraction of penny (something like 0.004 of a penny per share).

I dunno, Sony had $46,000 in SE, that's not that big of an investment. Even if they had 4.8 million dollars in SE, it wouldn't be that big of an investment for a company like Sony.

[AsunaYuukiTheFlash]

TYPO.It is actually 4.8 BILLION yen.

[ITPython]

Ah, that makes more sense. $46 million US dollars is incredibly significant!

[Gotcha5]

@MultiConsoleGamer
Ha ha... I remember back in the days when Nintendo was a big supporter of Square.Until Sony stuck their noses up Square ass. Now they see that Square Enix is not what Square once was being a profitable developer.The same can be said about Tecmo Koei.

[Geoff900]

Sony isn't doing that hence them selling a lot of their divisions and doing massive restructuring, no business does this unless they aren't making enough money.

Square Enix was an investment it by owning shares of company doesn't mean that games will only come out on your platform, SE have made games for Nintendo before. Companies ALL companies heavily invest in various products, companies etc for a number of reasons.

@chrismichaels04

"It's hysterical how Sony-haters are trying to find a reason to bash Sony making a 4.8 Billion profit. Those are the same people that don't want to talk about "sales" when Sony reports higher PS4 sales over the competition....but they have no problem talking about behind the scenes sales reports when they can try and twist it against Sony."

So because someone states the truth it must mean people hate Sony?

Sony is a business, which isn't doing that well, hence it's massive restructuring, selling of businesses, selling it's shares, this is what companies do.

Having the lead market share on a console isn't that important, when you consider how big Sony actuality is/was. Putting the emphasis on one brand to succeeded is a huge risk, more so when there are other companies in the market.

Sony used to be the leader in virtually everything from T.V's, audio, gadgets, etc now that has pretty much gone for them.

MS doesn't need the Xbox succeed, they could just carry on with Windows, and other services, some other company could take their place in the market.

Business is business, it's complicated just because someone says something about your beloved company, doesn't mean you should dismiss them.

[fenome]

I would've done it the day they went from Squaresoft to Square-Enix, but that's just me. I don't actually have stock in this market, I just play games :D

EDIT:
@Geoff900
I didn't see your post till I dropped mine already. I like Sonys first-party games better than anything Square-Enix comes out with nowadays anyways. I would've dropped 'em off too, sooner than later.

This isn't something said lightly either, I grew up on Final Fantasy, they are some of my favorite memories in gaming. Back in the day, when they were still Squaresoft, that might've been different, but things have changed hard.

I hope we get some of those old-school games again, I really do, but this industry is changing like crazy. Hard to say what's what right now, E3's right aroung the corner though, hopefully that's when we really start finding out about the good-good..

[GamersHeaven]

Good job Sony!

[UnwanteDreamz]

I cant help feeling this way just a little. I used to love Square but I haven't played a FF game in over a decade.

[blackbeld]

Finally Sony.

Its about time.

[Volkama]

On the other hand the Enix side have been churning out some pretty good games in recent years. Deus Ex, Sleeping Dogs, Tomb Raider spring to mind and I am especially fond of the extra effort they put into their PC versions.

[adorie]

lol@Volkama

That's EIDOS. Cause I didn't know Enix developed those games otherwise.

[randomass171]

Play Bravely Default on 3DS. That game is more like an older FF game.

[morganfell]

Agreed GamersHeaven. Other than TombRaider Square has been on the slide for a while. Those using this news to attack Sony are the same ones that were also damning the FFXIII series and talking about how Square had lost their touch. Yet they think Sony is wrong for dropping their shares and walking.

How many times has Square went for the money instead of being loyal to Sony? Yet Sony is supposed to keep a poor investment? No, just no.

[jetlian]

loyal to sony?! lol only thing a company is loyal to is money. I for one cant wait for FF15, KH3 and TR2.

right on starchild didn't even think of those. 6 series i like i'd say they are my second favorite next to ubisoft

[starchild]

I have no problem with Sony making a business decision they believe to be best for their company.

But aside from Tomb Raider Square Enix have also published games like Deus Ex Human Revolution, Batman Arkham Asylum and Sleeping Dogs, and those are some of my favorite games of the last generation. So unless all Square means to you is Final Fantasy I don't see how they are on the slide as a company. At least not from a gamer's perspective. I don't know what their financials look like.

[RGB]

@starchild,

Those games were developed by the Eidos name which Square purchased. Only Tomb Raider came out long after Eidos acquisition.

Sleeping Dogs is the only noteworthy title they have published outside of former Eidos developers & Square franchises and that was in Activision hands before anyway.

Thief was botched, same with Hitman. They canned a Hitman project too. Square had a few good titles last gen, but most came from their Eidos teams, not them.

Sums up the Eastern market really.

[maniacmayhem]

"Square went for the money instead of being loyal to Sony?"

Loyal??

Why would Square be loyal to Sony? Shouldn't they have been loyal to Nintendo since that s where they got their big start and success?

Why is it that some people on this site think that these companies owe others anything...especially when their IP's didn't even originate on the console of their choice.

[morganfell]

If you grew up and lived in Japan like some of us you would understand. But since your didn't, you don't.

[Geoff900]

Loyal to Sony? Sorry but if you are an investor, it doesn't make the company you are investing in 'loyal'.

SE has been making Nintendo games for many years for instance.

The fact that Sony has shares of a company makes no difference, the actual reasoning to them selling off their shares are simple, the first thing you do if you want to do if you are losing money is sell everything you can, get rid of people, and invest heavily into a new product (in the hope it sells).

