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Osterby

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Osterby
Coat of arms	Location
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Schleswig-Holstein
District	Rendsburg-Eckernförde
Municipal assoc.	Hüttener Berge
Mayor	Robert Ott (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	9.84 km² (3.8 sq mi)
Elevation	18 m  (59 ft)
Population	954  (31/12/2006)
- Density	97 /km² (251 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	RD
Postal code	24367
Area codes	04351, 04353
Website	www.amt-huettener- berge.de
Location of Osterby within Rendsburg-Eckernförde district
Coordinates: 54°27?00?N 9°45?00?E? / ?54.45, 9.75

Osterby is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

This Rendsburg-Eckernförde location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterby”
Categories: Municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein | Rendsburg-Eckernförde geography stubs

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A Squadron Leader’s sleeve/shoulder insignia

Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these cases a Squadron Leader ranks above Flight Lieutenant and immediately below Wing Commander.

Various abbreviations are used, including Sqn Ldr ,Sqn. Ldr., SQNLDR and S/L in the various Air Forces of the world.

It has a NATO ranking code of OF-3, equivalent to a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy or a Major in the British Army or the Royal Marines.

The equivalent rank in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) (until 1968) and Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) (until 1980) was Squadron Officer.

Origins

The rank originated in the British Royal Air Force and was adopted by several other air forces which use, or used, the RAF rank system.

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with Royal Naval Air Service Lieutenant-Commanders and Royal Flying Corps Majors becoming Majors in the RAF. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy’s officer ranks, with the word “Air” inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became Squadron Leader would have been Air Lieutenant-Commander. However, the Admiralty objected to this modification of their rank titles. The rank title Squadron Leader was chosen as Squadrons were typically led by RAF Majors and the term Squadron Commander had been used in the Royal Naval Air Service. The rank of Squadron Leader has been used continuously since 1 August 1919.

Usage

Before the Second World War, a Squadron Leader commanded a squadron of aircraft. Today, however, a flying squadron is usually commanded by a Wing Commander, with each of the two flights under a Squadron Leader. However, squadrons which are administrative sub-divisions of a Wing are ordinarily commanded by a Squadron Leader.

Squadrons of the RAF Regiment are normally commanded by a Squadron Leader. Today the rank Squadron Leader is seen as the first Senior Officer rank within the RAF.

Insignia and command flag

A Squadron Leader’s Command Flag

The rank insignia consists of a thin blue band on a slightly wider black band between two narrow blue bands on slightly wider black bands. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform.

Squadron Leaders are the lowest ranking officers that may fly a command flag. The flag may be depicted on the officer’s aircraft or, should the squadron leader be in command, the flag may be flown from a flagpole or displayed on an official car as a car flag. If the Squadron Leader is in command of a numbered squadron, then the number of the squadron would also be shown on the flag.

Other air forces

The rank of Squadron Leader is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the Bangladesh Air Force, Ghana Air Force, Indian Air Force (IAF), Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It is also used in the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman and the Royal Thai Air Force.

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the rank until the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian squadron leaders were retitled as majors. In official French Canadian usage, a squadron leader’s rank title was commandant d’aviation.

Non-air force use

In the Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps, “Squadron Leader” is the title (but not the rank) often given to the commander of a squadron (company) of armoured fighting vehicles. The squadron leader is usually a Major, although in the Second World War the post was often held by a Captain.

The rank has been borrowed in science fiction including the Star Wars films and its extended universe of literature and comics, though (at least in the Star Wars franchise) more often as the title and\or callsign of the leader of a starfighter squadron, irrespective of rank (similar to the aforementioned RAC usage; see Flight Leader), and usually with the word “Squadron” replaced by the name of the squadron, e.g. Red Leader for the commander of Red Squadron, and infrequently as an actual rank. For the most part, this is just another example of common depiction of starfighter forces in most works featuring such craft as closely paralleling contemporary (at the time the work in question was produced) real-world air forces in almost all aspects.

See also

• RAF officer ranks
• Comparative military ranks

External links

• RAF Command Flags

elite color

“Tea at the Palaz of Hoon” is a poem from Wallace Stevens’s first book of poetry, Harmonium. It was first published in 1921, so it is in the public domain.

