Square-Enix Licenses Unreal Engine 3.0 Technology >

	2007/01/25 8:33:47: Posted by vividbreeze
	It seems that even Square Enix is getting in on the next-gen Unreal Engine action. Today the legendary RPG creator announced that they have licensed the Unreal Engine 3.0 for use as middleware in their upcoming games. Square claims this is to help free up the developers and give them more time to focus on the game's story and the like. Sounds good to us! Click read more for the official info. PRESS RELEASE Tokyo, Japan, (Jan. 25, 2007) – Square Enix Co., Ltd. today announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games that enables Square Enix to introduce Epic’s Unreal® Engine 3 middleware into its next-generation game development process. Square Enix has built its highly successful franchises such as FINAL FANTASY®, DRAGON QUEST® and KINGDOM HEARTS by pushing game consoles to their limits and providing unparalleled user experiences for more than 20 years. This was achieved through the company’s proprietary technologies, which were mostly optimized for each game given the limited resources of game consoles. However, in order to ensure both game quality and development efficiency for next-generation game systems including consoles, PCs and network titles, Square Enix is now building a technology platform to be used throughout the company utilizing proprietary technologies as well as introducing third-party solutions such as Unreal Engine 3. “The complexity of next-generation game systems featuring HD graphics and multi-core parallel processing poses a number of technological challenges to our game development. However, we can expedite our game development process significantly while allowing extra time and resources to be spent on game design and mechanics by establishing an effective technology platform,” said Taku Murata, General Manager, Research and Development Division, Square Enix, Co., Ltd. “The technology platform for game development is becoming more important than ever. I'm excited to be partnering with Epic Games in such an important area.” “We’re extremely excited to be working with Square Enix,” said Jay Wilbur, Vice President, Epic Games, Inc. “Square Enix is one of the biggest and most influential companies in the world-wide game business, and having them work with Unreal Engine 3 is a major honor for us and something we’re very proud to be announcing.” About Unreal Engine 3 The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for cutting-edge graphics and a best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 is expected to maintain those features while adding massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations, and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry. Unreal Engine 3’s new toolset is designed specifically to accelerate developers' productivity for ultra-complex, next-generation content. Additional information on Unreal Engine can be obtained at www.unrealtechnology.com. About Square Enix Co., Ltd. With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix) develops, publishes and distributes entertainment content including interactive entertainment software and publications in North America, Europe and Asia. Square Enix brings two of Japan's best-selling franchises - FINAL FANTASY, which has shipped over 70 million units worldwide, and DRAGON QUEST, which has shipped over 41 million units worldwide - under one roof. Square Enix is one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world and continues to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation. More information on Square Enix can be found at http://www.square-enix.com/jp/. About Square Enix Ltd. Located in London, Square Enix Ltd. handles operations in Europe and other PAL territories including sales, marketing and publishing of Square Enix titles. More information on Square Enix Ltd. can be found on the Internet at http://www.square-enix.com. About Epic Games Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and game engine technology for PC and console. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in their Unreal® series and their latest game, Gears of War®, broke sales records on Xbox 360 selling more than 3 million copies worldwide in the first ten weeks and winning GameSpot’s overall Game of the Year for 2006. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including, Console Game of the Year winner, "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell TM" by Ubi Soft; PC Gamer's Game of the Year, "Deus Ex" from Ion Storm/Eidos; "America's Army: Special Forces," by the United States Army, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (PC) by Electronic Arts. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic Games was also awarded Studio of the Year at the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through Epic's Web site at http://www.epicgames.com. DRAGON QUEST, FINAL FANTASY, SQUARE ENIX and the Square Enix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Square Enix Co., Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. Unreal and Gears of War are registered trademarks of Epic Games Inc in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Square Enix Limited is a company registered in England & Wales under the number 3679704 whose registered office is Castle House, 37-45 Paul Street, London EC2A 4LS.
	Labeled With  square pc playstation 3 xbox360 epic unreal Comments [7]  | Rate this article: -- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  | Avg. rating of 9.0

People will soon see that Gear is nothing graphically special. Its all about the engine and art directors.

Square are lazy

I can't decide if this is good or bad. I hope the unreal engine is flexible enough now that most games don't look generally the same.

They are also using the white engine on final fantasy XII ,it really looks powerfull..the wise combination of them two could make this game even better.

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quote.

"The game runs on the White Engine, an all-new exclusive seventh generation game engine built for Square Enix's future games. Both the engine and the game were originally slated to be used with the PlayStation 2 but were later moved to the PlayStation 3."

[link removed]

hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII

"One of the main aspects of the engine is that it allows CGI to be rendered in real-time. It also handles advanced audio processing, cinematic cut-scene transition, physics effects calculations and special effects rendering. The White Engine reportedly uses 4 of the 6 synergistic processing elements (SPEs) available to games, of the Cell processor, to achieve near-pre-rendered CGI quality in realtime."

Things are Looking good for FF XIII

@neo fruity loops

of course gears won't be looking that great compared to games coming out in 1-2 years, but it's kicking ass right now in the present time. by the time square enix releases their games, epic would've done something even better.

@ Storm

either do i, iv'e used unreal 2/2.5 and it designed on shooters first person and third person but thats all thats really ever made on unreal so its hard to see anything else on it. it can do others things also so there is great potential for new no shooter games with unreal 3, i hope.

unreal 4 is currently in development for 3.5 years already but there not planning on launching it till 2010.

It would be cool to see Dragon Quest for the Xbox 360 and PC using the Unreal graphics engine. From a business point of view, it seriously is about time that Square-Enix did this.