I think you guys need to get out into the real world, the world doesn't run on loyalty, honor etc, it simply works on money.

[Not-A-Cat]

If this means more money for first party studios then its all right

[shadyiswin]

actually Volkama is dead on square enix did publish ,tomb raider,deus ex and sleeping dogs. Also did a good job with Just Cause and other random titles.

[ArbitorChief]

Sheesh, more assets being sold, Sony really want to post a profit for this quarter.

[TomShoe]

You don't even know what you're talking about.

Do you even know why they're doing this? As far as we know, Square Enix is struggling as a company, and Sony may be selling their shares because of their current volatility in the market. Risk is the last thing Sony needs right now. They need a steady source of profit in the wake of a large restructuring effort. Who knows how Square will fare in the long run, those shares may be worth nothing in a few years.

THINK/RESEARCH before you go typing your "Sony is dooooooomed!" nonsense, will you?

[ArbitorChief]

I didn't say Sony were doomed? All I said was Sony sold their assets (aka Shares) to most likely recover from their $1.1 billion loss, like they've been doing the past few months (e.g. Sony stores closed, 5000 employees fired, numerous Playstation developers fired, new IPs cancelled, etc) Just same old for Sony as of right now, it's a good move for Sony, they need to recover from their poor financial annual statement.

@Iamnsuperman
That could be true definitely, but considering the timing and the fact that Sony have been selling off assets like crazy as of recently and that their financial quarter is coming up soon, the most obvious answer is just Sony selling more assets to have more cash on hand to post a profit for the quarter.

[Gamer1982]

Indeed the money they get from them shares they could pump into a new studio or expand a 1st party studio.

[LexHazard79]

Thats a reach dude! You say as far as you know, but you dont know. Its all speculation on your part. Sony is also having financial issues. They are selling real estate, shares. Theres been layoffs. Yet you sit here and type as if Square is the only ones having problems. Sony is probably in a worse position than Square Enix.

[randomass171]

He didn't really say anything about Sony being doomed though, just that they wanted to make a profit. Which isn't really untrue, ANY company wants to make a profit.

[Geoff900]

SE, isn't in the same situation as Sony, SE is a software house, the risk isn't high as making hardware/software/etc.

Like every company on the planet, when they aren't doing well the first thing they do is sell off everything they can, shares, sectors, and lastly they get rid of staff something they HAVE been doing.

[Geoff900]

He didn't say Sony is doomed, he stated that they want to post a profit this quarter.

Sony is doing what all companies do, it sells it's stocks/shares, companies, and gets rid of it's staff it need to post a good quarter for investors/stocks and shares to invest.

All companies do this around this time of year.

[iamnsuperman]

Or:

1. Square Enix isn't stable
2. Sony doesn't want to loose more potential money/value
3. Sony sells shares in a company whose value could drop further

I think a lot of companies would do the same regardless of financial stability. For Sony this is even more important

[andibandit]

how are all your outcomes focused on there must be something wrong with SE.... I find it more likely that it's just part of Sony's reorganization step.

[LexHazard79]

Im a Sony supporter, but at some point the Sony fanboys need to realize that Sony is not doing good(as a whole, and I dont mean that their DOOMED either). And from all the articles on N4G we should all know this. So im wondering why some many fanboys are out defending Sony as if all their financial woes have been cleared!

Also if Square is in such trouble, why they not selling off their IPs? They have some of the best IPs ever created in gaming history, Square is good baby!

[GarrusVakarian]

*Sony doesn't make any effort to make a profit, goes into "junk" status* -

"Lol, Sony are broke! PS4 is DOOOOMED!"

*Sony makes concious efforts to make a profit* -

"sheesh, more assets being sold"

Seems to me like it's 'damned if they don't, damned if they do'.

[buttclown]

Both sides of the fence are the same, people just don't know it.

[marlinfan10]

what do you expect. thats how it is with these fanboys for both companies

[randomass171]

Sony and Nintendo get a lot of that it seems. :(

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Just when Square-Enix was starting to turn things around.

http://massively.joystiq.co...

[iamnsuperman]

Probably why they did it now. That game (even though it was risky) was a big boost for Square Enix but is that enough for long term stability (keeping an investment). A bit too risky.

[Volkama]

I don't think Square-Enix are any worse off for this deal.

[Charybdis]

True its assets being sold with probably as goal to free up some capital for new or existing projects.

To be honest I would have preffered sony buying a majority share in square instead of selling their shares. I would have loved to see an exclusive ff7 on the ps4.

[Anon1974]

Sony Financial Holdings buys and sells securities on a daily basis and other business units regularly invest in the stock of other companies. At the end of the day with this sale, SCEI made a profits.

I can't believe there's people out there that are trying to spin a company making business decisions which profit their companies as a bad thing. And, by the way..they didn't sell the shares for 4.8 billion yen, that's what they expect to profit off the sale. The shares were valued at approx 16 billion yen.

"Sony just made a business move that saw them profit on a company who's stock is trading at the highest point since it warned of "extraordinary losses" a year ago? Dooom!"

Absolutely ridiculous...

[LexHazard79]

Best one ive read so far. Bubble up!

[LoveOfTheGame]

Haven't really seen anyone trying to spin this in a bad way. Only people who think that and defend Sony with their lives lol.

It's simple, Sony as a whole have not been very profitable. In order to increase profits they are trimming fat all around the company. The shares in SE were deemed unnecessary and could be sold for profit.