This is easily understood as a philosophical poem, lending itself to interpretation as an exercise in the philosophy of solipsism or subjective idealism such as Fichte’s. It can also be read as a statement of a psychological theory like Freud’s that hypothesizes a subconscious mental domain that influences conscious mental life. Bordering on such interpretations but neutral among them is the idea that the poem is about the poet’s experience of self-discovery through imaginative construction of himself. The poet’s creativity in this regard is perhaps extreme, but it makes his self more his self, hence he finds himself “more truly and more strange”.

Bates remarks that the regal figure of Hoon is the figure least qualified by irony among the early protagonists of Harmonium.

Without a visit to Hoon in his palaz, one will not appreciate how Stevens’s poems of the thirties, though they are not intimately autobiographical, might nevertheless be said to contain and discourse of himself alone.

He adds that the pure poet “bathes his nominal subject in the imaginative effulgence Stevens called the ‘poetry of the subject’”. The pure poet is distinguished from the local poet who defines himself as the intelligence of his soil, in that the former applies himself to what Stevens called “the idea of pure poetry: imagination, extended beyond local consciousness,…an idea to be held in common by South, West, North and East.” (See “The Comedian as the Letter C” regarding the topic of local poetry. See also the main Harmonium essay, especially the section “Locality”.)

Although this poem was written before “Comedian”, Bates is proposing that Stevens “found Hoon’s course more congenial than Crispin’s” as his poetic project matured in the thirties. It was not until he took up his genealogical study in the early forties that, according to Bates, Stevens resumed the connection with his native region that had been severed by his move to New York. (See the main Wallace Stevens essay for biographical details.)

Notes

1. ^ Bates, p. 126. See also Librivox and the Poetry web site.
2. ^ Bates, p. 126
3. ^ Bates, p. 153
4. ^ Quoted from Stevens’s letters by Bates, p. 154
5. ^ Bates, p. 154

References

• Bates, R. Wallace Stevens: A Mythology of Self. 1985: University of California Press
• Stevens, Holly. Letters of Wallace Stevens. 1966: University of California Press.

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Valerie Saurette

Saurette competes with Jean-Sébastien Fecteau in 2002.
Personal Information
Country represented:	Canada
Date of birth:	July 23, 1975 (1975-07-23) (age 33)
Height:	165 cm
Former partner:	Jean-Sébastien Fecteau, Steven Ing, Ian Connolly
Former coach:	Richard Gauthier
Skating club:	CPA St-Leonard

Valerie Saurette (born July 23, 1975 in Granby, Quebec) is a Canadian figure skater. She competed in pairs with Jean-Sébastien Fecteau and captured three bronze medals at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships from 1998 to 2000.

Competitive highlights

(with Fectau)

Calorie Intake Calculation

Undercurrents is an alternative video news network which began with the UK distribution of videotapes shot by volunteers. It has since expanded to include a web presence, media training for volunteers, and a film festival, BeyondTV.

History

Undercurrents is an alternative news agency which came into being in 1994 with a VHS videocassette of news which the founders (Jamie Hartzell Paul O’Connor, Zoe Broughton,and Thomas Harding) felt were not being addressed by the mainstream media. One of the issues covered was the introduction of the Criminal Justice Bill, whose varied measures included attempts to curtail large gatherings both of travellers and ravesand make direct action protest a criminal offense. A second video was released before the end of the year. Bands such as the Levellers included Undercurrents references on their CD sleeves. Radiohead have donated funds and Comedian Mark Thomas allowed undercurrents to produce and distribute his first DVD to raise funds.Undercurrents was amongst the first groups which coined the phrase ‘video activism’- the use of camcorders for social change. A co-founder, Thomas Harding, wrote the video activist handbook published by Pluto Press. Undercurrents now distbribute films via DVD and in 2007 they launched visionontv - a Peer to Peer TV channel over internet.

Status

Undercurrents subsequently became a non-profit company and a registered charity. They have moved their office from London, to Oxford and are now based in the environment centre in Swansea.

Court Cases

Some of their footage of political protests has been used in court cases, including footage of Genoa G8 summit, and a police raid on indymedia work spaces.

