An updated and more detailed look at Square Enix's Business Divisions

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Sora96

Sora96

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Nov 12, 2014
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kh13.com
#1
Square Enix has often had a different development structure. In December 2013, Square Enix restructured them for the first time since March 2007 which was when they formed the 1st Production Department. There are 12 Business Divisions in total and they each work on multiple projects. Some projects are developed by the internal teams while some are outsourced. Important to note that the people inside each division are not restricted from working with other divisions, something Tetsuya Nomura does often.

Business Division 1 (1st Production Department No.1)

Head
Yoshinori Kitase (Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Motomu Toriyama (Director)
  • Yuji Abe (Game Design Director)
  • Nobuyuki Matsuoka (Battle System Director)
  • Isamu Kamikokuryo (Art Director)
  • Daisuke Watanabe (Scenario Writer)
  • Toshiyuki Itahana (Character Designer)
  • Toshitaka Matsuda (Lead Art Designer/Mobius Art Director)
  • Naoki Hamaguchi (Main Programmer/Mobius Director)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Blood of Bahamut (2009)
  • Final Fantasy XIII (2009)
  • Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011)
  • Final Fantasy VII - remaster (2012)
  • Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (2013)
  • Final Fantasy VIII - remaster (2013)
  • Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (2013)
  • Final Fantasy VII - Dive In (2014)
  • Final Fantasy XIII - PC & Dive In (2014)
  • Final Fantasy VIII - Dive In (2014)
  • Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PC & Dive In (2014)
  • Final Fantasy XIII - iOS & Android (2015)
  • Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - PC & Dive In (2015)
  • Final Fantasy VII - PlayStation 4 (2015)
  • Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster - PlayStation 4 (2015)
  • Mobius Final Fantasy (2015)
  • Title directed by Toriyama to be announced in 2015 (TBA)
Business Division 2 (1st Production Department No.2)

Head
Hajime Tabata (Director)

Notable Staff
  • Wan Hazmer (Lead Game Designer)
  • Takatsugu Nakazawa (Game Design Director)
  • Kenichiro Yuji (Battle System Director)
  • Yusuke Naora (Art Director)
  • Hiroki Chiba (Scenario Writer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • The 3rd Birthday (2010)
  • Final Fantasy Type-0 (2011)
  • Final Fantasy Agito (2014)
  • Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (2015)
  • Final Fantasy Agito+ (2015)
  • Final Fantasy XV (TBA)
Business Division 3 (1st Production Department No.3)

Head
Shinji Hashimoto (Executive Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Tetsuya Nomura (Director)
  • Tai Yasue (Co-Director)
  • Rie Nishi (Producer)
  • Gen Kobayashi (Art Director)
  • Masaru Oka (Scenario Writer)
  • Akitoshi Kawazu (SaGa series Producer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009)
  • SaGa 2: Hihō Densetsu Goddess of Destiny - remake (2009)
  • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010)
  • Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (2010)
  • SaGa 3: Shadow or Light - remake (2011)
  • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix (2011)
  • Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection (2011)
  • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (2012)
  • Emperors SaGa (2012)
  • The World Ends With You: Solo Remix (2012)
  • Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX (2013)
  • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (2014)
  • Final Fantasy Explorers (2014)
  • Final Fantasy - Nintendo 3DS (2015)
  • SaGa (2015)
  • Kingdom Hearts III (TBA)
Business Division 4 (1st Production Department No.4)

Head
Ichiro Hazama (Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Mitsunori Takahashi (Director)
  • Takeo Kujiraoka (Director)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning (2009)
  • Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (2011)
  • Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade (2012)
  • Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (2012)
  • Final Fantasy Artniks (2012)
  • Final Fantasy All the Bravest (2013)
  • Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (2014)
  • Final Fantasy World Wide Words (2014)
  • Final Fantasy Record Keeper (2014)
  • Final Fantasy VII G-Bike (2014)
  • Final Fantasy Artniks Dive (2014)
  • Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (2015)
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy (2015)
Business Division 5 (Online Department)

Head
Naoki Yoshida (Producer/Director)

