Sony buys 19% stake in Square

[10.09.01] » All those rumors just became moot.

   According to early morning reports coming out of Japan, Sony is in the final stages of securing a 19% interest in Square. With the software giant currently suffering under an enormous loss due to the financial disappointment of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Square will be selling 11.2 million shares of stock to Sony at a cost of 1,330 yen a share.

   The 14.9 billion yen ($124 million) investment will make Sony the second largest shareholder in the company, second only to Square's founder. Sony's new stake in Square will undoubtedly have repercussions for the company's output and, at the very least, should assure that Square's marquee titles do indeed remain PlayStation exclusive.

   A bigger question may be what effect this will have on Square's burgeoning PlayOnline service. The ambitious online network was ultimately meant to offer games, music, chat, and other entertainment across a wide variety of platforms -- Square's business plan for it required it. But with Sony's support and the company's new interest in Square, PlayOnline could possibly become a PlayStation exclusive. This move could in turn have further repercussions for the industry; Enix and Namco had recently partnered with Square to develop games for the service.