Current Projects

In 2007 Undercurrents released EcoVillage Pioneers- a documentary exploring sustainable low impact communities around the world. ‘Reach for the Sky’, premiered at BeyondTV festival, produced by Undercurrents, focuses on Swansea Airport and that uncontrolled aviation expansion is unsustainable. Swansea Airport, with the connivance of Swansea Council, was given the go-ahead to operate in the centre of the Gower peninsula, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be designated in the country. Public pressure forced Swansea Airport to close down. Air Wales, which operated from Swansea Airport has now closed down.

Many of their latest videos are hosted on the Clearer channel website

Undercurrents are currently producing podcasts in 2008 about environmental issues such as Climate change. Video podcasts include Surfing, Bushcraft and sustainable housing.These can be viewed at channel website

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An example of a bipartite graph, with a maximum matching (blue) and minimum vertex cover (red) both of size six.

In the mathematical area of graph theory, König’s theorem describes an equivalence between the maximum matching problem and the minimum vertex cover problem in bipartite graphs.

Setting

A graph is bipartite if its vertices can be partitioned into two sets such that each edge has one endpoint in each set. A vertex cover in a graph is a set of vertices that includes at least one endpoint of each edge, and a vertex cover is minimum if no other vertex cover has fewer vertices. A matching in a graph is a set of edges no two of which share an endpoint, and a matching is maximum if no other matching has more edges. König’s theorem states that, in any bipartite graph, the number of edges in a maximum matching is equal to the number of vertices in a minimum vertex cover.

For graphs that are not bipartite, the maximum matching and minimum vertex cover problems are very different in complexity: maximum matchings can be found in polynomial time for any graph, while minimum vertex cover is NP-complete. The complement of a vertex cover in any graph is an independent set, so a minimum vertex cover is complementary to a maximum independent set; finding maximum independent sets is another NP-complete problem. The equivalence between matching and covering articulated in König’s theorem allows minimum vertex covers and maximum independent sets to be computed in polynomial time for bipartite graphs, despite the NP-completeness of these problems for more general graph families.

König’s theorem is equivalent to numerous other min-max theorems in graph theory and combinatorics, such as Hall’s marriage theorem and Dilworth’s theorem. Since bipartite matching is a special case of maximal flow, the theorem also results from the max flow min cut theorem.

König’s theorem is named after the Hungarian mathematician Dénes K?nig. K?nig had announced in 1914 and published in 1916 the results that every regular bipartite graph has a perfect matching, and more generally that the chromatic index of any bipartite graph (that is, the minimum number of matchings into which it can be partitioned) equals its maximum degree. However, Bondy and Murty (1976) attribute König’s theorem itself to a later paper of K?nig (1931). According to Biggs et al., K?nig attributed the idea of studying matchings in bipartite graphs to his father, mathematician Gyula K?nig. Note that, although K?nig’s name is properly spelled with a double acute accent, the theorem named after him is customarily spelled with an umlaut.

Theorem’s statement

In any bipartite graph, the number of edges in a maximum matching equals the number of vertices in a minimum vertex cover.

Example

The bipartite graph shown in the above illustration has 14 vertices; a matching with six edges is shown in blue, and a vertex cover with six vertices is shown in red. There can be no smaller vertex cover, because any vertex cover has to include at least one endpoint of each matched edge, so this is a minimum vertex cover. Similarly, there can be no larger matching, because any matched edge has to include at least one endpoint in the vertex cover, so this is a maximum matching. König’s theorem states that the equality between the sizes of the matching and the cover (in this example, both numbers are six) applies more generally to any bipartite graph.

Algorithm

Consider a bipartite graph where the vertices are partitioned into left (L) and right (R) sets. Suppose there is a maximal matching which partitions the edges into those used in the matching (E_m) and those not (E₀). Let T consist of all unmatched vertices from L, as well as all vertices reachable from those by going left-to-right along edges from E₀ and right-to-left along edges from E_m. This essentially means that for each unmatched vertex in L, we add into T all vertices that occur in a path alternating between edges from E₀ and E_m.

Then is a minimal vertex cover.

Proof

Partition of the vertices of a matched bipartite graph into even and odd levels, for the proof of König’s theorem.

Suppose that G is a bipartite graph, with a given matching M. In order to prove König’s theorem, we must show that either M is non-maximal or there exists a vertex cover equal in size to M.