Notable Staff
  • Hiroshi Takai (Assistant Director)
  • Nobuaki Komoto (Game Design Director)
  • Akihiko Matsui (Battle System Director)
  • Kazuya Takahashi (Art Director)
  • Kazutoyo Maehiro (Scenario Writer)
  • Hiroshi Minagawa (Lead UI Artist/Lead Web Designer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 (2010)
  • Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin (2013)
  • Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (2013)
  • Final Fantasy Grandmasters (2015)
  • Final Fantasy XI: Rhapsodies of Vana’diel (2015)
  • Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (2015)
  • Final Fantasy XI Mobile (2016)
Business Division 6 (Producer Department No.1)

Head
Yu Miyake (Executive Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Yosuke Saito (Producer)
  • Ryutaro Ichimura (Producer)
  • Tomoya Asano (Producer)
  • Jin Fujisawa (Producer/Director)
  • Noriyoshi Fujimoto (Producer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Crystal Defenders (2008)
  • Crystal Defenders: Vanguard Storm (2009)
  • Dragon Quest Wars (2009)
  • Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (2009)
  • Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II Legends (2009)
  • Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (2009)
  • Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation - remake (2010)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (2010)
  • Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road Victory (2010)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional (2011)
  • Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3 - remake (2011)
  • Fortune Street (2011)
  • Fortune Street Smart (2012)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry no Wonderland 3D - remake (2012)
  • Dragon Quest X: Online (2012)
  • Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (2012)
  • Dragon Quest VII - remake (2013)
  • Dragon Quest: Monsters Wanted! (2013)
  • Bravely Default: For the Sequel (2013)
  • Dragon Quest Portal App (2013)
  • Dragon Quest - iOS & Android (2013)
  • Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - iOS & Android (2013)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light (2014)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key - remake (2014)
  • Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen - iOS & Android (2014)
  • Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line - iOS & Android (2014)
  • Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation - iOS & Android (2014)
  • Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride - iOS & Android (2014)
  • Dragon Quest Heroes (2015)
  • Bravely Second: End Layer (2015)
  • Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation - iOS & Android (2015)
  • Dragon Quest VII - iOS & Android (2015)
  • Dragon Quest Heroes II (TBA)
  • Dragon Quest XI (TBA)
Business Division 7 (Producer Department No.2)

Head
Takamasa Shiba (Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Nobuki Kadoi (Producer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Lord of Vermilion (2008)
  • Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (2008)
  • Star Ocean: The Last Hope (2009)
  • Lord of Vermilion II (2009)
  • Star Ocean: The Last Hope International (2010)
  • Nier (2010)
  • Lord of Arcana (2010)
  • Lord of Apocalypse (2011)
  • Lord of Vermilion III (2013)
  • Drakengard 3 (2013)
  • School of Ragnarok (2015)
Business Division 8 (Cloud Gaming Department)

Unfortunately, no information is available to the public.

Business Division 9 (Mobile Department No.1)

Head
Takashi Tokita (Director/Producer/Executive Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Shinichi Tatsuke (Producer)
  • Kazuko Shibuya (Art Director)
  • Akira Oguro (Character Designer)
  • Yuri Tsuchiya (Scenario Writer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II for smartphones (2010)
  • Final Fantasy Dimensions (2010)
  • Secret of Mana for smartphones (2010)
  • Final Fantasy III - HD remaster (2011)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions - HD remaster (2011)
  • Chrono Trigger for smartphones (2011)
  • Guardian Cross (2012)
  • Final Fantasy Dimensions - remake (2012)
  • Demons' Score (2012)
  • Final Fantasy IV - HD remaster (2012)
  • Final Fantasy V - HD remaster (2013)
  • Final Fantasy IV: The After Years - 3D remake (2013)
  • Deadman's Cross (2014)
  • Final Fantasy VI - HD remaster (2014)
  • Final Fantasy Portal App (2015)
  • Final Fantasy Legends: Crystal of Space-Time (2015)
  • Holy Dungeon (2015)
Business Division 10 (Mobile Department No.2)

Head
Takehiro Ando (Executive Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Hiroaki Iwano (Producer)
  • Masaru Oyamada (Producer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes (2008)
  • Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes - Encore (2009)
  • Sliding Heroes (2009)
  • Hills and Rivers Remain (2009)
  • Chaos Rings (2010)
  • Chaos Rings Omega (2011)
  • Chaos Rings II (2012)
  • Million Arthur (2012)
  • Drakerider (2012)
  • Circle of Mana (2013)
  • Drakerider: Chains Transcendent (2013)
  • Rise of Mana (2014)
  • Chaos Rings III & Chaos Rings III: Prequel Trilogy (2014)
  • Heavenstrike Rivals (2015)
Business Division 11 (Browser Department No.1)

