Media alert

SQUARE ENIX KICK-OFFS COLLEGE LECTURE TOUR WITH YUSUKE NAORA AND KAZUYUKI IKUMORI

FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD Developers to Speak at SMU and USC

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 10, 2015) – In partnership with Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Plano, Texas and University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, SQUARE ENIX® today announced special college lectures for students to learn directly from the company’s experienced Tokyo development team members.

The lectures feature Yusuke Naora and Kazuyuki Ikumori who are excited to meet with students and guests to share their personal experiences in the digital entertainment and video game industries. Two seminars will take place this spring and will be based on their work in FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0™ HD as well as other prominent Square Enix projects .

Naora, art director of FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD, will be on hand to discuss the visuals of the FINAL FANTASY® series at SMU’s Guildhall satellite campus on February 26, 2015. Ikumori, general manager of Visual Works (Square Enix’s own CG movie production studio), will speak on the creative process behind the CG movies of Square Enix at the USC campus on March 12, 2015.

“We're excited to take the opportunity to speak to students in game development programs that will shape the future of our industry,” said Hajime Tabata, director of FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD and FINAL FANTASY XV. “We believe that it will be stimulating for us to learn from the students’ experience as well.”

Fans and aspiring students who missed the event can view the lecture in its entirety on Twitch® at http://www.twitch.tv/squareenixpresents/. More information is available at the Square Enix Blog (http://na.square-enix.com/us/blog) and the FINAL FANTASY Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FinalFantasyType0).

FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD will be available on March 17, 2015 for North America for $59.99 on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. Limited quantities of the Collector’s Edition are available through the Square Enix online store at  https://type0.na.square-enix.com/ for $99.99. The exclusive playable, downloadable demo of the highly anticipated FINAL FANTASY XV game titled ‘FINAL FANTASY XV -EPISODE DUSCAE-’ will be available only while supplies last.

FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD is rated M (Mature). Please visit the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) website at www.esrb.org for more information about ratings.

Related Links
FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD Homepage:   http://finalfantasytype0.com/
Facebook® Page:  http://www.facebook.com/FinalFantasyType0
FINAL FANTASY Twitter®:  @FINALFANTASY
Twitch:  http://www.twitch.tv/squareenixpresents/

About USC Games
Recognized as the #1 game design program in North America by the Princeton Review and GamePro Magazine, USC Games represents an exciting collaboration between the School of Cinematic Arts'  Interactive Media & Games Division and the Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department. Incorporating elements of design, artistry and engineering, USC Games offers an utterly unique educational experience for students, and serves as the launching pad for them to play significant roles in the game design field. With rigorous, hands-on instruction from master designers, engineers and working professionals in the industry, students have an unprecedented level of opportunity to delve into every aspect of creating games for a global audience.

About Southern Methodist University's Guildhall
Southern Methodist University's Guildhall is one of the premier graduate video game education programs in the United States. The program has graduated more than 600 students, and alumni are working at over 200 video game studios around the world.  The Guildhall offers a  Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development degree and  Professional Certificate in Digital Game Development program. Students also select an area of  specialization -—  Art CreationLevel DesignProduction, or  Software Development. Classes are taught by industry veterans, who work as mentors to develop skill and talent in the next generation of game creators.

About the FINAL FANTASY Series
Since the release of FINAL FANTASY in 1987, this unique RPG series continues to showcase the spectacular visuals, highly imaginative worlds and rich stories leading the industry and earning the highest accolades from users around the world. Titles of the series have so far achieved a cumulative shipment of over 110 million units worldwide.

About Square Enix, Inc.
Square Enix, Inc. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content throughout the Americas as part of the Square Enix Group. The Square Enix Group operates a global network of leading development studios and boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property, including: FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 110 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 64 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 42 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.

More information on Square Enix, Inc. can be found at http://www.na.square-enix.com/.

 

FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 ©2011, 2015 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved. CHARACTER DESIGN: TETSUYA NOMURA  
FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0, FINAL FANTASY, the FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 logo, DRAGON QUEST, EIDOS, SQUARE ENIX, the SQUARE ENIX logo, SPACE INVADERS, TAITO and TOMB RAIDER are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix Group. "PlayStation" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.


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Contact (press only)
David Yang                          
Square Enix, Inc.                                                
(310) 846-0400                                                   
na.pr@square-enix.com