Pretty simple business right there. Sony isn't doomed, but they do need to make decisions like these to move the company forward.

[Anon1974]

Are you kidding. There are numerous comments hear trying to spin this negatively. Just skim the page and you'll see a bunch.

But you're 100% correct. Sony's doing exactly what they should be doing, and exactly what the market wants them to do by streamlining the company, "trimming the fat" and generally slimming down their size and product offering. They started these restructuring efforts years ago. You can't really spin selling a stock for profit negatively, but plenty are trying to. As if making money through stocks is somehow some desperate indicator instead of the entire point of investing.

[maniacmayhem]

@Darkride

And we also have numerous comments from people like you trying desperately to defend this action and turn into a positive. Funny you can't do the same for MS as you in the past as you constantly submitted "Xbox 360 is doomed" or "MS is selling Xbox" articles and blogs. Even though MS is in a better financial situation than Sony ever was.

Sony needs the profit but selling off Square to do it? I feel that is a bad decision since Square is still a huge company with one of the only RPG IP's that sells like gangbusters. Square might have had some missteps in recent years but a company like that always has ups and downs. No doubt with Vs. and KH coming they will see a surge in sales and popularity again.

I think it would have been best for Sony to hold on to its shares.

[MeteorPanda]

Why though? Square is picking up and just before 15 releases?

[TomShoe]

No reason to have stocks in a company if you're not getting anything out of it (FF exclusivity, etc.)

[Shad0wRunner]

FFXIV is PS3/PS4 exclusive....aside from being on PC. But I mean....it's not on 360/XBox One or Nintendo. So, there's that.

[Kayant]

@Shad0wRunner

It's only a console exclusive because of MS's policies with cross-platform play.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/r...

[Geoff900]

Exclusivity means nothing to an investor, MS owns the majority of stock of Bungie it doesn't mean Bungie games will be exclusive to MS's platforms.

Investing in a company is a way to off set taxes, to help stabilize a company among other things.

[ChozenWoan]

I was thinking the same. With FFXV just around the corner.... 6-24 months from now (hopefully) why sell now. Then again, SE has shown almost hostility and disdain for the PS brand throughout most of Gen7, so it can be understandable that Sony would feel it's time to part ways with an unstable and unreliable "partner". I kinda wonder what took them so long now that I think about it.

Anyway, great news for Sony.

[Mikefizzled]

When you say 'just before' what do you mean? As I referred to the Oxford English Dictionary and that said you've stretched it their sir.

[GuruMeditation]

Dude, you can't invoke the Oxford ED whilst substituting 'there' for 'their'. That's, like, 25 to life in grammar-prison.

[Mikefizzled]

I edited my comment by changing the subject to a place and forgot to change the 'their' in question.
Don't worry I'll show myself to the gallows...

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Should have sold em sooner and bought exclusivity for FFXV. El oh el

[badboy776]

What does this mean?

[iamnsuperman]

Basically, Sony doesn't want to risk owning shares in Square Enix. Square Enix isn't exactly stable so Sony are probably thinking sell now just in case the value drops further

[Gamer1982]

Basically yeah..

[Volkama]

Or Sony just need the cash, either to boost their financial results or to invest elsewhere.

In the end this amounts to boring behind the scenes business, it probably wont have a tangible impact on us as gamers.

[Bundi]

Logically speaking, sony's financial situation is not encouraging and they have been dumping assets left and right since Kaz took over in the efforts of posting a profit.
I do not see any reason not to conclude the same is happening here.

[LogicStomper]

It means Sony is making some money.

[andreasx]

Smart, Square Enix has been struggling for some time now. Selling shares is a good thing now because i fear that they would not be worth as much later.

[Ggame]

What should affect both Sony and Square-Enix after this sell? Could anyone explain clearly to this situation?

[jackanderson1985]

not much really... Sony get a bit more cash in the bank, Square Enix no change, maybe a dip in stocks cuz their shares are being dumped or maybe a rise cuz Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (ultimate parent of SMBC Nikko Securities) is higher valued than Sony... then again nothing could happen except Sony making a little cash

[TitanUp]

Sony didn't get exclusive games by owning the shares so nothing much should change.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

That's not actually true.

When Square Enix made FF: Crystal Chronicles and the FF games for GBA, they had to begin those projects without telling their partners at Sony.

When the head of sony, Nobuyuki Idei, found out about the secret deal he blew his lid.

[TitanUp]

talking about current gaming they havent gotten a square exclusive game in a long time other than remakes.

[Ol_G]

@MultiConsoleGamer
They even had to develop the game by a different studio to circumvent those rules

http://nl.m.wikipedia.org/w...

[hkgamer]

Not much tbh, maybe stock market stuff. But I guess most of us here won't be able to predict the market.

For exclusives? I can't name any exclusives that sony has got in recent years. maybe FFXHD and KH HD, but that was probably to do with it being on PS2.

[rainslacker]

It really doesn't mean anything for the daily operations of SE or Sony. Sony never had a majority of shares in SE, so while it's possible they could influence decisions, and they had vested interest in seeing SE be profitable, SE was still independent of Sony. Sony brought the shares back in the day to help SE out of a bind, and by doing so secured exclusivity for many great games. The situation at SE isn't the same now.

The decision now comes probably from the fact that Sony is trying to return to profitability, and SE is in a state of flux, so from a financial standpoint it makes sense to sell the shares when they're high as opposed to taking the risk that it will drop too low so they take a loss.