Head
Yuki Yokoyama (Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Ryoma Ito (Character Designer)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Monster X Dragon (2011)
  • Crystal Conquest (2012)
  • Bravely Default: Praying Brage (2013)
  • Square Enix: Legend World (2013)
  • Star Galaxy (2013)
  • Sennenyusya (2013)
  • Kingdom Hearts χ (2013)
  • Dragon Quest: Monster Parade (2013)
Business Division 12 (Browser Department No.2)

Head
Tomohiro Hasegawa (Producer)

Notable Staff
  • Mizumachi Tadashi (Producer)
  • Takaya Ishiyama (Director)
Notable Recent Projects
  • Sengokuixa (2010)
  • Sangokushi Rumble (2013)
  • Amatus (2014)
  • Bravely Archive: D's Report (2015)
 
Last edited:
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Sora96

Sora96

Warrior of Light
#5
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
28
Australia
kh13.com
#5
Other than Hiroshi Minagawa and Yasumi Matsuno, who worked on Tactics Ogre PSP? And what did they work on after the remake? I'm trying to find out what division it would go under.
 
APZonerunner

APZonerunner

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#6
Jul 25, 2013
1,134
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#6
As far as credits go, GameFAQs has a more full list: http://www.gamefaqs.com/psp/999440-tactics-ogre-let-us-cling-together/credit

Generally speaking, I'd say you seem to put too much stock into the 'division' system; it's a way for them to keep track of money and very little else. SEJ has a pretty flat structure development-wise and people move around daily. There's nothing to say that because we haven't heard from a "division" that they MUST be working on another game; there's a strong chance, for instance, that the staff have simply folded into another project. FF15 has like 300+ people on it excluding contractors, but SEJ hasn't hired enough people to cover that growth - it's coming from people from other 'teams'.

Like, you list Shinji Hashimoto as being part of Group 3, but he just oversees everything KH & FF in the company regardless of where it's being done. He was even overseeing Fortress, when that was in production. For the most part trying to infer what's going on from the divisions is a losing battle.

I've merged this Tactics Ogre question into the Division thread, as well.
 
Sora96

Sora96

Warrior of Light
#7
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
28
Australia
kh13.com
#7
APZonerunner said:
As far as credits go, GameFAQs has a more full list: http://www.gamefaqs.com/psp/999440-tactics-ogre-let-us-cling-together/credit

Generally speaking, I'd say you seem to put too much stock into the 'division' system; it's a way for them to keep track of money and very little else. SEJ has a pretty flat structure development-wise and people move around daily. There's nothing to say that because we haven't heard from a "division" that they MUST be working on another game; there's a strong chance, for instance, that the staff have simply folded into another project. FF15 has like 300+ people on it excluding contractors, but SEJ hasn't hired enough people to cover that growth - it's coming from people from other 'teams'.

Like, you list Shinji Hashimoto as being part of Group 3, but he just oversees everything KH & FF in the company regardless of where it's being done. He was even overseeing Fortress, when that was in production. For the most part trying to infer what's going on from the divisions is a losing battle.

I've merged this Tactics Ogre question into the Division thread, as well.
Click to expand...
Hashimoto is the head of division 3 though: http://recruiting-site.jp/s/square-enix11/
 
APZonerunner

APZonerunner

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Administrator
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#8
Jul 25, 2013
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#8
Hashimoto is current Corporate Executive of the 1st Production Department and Brand Director for FF and KH, so obviously he oversees the studios that do the lion's share of work on those franchises. That his role is so broad is just another underlining of how fluid & unimportant the divisional lines are in the grand scheme of things!
 
Sora96

Sora96

Warrior of Light
#9
Nov 12, 2014
1,326
239
28
Australia
kh13.com
#9
APZonerunner said:
Hashimoto is current Corporate Executive of the 1st Production Department and Brand Director for FF and KH, so obviously he oversees the studios that do the lion's share of work on those franchises. That his role is so broad is just another underlining of how fluid & unimportant the divisional lines are in the grand scheme of things!
Click to expand...
Well yeah, you have a point. I mean even their web browser game divisions develop mobile games, it doesn't make sense a lot.
 
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