Report: Square Enix Negotiating Canadian Tax Deal for Future Studio

March 16, 2011

Square-Enix plans to open a new studio with over a hundred employees in 2012, somewhere in Canada. The maker of Final Fantasy is reportedly negotiating with the governments of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Whichever location offers the best tax incentives package will get a new Square Enix Studio that expects to employ over one-hundred new employees. Square Enix already has a studio in Montreal - which it acquired when it bought Eidos in 2009. But that doesn't mean Square Enix is giving the edge to that locale:

"When Eidos arrived in Montreal in 2007, the government made a fair offer, but much water has flowed under the bridge for four years," said Stéphane D'Astous, director of Eidos Montreal in a recent French-language interview.

The new Square Enix studio will focus on games for the next generation of consoles, according to D'Astous. Either D'Astous knows something everyone else doesn't know or his comments were lost in translation.

We'll have more on this story as it develops, but no doubt some government in Canada will give Square Enix a deal that it just can't resist.

Source: The Escapist

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Re: Report: Square Enix Negotiating Canadian Tax Deal for ...

Submitted by djnforce9 on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 07:24.

I agree. It would be awesome to have a studio like that nearby. B.C. is always good too but I still believe the majority of our business (and population for that matter) spans across Ontario and Quebec. Quebec Already has a studio (as the article states) so why would they need another? For those keen developers in our area, it'd be an really good employment opportunitiy.

Let's wait and see.

Re: Report: Square Enix Negotiating Canadian Tax Deal for ...

Submitted by kagirinai on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 02:46.

Toronto, please! I have zero interest for working for Square, but there is a lot of value in having them start a studio in town! The number of quality artists and musicians would skyrocket, and all the terrible writers and designers could get cozy jobs!

More seriously, it'd be another reaffirming statement in Toronto's steadily growing industry, and with every big studio comes a long tail of smaller houses producing all sorts of cool stuff.

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PHX Corp: http://kotaku.com/ea-sports-developer-calls-wii-u-crap-and-nintendo-wa-508481261 EA Sports Canada Moron calls Wii U 'Crap' and Nintendo 'Walking Dead'05/18/2013 - 11:42am

E. Zachary Knight: If the videos are of sufficient quality that people subscribe and watch regularly, then those let's players are providing a service that people want. That is the heart of capitalism. That is not something that should be shamed.05/17/2013 - 8:06am

E. Zachary Knight: I have no idea who either of those people are. However, I still don't see why making a business out of creating let's play videos is somehow evil or wrong.05/17/2013 - 8:04am

MaskedPixelante: It sure is if you're just doing it for the money. See Tobuscus and/or Pewdiepie for what happens when people get into it just for the money.05/17/2013 - 7:30am

E. Zachary Knight: Why is it wrong to make money doing LPs? Why should that be something that should be shamed?05/17/2013 - 6:20am

MaskedPixelante: https://twitter.com/PsychedelicSA/status/335183893214924801 Now here's an interesting, glass half full thought about the Nintendo LP thing. It outs the people who are just doing LPs to make money.05/17/2013 - 5:56am

E. Zachary Knight: I responded in writing to all this "let's play" stuff Nintendo Started. No need for my permission, I won't give it. It's not mine to give. http://divineknightgaming.com/?p=29205/16/2013 - 2:21pm

E. Zachary Knight: Lars Doucet of Levelup Labs has a Reddit going on game companies that allow monetization of Let's Play videos. http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1egayn/lets_build_a_list_of_game_studios_that_allow/05/16/2013 - 1:04pm

Sleaker: @Imautobot - yah I wouldn't use an emulator as a good first run test of how stable the console is, haha.05/16/2013 - 11:47am

E. Zachary Knight: The 50th person to jump off a bridge is just as dumb if not dumber than the 1st.05/16/2013 - 10:03am

MaskedPixelante: Yeah, let's all jump on Nintendo for doing this, even though they're hardly the first company to do this...05/16/2013 - 9:47am

E. Zachary Knight: Wow Nintendo, this is wrong. http://kotaku.com/nintendo-forcing-ads-on-some-youtube-lets-play-video-50709238305/16/2013 - 8:44am

Imautobot: @Sleaker, further gameplay has revealed that the controller button do stick under the faceplate. Also, The NES emulator (Emuya)keeps crashing on me, though I think a bad ROM is causing it.05/16/2013 - 7:10am

Papa Midnight: AE: I wonder if any other publishers will follow suit.05/15/2013 - 8:12pm

Andrew Eisen: EA is ditching Online Pass. http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/15/ea-kills-its-controversial-online-pass-program/05/15/2013 - 7:20pm

Avalongod: @Zach and quicnkold...I've read the bill and the intent of it is to fear-monger. It's not a balanced message. I don't recall the ESRB being mentioned at all. It's more "keeps your kids away from these movies/games or they'll become violent"05/15/2013 - 4:35pm

E. Zachary Knight: quiknkold, The big problem with that legislation is the amount of misinformation out there. Who is going to ensure that the information in the pamphlet is accurate?05/15/2013 - 3:25pm

quiknkold: REBeardogg : I'm on the fence about this. on one side, I want parents to be aware of the ESRB, and even Movie Ratings. On the other hand, I feel this will be used for nothing but Propaganda. The ESRB does a good job.05/15/2013 - 3:07pm

IanC: Frostbite is coming out on iOS devices. Yet the Wii U cant handle it? *coughbullshitcough*05/15/2013 - 2:31pm

BearDogg-X: http://www.politickernj.com/65515/lesniak-ruiz-bill-limit-children-s-exposure-media-violence-clears-senate - Bill requiring schools to publish pamphlets with anti-fake media "violence" propaganda clears NJ Senate05/15/2013 - 2:03pm

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