While the money tied up in SE shares isn't really lost unless SE goes under(it could one day return to an all time high), the fact remains that on financial reports, if SE shares drop too low, it shows as a loss on Sony's quarterly and annual reports. Their overall assets are what they show as how much money they actual have, also called worth. For Sony's own health to keep their own share prices up they need stable assets so investors remain confident in retaining their shares. Having the actual money is more prudent for Sony at the moment.

That's really all there is too it.

[combolock]

Final Fantasy Xbox Exclusive!

[mezati99]

Huh ?!

[Majin-vegeta]

Lol if anything that would kill the franchise.FF is synonymous(however the hell you spell it) with the PS brand.since practically all sales come from PS systems ;).

[TimeSkipLuffy]

*LOL* and miss out the japanese market? No way :D

But it probably is safe to say that the trend will be FF multiplat games.

[pornflakes]

I dont wonder, after a 5 Billion USD loss last year, exiting the PC business by selling VAIO the pressure of their share holders is growing and growing.

Theirs shares felt since the last 5 years from 40 bucks to 18 bucks per share.. thats huge!

The way is open now for Square Enix to make exclusive deals.

fanboys excuses: "good job Sony", they dont want to accept real facts :P

[plmkoh]

The real facts is that Square Enix dropped by 15% in 6 days.

- No games in short term.
- External development titles did not hit expected return on investment.
- Long term titles will net expected sales (no growth).

On top of this Sony has owned the stake since 2001 at a price of 3000 yen. If you add in all that inflation mumbo jumbo to the price of 1700yen, they've basically lost 50% of the investment. All for what gain? Lost FFXIII exclusivity and a vapourware FFXV game?

Those are the facts.

[pornflakes]

Yes, they basically lost 50% of the investment... same goes for the VAIO Part, Mobile Part, TV part, and so on and so on....

this are also real facts :)

[WeAreLegion]

Mobile part? Their mobile division is doing better than it ever has. The market share is growing all the time. The Xperia Z2 has been called the best phone on the market AND the best phone camera on the market. The Xperia Tablet Z2 is easily the best tablet on the market, as well.

[Anon1974]

"..they've basically lost 50% of the investment. Those are the facts."

Sony saw a profit from this trade of 4.8 billion yen. Might want to check your "facts" before declaring them as such.

[plmkoh]

@darkride66

No, they didn't they bought the shares in 2001 for around ~$30.

[Anon1974]

Wall Street Journal, StreetInsider.com and Sony themselves are all reporting this ended up with a gain of 4.8 billion yen. Even this article posted a corrected headline to verify that the 4.8 billion yen was the profit on the sale. StreetInsider is saying the share price (and thus the total amount of the sale) isn't being revealed until tomorrow.

http://www.streetinsider.co...
http://online.wsj.com/artic...

You forget that often times shares undergo reorganizations, stock consolidations and splits. There was a stock reorganization in 2003 when Square and Enix merged where Square stock was exchanged for 0.85 share of Enix common stock, for example. Often it's not as simple as looking at a stock price 13 years ago, comparing it to the price now and using that to calculate gain or loss. There are any number of stock reorgs that can affect book value - as well as periodic re-balancing within a portfolio or various stock option strategies you could employ against a held position that will alter your book value over time.

[hkgamer]

it is a good job tbh. Sony needs their capital invested in their own products where they have control of earning their own money. They are stripping down their business to only the profitable products.

plmkoh also mentions s-e shares dropping, shouldn't sony just sell it and cut their losses? I don't know where he got this information from but I think its a good job. S-E couldn't even bother porting Brave default on the vita even with the chunk of shares sony holds.

Sony also sold of vaio and other parts of business because that was losing money and who buys a vaio in this day and age anyway?

[plmkoh]

Sony has sold their entire stake in SE, and doing exactly that, 'cut their losses', which isn't too bad considering last year SE shares were around 1000-1300yen. On top of this, it's as you say, Sony have no gain keeping SE shares, in the last 10 years we have seen nothing but half-assed bait 'n switch projects.

Too be honest, it's a good move:

- Cash now
- Investment loss, which can be carried indefinitely to reduce taxable income in the future.

If you want to know where I got my numbers, it was all from Google Finance, just punch in the what you want.

[Nitrowolf2]

"The way is open now for Square Enix to make exclusive deals."

Probably, but I don't think SE can afford to due exclusives with Microsoft. Look at all the "Exclusives" on PS now being multiplat from them, yet look at where they make more sales (PS). SE would be making a mistake if they did that, and I am sure they know that.

[bleedsoe9mm]

when a megalithic company like sony makes as many big moves as they have in the last year its more than a little troubling to investors . now they might sail thru the storm to the other side and be a better company for it , but you don't trust your money in a boat that is rocking this much .

[Hicken]

When a company like Sony is trying to right the ship and get back to their former selves financially, they have to make big moves.

Investors would see these actions as positive signs that the company is making great efforts to turn things around; it's only ignorant fanboys that see them making big moves and say "Sony must be in big trouble," as if they were instead supposed to sit on their asses and do nothing.

This thread is FILLED with the latter.

[bleedsoe9mm]

i agree , but when big restructuring on this scale is happening its probably the most dangerous time in a companies history . big moves can have big unforeseen consequences . i meant that instability can cause investors to balk doesn't mean the moves aren't good for sony's long term health . in the end nobody knows including the management at sony . saying its doom and gloom is as silly as saying its great .

[GeofferyPeterson]

Final Fantasy XV pre-order cancelled.

