{"id":339296,"date":"2025-06-26T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/es\/?p=387964"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:17:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:17:42","slug":"nobuo-uematsu-confirms-an-open-secret-square-enixs-drift-was-due-to-the-loss-of-one-of-its-most-important-figures-in-2001","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/nobuo-uematsu-confirms-an-open-secret-square-enixs-drift-was-due-to-the-loss-of-one-of-its-most-important-figures-in-2001\/","title":{"rendered":"Nobuo Uematsu confirms an open secret: Square Enix&#039;s drift was due to the loss of one of its most important figures in 2001"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The merger between Square and Enix in 2003 was profoundly affected by the financial failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, a landmark film that simultaneously became the catalyst for a series of internal problems within Square. <strong>Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the acclaimed Final Fantasy saga, left the company in 2001, a decision that, according to composer Nobuo Uematsu, had devastating consequences for Square&#8217;s organizational structure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Without Sakaguchi Square Enix has not been the same for 20 years<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a recent episode of his podcast Together with NOBIYO, Uematsu, who has been a collaborator of Sakaguchi since the 80s, recalled the profound influence that the latter had on the company. <strong>&#8220;The organization simply collapsed after he left,&#8221; Uematsu stated, adding that the lack of strong leadership was immediately noticeable<\/strong>. &#8220;He has always been the great boss,&#8221; he concluded, reflecting the admiration that his followers and colleagues feel towards him.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The premiere of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001 turned out to be a financial fiasco, which not only eroded confidence in Sakaguchi&#8217;s management but also delayed the planned merger with Enix. <strong>This marked a critical moment in Square&#8217;s history, which was experiencing its worst times just before the merger.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Trailer\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qUXVOfdGE4o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After his departure, Sakaguchi continued to be credited as an executive producer on several Final Fantasy games until 2003. <strong>Uematsu, for his part, left Square Enix in 2004 and, although he has worked as a freelancer, his musical legacy remains alive in projects developed by the studio Mistwalker, founded by Sakaguchi, where he has contributed to titles such as Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These events have left an indelible mark on the company&#8217;s history, <strong>signaling a significant change in its direction and future in the video game industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Steam\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/3047d89c-96d0-11e6-8546-00163ed833e7\/2505233623\/steam-download.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Steam<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/steam.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DOWNLOAD<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/steam.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The merger between Square and Enix in 2003 was profoundly affected by the financial failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, a landmark film that simultaneously became the catalyst for a series of internal problems within Square. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the acclaimed Final Fantasy saga, left the company in 2001, a decision that, according to composer Nobuo Uematsu, had devastating consequences for Square&#8217;s organizational structure. Without Sakaguchi, Square Enix has not been the same for 20 years. In a recent episode of his podcast Together with NOBIYO, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9318,"featured_media":339297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1018,1015],"tags":[13111,13112,13113,13114,10948,13115,4481],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[6823],"class_list":["post-339296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","category-news","tag-blue-dragon","tag-enix","tag-final-fantasy-the-spirits-within","tag-fusion","tag-lost-odyssey","tag-nobou-uematsu","tag-square-enix","content-category-games"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.4 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The merger between Square and Enix in 2003 was profoundly affected by the financial failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, a landmark film that simultaneously became the catalyst for a series of internal problems within Square. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the acclaimed Final Fantasy saga, left the company in 2001, a decision that, according to composer Nobuo Uematsu, had devastating consequences for Square&#039;s organizational structure. Without Sakaguchi, Square Enix has not been the same for 20 years. 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Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the acclaimed Final Fantasy saga, left the company in 2001, a decision that, according to composer Nobuo Uematsu, had devastating consequences for Square&#039;s organizational structure. Without Sakaguchi, Square Enix has not been the same for 20 years. 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Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the acclaimed Final Fantasy saga, left the company in 2001, a decision that, according to composer Nobuo Uematsu, had devastating consequences for Square&#039;s organizational structure. Without Sakaguchi, Square Enix has not been the same for 20 years. 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