Since I still have a few minutes to spare before I rush to school (crammed my Phil. Lit. assignment), let me just give a brief reaction to the news Danny gave me yesterday: Square and Enix have merged.

Back in pre-1996, RPGs for console systems (SNES, Sega, etc...) didn't sell as much as the other titles (hence getting a higher price tag compared to the other genres like side scrollers, action games, and beat-em-up's), or at least in the US (RPGs have always been popular in Japan... the Superfamicom was originally designed as a RPG console). The only popular RPG publishers (in the US) were Squaresoft (Final Fantasy titles) and Enix (7th Saga).

Squaresoft was renowned for its titles that while they were relatively easy to finish (nothing that can't be accomplished out of perseverance), took a long time to do so, but they did give you an enjoyable story along the way. Enix, on the other hand, took the other market. Enix games were more mature and significantly *difficult* to finish to the point of annoyance when you just couldn't get past a certain level. While Squaresoft targeted the kids, Enix's market was the adults.

Which makes the merger interesting.