[Volkama]

Why? This wont have any impact on FFXV at all.

[hkgamer]

Why? Don't really see the link.

[stragomccloud]

Now that's just silly.

[KingKelloggTheWH]

I would have done it the second they went Multi-plat, if you get nothing from partnering with them then no reason to stay.

[mhunterjr]

I think this is good for everyone involved. It doesn't seem like Sony was getting much return out of this investment, as Square was directly involved with Sony's competitors. And square can with no strings attached, operate like a true third party.

[marlinfan10]

what does it matter what console the exclusives were on? you don't buy shares in a company to get exclusive games..its to make money. no matter what console the games selling on, sony would've made money from it.

[mhunterjr]

True, but naive.. companies typically aren't in the business of making money FOR there competitors.

By your logic, Sony should be making games for Nintendo and MS as well, because they'd sell more units...

Sony would rather see 3.5million copies of Tomb Raider sold exclusively on Sony platforms, than sell 6million between Sony and MS platforms... The reason being they'd rather have that software pushing sales of their own console instead of providing content for competitors and seeing some of their investment going towards pay royalties to the competitors .

[LexHazard79]

I think your both right on this one.

[jetlian]

daniel is right hunter is wrong! look at it like this. ps sells 4 million ms sells 3 million sony gets money off 7 million. now without se stock sony only gets money off 4 million.

SE isnt gonna limit sales too one console forever and off a 1 time payment at that. ms and sony make money for each other all the time.

[marlinfan10]

its kind of funny how every sony fanboy is saying its definitely SE and not sony. sonys the one that just had tons of lay offs and a huge loss last quarter. don't you think it makes more sense for them to free up some money?

i know though, in some of your guys eyes, it could never have anything to do with sony not showing a profit.

[MegaRay]

I agree but how we know you're not a SE or MS fanboy?

[marlinfan10]

i like both consoles. people should be able to talk about the good and bad of both consoles without being yelled at by either sides rabid fanboys.

[Nodoze]

Good riddance!

[Inception]

I'm not an expert about this kind of thing, so i don't know if this good or not for both sony and SE.

But one thing i almost sure, with this move the relationship between sony and SE will not as good as the old days. Well...it's already began that way since FF XIII gone multiplat. It maybe escalated more when Versus / XV & KH 3 gone multiplat too.

So i will expect SE will release FF X, FF XII, Drakengard, KH 1 & 2, or any game that still exclusive for sony consoles into other consoles...

[tiffac008]

You forgot to mention the lack of localization of FF Type 0. :(

I wonder if Sony ever made any money with those stocks?

Edit: I mean before selling them. ^^

[Inception]

Ah Type-0...with this news i think we can forget when will the game come to the west.

And i don't know if sony ever made any money with this stocks. Maybe they had some fortune from it. But what i heard is sony bought the share just to help square who at that time in big trouble because Spirits Within got flop.

That made sense though because sony always help square before they had the power to publish / market their own games in a big scale. Started from FF VII. Sony publish it and put 100 million dollar just to market the game (from coca-cola, playboy, rolling stone, etc). FF VII had a big success and it help Playstation achieved their 1st console domination. Since then sony and square is a buddy...but now...

[zlpw0ker]

I honestly dont care for SE anymore after they said first that Ff13 would be ps3 only,the same with vs13, which they renamed and moved to ps4.
I hope SE goes bankrupt so they understand they cant screw with the fanbase of FF.

[hkgamer]

they not screwing with the ff fanbase, all they doing is breaking promises for PS3 gamers. FF13 going multiplat didn't hurt any ff fans.

SE going bankrupt would be the worst for FF fans. I think you are a sony fanboy right?

[LoveOfTheGame]

SE isn't loyal to Sony so they have screwed with the FF fanbase?

I'm a huge FF fan and I'm an Xbox gamer, primarily. I don't see how they screwed me over, in fact going multiplat allowed me to own my console of choice why still playing FF.

[stragomccloud]

Fanboys don't understand this kind of logic.

[LightDiego]

Square-Enix games will be exclusive for Xbox One.

[HappyWithOneBubble]

And Square Enix will go bankrupt.

[EXVirtual]

No, you have no idea what you're talking about.
Last time I checked, MS has no shares in SE at all.

[JetP0619]

square is first and foremost a jap company. seeing as xbox is basically dead in Japan, going exclusive is suicidal.

[hkgamer]

Sony might as well sell their shares. Not like they are getting any exclusives anyway.

[HappyWithOneBubble]

I was hoping Sony buy Square Enix since their games sell better on PS anyway. It probably won't cost much either.

[BoneBone]

Sony are running out of stuff to sell... They'll only be left with the shirts on their backs - if they're lucky.

[GentlemenRUs]

Basically they did the right thing and jumped off the SINKING SHIP known as SQUARE-ENIX.

Good one Sony! I support you on this :)

[zackacloud]

Such a perfect step square enix should understand that they are in wrong way

There is just two good games from them on consoles lightning returns and tomb raider.

ffxiii xiii2 deus hitman nier ffxiv and other pullshit titles was just a mess nothing fun about them. Moreover, the best tittle from square enix was on psp crisis core, 3rd birthday, birth to sleep, type-0 and dissidia but they are just handheld tittles square enix must develop such gameplay (s) and such stories for consoles

[Predaking77]

I didn't knew Sony had those shares but is a really good move since Square Enix is working mostly on multiplatform games so even if Sony doesn't have the shares, the PlayStation will still get those multiplatform games so good move.

