Summary
A newSquare Enixstore that features a diverse selection of merchandise based on some of the game publisher’s most beloved properties has opened in its home country of Japan. Goods that feature keySquare Enixcharacters have sold well this year, according to the company.
Square Enix, which was formed in 2003 following a merger between SquareSoft and Enix, is one of the largest gaming entities in Japan, with the company currently boasting a total market cap of around 747 billion yen ($4.7 billion), according to data provided byfinancial analytics tracker MarketWatch.Dragon Quest,Final Fantasy, andKingdom Heartsare just some of the legendarygame franchises owned by Square Enixand its many subsidiaries. Merchandise from these properties and more can now be obtained from a store that was recently built in the heart of Tokyo.
The Square Enix Garden Official Goods Shop opened at the Shibuya Sakura Stage multipurpose complex on December 19, the Square Enix Official Goods Twitter account announced in apost. This store, which is part of the POP @P SPACE -SHIBUYA- area located on the third floor, features all sorts of merchandise, including CDs, figures, hoodies, keychains, pins, and plushies. Several sculptures of popular Square Enix characters, likeFinal Fantasy 7main protagonist Cloud Strifeand the iconic slime fromDragon Questcan also be found at the site.
Square Enix Garden Official Goods Shop Opens in Tokyo, Japan
Veteran Japanese game director Toshiyuki Itahana, the artist behind the character designs ofFinal Fantasy 9, as well as the series’Crystal ChroniclesandChocobospin-offs, revealed via aTwitter postthat he visited the Square Enix Garden Official Goods Shop on its opening day. Those who want to check out the store like Itahana, who also worked on thecritically acclaimedNieR: Automata, can drop by when it is open between 10 AM and 9 PM.
Square Enix’s lineup of 2024 releases includesVisions of Mana,Fantasian: Neo Dimension,Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, andDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. The company is set to launch the PC version ofFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second part of theFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy, on July 27, 2025.New remakes of the first twoDragon Questgamesare expected to come out sometime in that year as well.
Around the timeDragon Quest III HD-2D Remakecame out in November, the value of Square Enix’s shares dropped by up to 12% at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company announced just days before the negative stock fluctuation occurred that its net sales between the start of April and the end of September decreased by 8.4% when compared to the figures from the same period last year. Overall operating income rose by 22.1%, however, with net sales and operating income from merchandise alone seeing a year-on-year growth of 14.7%. This merchandise-based growth was partly driven by brisk sales of new goods that featured key characters under theSquare Enixumbrella, the company explained.