[Blues Cowboy]

Fun fact: this means absolutely nothing for us gamers beyond the larger-scale corporate balancesheets. No, really, nothing.

[SoulSercher620]

I love how these anti-Sony fanboys are putting down this move without even understanding how the stock market works.

Why would they keep shares of a company that is NOT being profitable? If SE loses money that in turn becomes a loss to Sony. The only rightful move to make is to sell them while they still have value.

I sure hope you understood this instead of seeing it as SONY IS DOOOOOOOOMED!!!

[Mr-Dude]

Because it's the only thing they use (money issues) and gives them a good magical sleep.

[LogicStomper]

To be honest, I'm estimating that only 2% of N4G know how the stock/share-market works, and I'm not one of them.

"Why would they keep shares of a company that is NOT being profitable? If SE loses money that in turn becomes a loss to Sony. The only rightful move to make is to sell them while they still have value. "

Makes perfect, logical sense to me.

"I sure hope you understood this instead of seeing it as SONY IS DOOOOOOOOMED!!!"

The top comments did have me thinking that for a moment, mainly due to the fact I don't know much about stock/share-markets and how they work.

[kewlkat007]

Sony is selling everything... They need, they need, they need cash..

[Stoppokingme]

This news is a nail in the coffin for SE, not the final nail but close to it.

Regardless of Sonys financial status, a mass sell off like this means that the investors have lost confidence or that the stock price has plateaued, and dropped stocks are like lepers in the business world that nobody wants to touch.

But one thing is certain: SE are in for some tough times.

[Blues Cowboy]

You just... don't... I can't...

Look. Sony have sold their shares to another company for a huge amount of money. The shares are in demand. It's just business that won't affect us gamers at all.

[Stoppokingme]

Okay I screwed up, yes they did by find a buyer, but if SE shares was in such demand, then why sell now? nobody sells their stock if the forecast is sunny.

And not to mention the buyer was a financial firm, which sets off alarm bells. Remember Enron?

[jegheist2014]

i dont know how stock works but does sqenix make percentage of this since they sold share like 3 to 5 percent even so that could keep enix in game i hate this company to go bankrupt even with crappy last gen ff dilemma i hope they learn next gen they can be good again

[Sarobi]

Probably the best time to do this as well.

[Whitey2k]

Not suprised by this FF14 was suppose to be sony exclusive turned out to be multiplat FF verses now XV was suppose to be sony exclusive now thats multiplat along with kindom of hearts they don't listen to there fanbase they cant be bothered to remake FF7 but yet they managed to remake other Final fantasy's I dont see y sony should have shares with these morons

[candy_mafia]

LMAO at those trying to spin every story to discredit Sony...Any time Sony makes a business decision, people come up with total trash.

Just 'cos you may have, (but probably 80% of the trash don't even have PS4) purchased a product from a company doesn't mean you have a stake in it. YOU don't, and probably will never work for Sony. None of you zealots even hold shares, so STFU!

Some joker even typed 'I approve this'!??? geezus, some of you self entitled people are hilarious! If y'all so concerned, go out and buy games instead of praying for PS' downfall. You low grade human beings give gaming a bad name.

[vakarian75]

"Any time Sony makes a business decision, people come up with total trash."

Since when does anyone say anything negative about Sony? They get praised for everything because they are Sony.

[candy_mafia]

Your comment shows just how ill-informed you are, or just ignorant to the facts. Ever since PS3, fan-toys been trashing Sony.

Lest we forget, the droves of idiots baying for a Sony collapse regarding Sony studio closures, and there's the whole not many 1st party games coming crap, Sony has no money, Sony bankrupt, Sony fans are Po**s...Sony yada, yada, the list goes on!

All this 'cos it kills them that PS4 is successful....Sony changed their attitude and have done right by gamers this gen, that is why PS4 is doing well. I'm afraid I can't say the same for MS (yet), until I see that Phil Spencer honours his words. Yet already he said 'Losing Kinect is not the no.1 request from gamers....'

It's a Sony article yet non-PS4 users are in here as per usual.

I play on X1&Wii U too, so the same argument would apply to those articles and I do applaud those consoles/companies too, and criticize them in equal measure.

If you have any doubt, feel free to check my comments history. Platform agnostic, but I do prefer Sony/Nintendo exclusives. Why? ...'cos I can, my choice '/

[LogicStomper]

Well the act of selling of assets can be taken in two ways:

1) They're selling off assets to get into a better financial position, so it's good that they're selling.

2) Sony is a sinking ship and they're throwing assets over-board to slow the sinking down.

3) Square Enix is "volatile" (as someone put it), so Sony is selling off the shares.

1) Has a positive connotation to it while 2) has a negative connotation. 3) Is a neutral stance and is more plausible in my opinion.

I don't know which one Sony falls under for certain but this is how I'm seeing everyone else's views.

[Delsin_Rowe]

Instead having shares with Square Enix, they should have bought Square Enix itself to obtain those games that ones were exclusive to Sony. Sony should have bought the company in the PS2 generation when Sony didn't have a financial problem but now they can't afford to buy them since they need to clear their dept and start rethinking ways to make customer happier with the product, it cost so they make money.

[Delsin_Rowe]

Rethinking ways to make costumer happier, I was talking about their TV division which is not doing that good since Samsung offered a better price with the same product. It's true that Sony pass many changes of purchasing big game company but I guess they don't want to spend much money on big company but instead spend much money on their first party. (Sleepy 0_~)

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

Thats fine they jumped off the ship. As long as SE cranks out FFXV,KH3, and TR2 I'll be fine.

[vakarian75]

Its funny how everyone seems to think that Square Enix is obligated to make games exclusively for Sony consoles.

[tanookisuit]

Which they don't. Heck, people on other websites are foaming at the mouth asking Sony to die off, since they "force" exclusivity. S.E has been more pro-multiplatform previous gen, and I don't think that's going to change.

Having said that, all the people trashing Sony for exclusivity are talking non-sense.

[WitWolfy]

I hope Sony isnt in trouble by selling all these shares...

[MrGEE]

UPDATE: not 4.8 million, billion ! a fu**ing billion! which is probably 5 dollars lol..

[Godmars290]

They had literally millions of shares yet couldn't seemingly influence decisions at the company? Effect when Wada went chummy with MS?

[Setzer007]

They should have sold them immediately after "Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Returns" was announced.

[Unlimax]

I don't blame Sony for doing this ~ Good move
Square Enix has been very arrogant , greedy and ungrateful to support Sony since the last generation , they honestly don't deserve support for investing all their time / money for XIII Saga the whole generation .

[pwnsause_returns]

It's about damn time, they're leaking money, square Enid hasn't givent them anything in the past 8 years, might as well use that money for something better

[dillhole]

4.8 million Yen =

£27,950
or
$46,934

[DVAcme]

If I were Sony, I would have used that money to buy Eidos out of Squeenix's hands. That studio js being wasted under Squeenix's god-awful management.

EDIT: Btw, that's BILLION yen, not million. 4.8 billion yen is roughly 48 million dollars. 4.8 million yen can barely buy an SUV. And when all is said and done, that's actually not that much money compared to some of the amounts both Sony and other companies have thrown around. Squeenix's stocks must be garbage right now.

[kewlkat007]

The shares were worth close to $160 million yet they sold them for under $50m. What's up with that..doesn't seem right. Sony that desperate to reorganize

Anyhow I wonder if microsoft has some E3 announcment with Squeenix...

[Flames76]

Keeps getting worse for sony.Hell sony has laid off thousands of employees sold their buildings and the playstation hasnt turned a profit in over 8 years.On top of that last month the X1 destroyed the PS4 in america in sales and titanfall was the number 1 selling game.Yea not looking good for the playstation brand at all.I feel bad for all the people who has bought the PS4 and it might be dead in a year or so.

[DoubleM70]

Sony should spin off the Playstation into its own independent company. They still the biggest insurance company in Japan Spin that off to. Drop the rest of the electronics stuff since that belongs to Appple and Samsung. Keep the Sony studios and Music and they should be fine.

[joeorc]

@DoubleM70

"Sony should spin off the Playstation into its own independent company."

I posted this many times before, it already is! Playstation is a 100% owned LLC its not a public IPO!

An Most likely never will go public for its stock!

So why do you think Kaz and the board of Directors told Dan Loeb No! on a Public IPO: as a matter of fact.

example:

AUG. 6, 2013, 10:02 AM

Sony's Board Unanimously Concludes That Dan Loeb Should Take A Hike With His Spin-off Idea

"Sony's board of directors has unanimously concluded that continuing to own 100 percent of our entertainment business is the best path forward and is integral to Sony's strategy," Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai said in a letter to Loeb, which was released by the company."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider....

Now notice the date (AUG. 6, 2013, 10:02 AM)

Now look at this:

February 18, 2014 @ 9:19 am

Daniel Loeb's Third Point No Longer Listed as Top Sony Investor (Updated)

http://www.thewrap.com/dani...

The market in the west and those of Japan are not the same in how they view how you move in the markets for hostile take over's and for the past 40 years straight is if anything to go by; no japanese company the size of sony has had a Hostile take over from the west get anywhere near being able to take it over.

Sony i doubt very much Sony is or will ever put up playstation for a IPO ever ;so its pretty much a moot point , and a pipe dream by some member's on this and many gamer centric web sites wanting to see it happen just to see the meltdowns LMAO, but the truth of the matter is chance of it happening are slim to none and slim has already left the building.

[izumo_lee]

People seem to forget that if it wasn't for Sony there wouldn't be a Squarenix at all.

Source: http://ca.ign.com/articles/...

After Sakaguchi took a gamble by making an ill advised film that cost the company a lot of money, Squaresoft was close to closure. Sony came in bought a lot of stock in Square to keep them afloat until the merger with Squarenix was finalized.

This is a good move for Sony cause even when they were the 2nd highest shareholder for Squarenix it didn't really help them at all software wise. Playstation will still get games exclusive or not. So why not sell their stake in the company it doesn't really matter nowadays if they were shareholders or not. Squarenix is multiplatform regardless.

[DOOMZ]

Sony needs the cash right now...

[AutoCad]

another one bites the dust.

[modesign]

if you had over 9 million shares of facebook you would be worth a multibillionaire. at sqaure its only worth 47million. haha pretty sad.

[Jubez187]

Odd that this would happen seeing as FFXIV's success for both companies.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, Sony was probably like "No new Dragon Quest for PS4? PEACE!"

[no_more_heroes]

Just in case anyone is confused, it says Sony make a profit of $47m. Meaning, compared to what they bought the shares for, whatever price they've sold them for (as yet unannounced) means they'd have made $47m off of selling them.

Just clarifying, since I've been seeing people say that they sold them for that price, which isn't correct.

[MasterD919]

Seems more like a pre-cautionary measure than anything. They don't want to risk more loss...

[mediate-this]

4.8 million yen is not alot of money

[gigoran]

Yeah... Abriael made a huge mistake with the title of this story. I earn more than that annually. The title on the actual page seems about correct, but 4.8 million yen is about 50k US.

[THEMIGHTYDOOVDE]

All that stock must be weighing down the sinking ship!

[SITH]

It is supposed to be a parachute. It is just a drouge chute at best.

[TripC50]

Sony fanboys now "Stop with the Sony is dooooooomed nonsense."

Sony fanboys five months ago."Nintendooooomed" ;

What goes around comes around.

[WishMeWell259]

I really dont understand why some people think this is a sign that sony is dying. Its strictly business, end of story. They had a great relationship which is why they have been business partners for so long. but Sony isnt getting or hasnt since profit from Square in years and there stock continues to drop. As the leading console in this generation it is smart to cut loose a dying studio and move on to something new. Sony not leaving square sooner was them supporting a long term relationship.
Sony makes money to support other studios
Square has a opportunity to make better relations with Microsoft or long lost friend nintendo.
Either way I predict that you will see a FFVII remastered in the future.
To people saying Sony is dying, yes they lost a lot off the ps3 but they arent dying. You realize how many patents they own that make them money alone. You realize that Sony created and owns blu ray and for every blu ray sold sony gets a cut aka meaning for every xbox1, sony makes a profit. Sony will never die, just like mircosoft will never die either. they are two strong companies with master minds behind everything. xbox and playstation will forever live until the day a new competitor literally takes the console race and PS and xbox just cant compete. Sony and mircosoft are multi billion dollar companies every quit there bitching and just accept the news to make your own business decisions. Buy or sell square now

[fonger08]

This is sell was far less about Square as it is about Sony

[DynDasE]

I don't think Sony will benefit to keep the stock as well.
Well, we all know that Sony want money. But, SQEX have stopped giving exclusivity to Sony since FFXIII.
SQEX only made 3DS games too. So, no point keeping the stock if Sony cannot gain any advantage for PS4/Vita.

[fonger08]

It's essentially what investors call "plugging of the ship." It's an easy move for Sony to make and it reduces their liability with some of their cash. What you want to see if them turn around and re-invest... sadly though they really do need that money.

[joeorc]

@nifonge

"sadly though they really do need that money."

what?

Ok for one

"It should be noted that Sony also have over $19 billion cash reserves!"

http://www.sony.net/SonyInf...

with the recent restructure will save sony near 1 billion a year by 2016

[fonger08]

I couldn't get that link to work. According to Yahoo and Google's financial sheet Sonys cash flow is closer to 5 billion (US) and has decreased year or year for the past 3 years. The sell of the SquareEnix shares frees up that money that 1. either they can free up some debt (16.7bil) 2. re-invest (hopefully) 3. Or hold on to meet quartly expectations. Either it's good move as Square isn't exactly a booming company, but Sony needs money. Cash-reserves is essentially an emergency fund, I'm sure they would like to be adding to it as much as possible.

[Linkz973]

Looks like people are going to be buying sony stock now

[BABY-JEDI]

To my understanding Sony bought shares is Square after the movie 'The Spirit Within' bombed globally. A business venture backed by Sony. This was to stop Square going into liquidation but also to gain a degree of leverage via game exclusives. This came to an end with the union with Enix. Now, I believe Sony want to invest their money into something that will benefit them more directly.

[ALLWRONG]

Funny watching people say "good job Sony" as if it was a good thing.

[iliimaster]

it had to happen they have alienated every final fantasy fan that stuck with them till they turned away from turned based and went to a world of warcraft rip off not only that but they started making games for 360 too what were they thinkin

[waltyftm]

Those clever bastards, i sold mine after FFX111.

Bought it back for 10 Gil.

[tanookisuit]

http://cdn.alltheragefaces....

[Platinum_k]

meh*

SE lost it's magic anyways... they arent the same a decade ago

More money for Sony for New Experience and Projects!!!

[aLiEnViSiToR]

hmm i wonder whats next for Square Enix now...

[Obamanationn]

why wouldn't they sell their shares right after FF15 gets released.... something isn't right

[finito82]

ps4 will continue to set the standard of next gen. sorry xbox

[LogicStomper]

Are you in the right article?

[rhap]

SE is a mobile gaming company nowadays anyway, who cares.

[sjaakiejj]

Just 4.8 million yen? Guess they're not doing it for the money.

Edit:
Ah, the article states Billion, not Million. So they're selling it for

4.800.000.000 Yen, not
4.800.000 Yen. That would make it about 40 million USD, quite the difference.

[fatstarr]

R.I.P. SE the sighs of all faith lost in the company is near. After kh3 and ff15 its all over.

[just-joe]

Better than laying more people off.

[sAVAge_bEaST]

Time for an Indy. to capture that Chrono.Triger. Gold, this gen.

(I have faith)

[breakpad]

Bad news ..probably FFVII remake will not be exclusive on pS4 as it should be ....but also good news because SE had started to loose all her talented people and their games are totally mediocrities

[UNKLE]

The reason why FF13/FF15 is multiplatform looks like most of people didint know.. because sony not saw the future in those games an lost the interest about FF13/FF15/SE i remember i read this about 2-3 year ago.No wonder why sony sell square enix shares.

[alti]

47 million dollars. They'll probably blast it all away with their always over the top E3's.

[Artemidorus]

$48 million is the figure. No doubt Sony needs to pay the bills.