To do so, first check whether all vertices are already matched by M. In this case, one part of the bipartition forms a vertex cover of size |M| and we are done. Otherwise, partition the vertices of G into subsets S_i as follows. Let S₀ consist of all vertices that are left unmatched by M. Once S_2j is defined for some j, let S_2j+1 be the set of vertices that are adjacent to vertices in S_2j via edges not in M, and that are not part of any previously-defined set. Each vertex in S_2j+1 must be an endpoint of an edge in M (else it would have been placed in S₀); for each such edge, if the other endpoint is not part of this or any previously-defined set, place that other endpoint in S_2j+2. The illustration shows this partition for a graph and matching isomorphic to the one in the example. If, at any stage of this process, there are no vertices adjacent to S_2j, we may restart the process by placing a single vertex in S_2j+1 and then defining S_2j+2 as before.

For each vertex v in G, in a set S_i one can find a path from v to a vertex in S_i-1, and so on up one level at a time ending either at an unmatched vertex or at a level containing a single vertex; this is an alternating path meaning that the edges in the path are alternately in and out of the matching. If there exists any matched edge uv between two vertices u and v in the same odd-level subset S_2j+1, the two alternating paths for u and v can be connected via u and v to a single alternating path; this path cannot have any repeated vertices, by bipartiteness, so it must start and end at an unmatched vertex. Removing from M the matched edges in this path and replacing them by the unmatched path edges produces a larger matching, so in this case M cannot be maximal. Similarly, if there exists an unmatched edge uv between two vertices u and v in the same even-level subset S_2j, we can form an alternating path between two unmatched vertices and increase the size of the matching, proving that M is not maximal. There cannot be any matched edges between vertices in even level subset, for every matched vertex in an even level subset is connected by its single matched edge to a vertex in the previous level.

Thus, if M is maximum, each matched edge has a single endpoint in one of the odd-level subsets S_2j+1, and each unmatched edge has at least one of its endpoints in one of the odd-level subsets. Therefore, the union of the odd-level subsets forms a vertex cover, with size equal to the size of M. It must be a minimum vertex cover, for no smaller set of vertices could cover every edge in M. Therefore, the maximum matching and minimum vertex cover have the same size.

Connections with perfect graphs

A graph is said to be perfect if, in every induced subgraph, the chromatic number equals the size of the largest clique. Any bipartite graph is perfect, because each of its subgraphs is either bipartite or independent; in a bipartite graph that is not independent the chromatic number and the size of the largest clique are both two while in an independent set the chromatic number and clique number are both one.

A graph is perfect if and only if its complement is perfect (Lovász 1972), and König’s theorem can be seen as equivalent to the statement that the complement of a bipartite graph is perfect. For, each color class in a coloring of the complement of a bipartite graph is of size at most 2 and the classes of size 2 form a matching, a clique in the complement of a graph G is an independent set in G, and as we have already described an independent set in a bipartite graph G is a complement of a vertex cover in G. Thus, any matching M in a bipartite graph G with n vertices corresponds to a coloring of the complement of G with n-|M| colors, which by the perfection of complements of bipartite graphs corresponds to an independent set in G with n-|M| vertices, which corresponds to a vertex cover of G with M vertices. Conversely, König’s theorem proves the perfection of the complements of bipartite graphs, a result proven in a more explicit form by Gallai (1958).

One can also connect König’s theorem to a different class of perfect graphs, the line graphs of bipartite graphs. If G is a graph, the line graph L(G) has a vertex for each edge of G, and an edge for each pair of adjacent edges in G. Thus, the chromatic number of L(G) equals the chromatic index of G. If G is bipartite, the cliques in L(G) are exactly the sets of edges in G sharing a common endpoint. Therefore, the result of König (1916) that the chromatic index equals the degree in any bipartite graph can be interpreted as stating that any line graph of a bipartite graph is perfect.

Since line graphs of bipartite graphs are perfect, the complements of line graphs of bipartite graphs are also perfect. A clique in the complement of the line graph of G is just a matching in G. And a coloring in the complement of the line graph of G, when G is bipartite, is a partition of the edges of G into subsets of edges sharing a common endpoint; the endpoints shared by each of these subsets form a vertex cover for G. Therefore, König’s theorem itself can also be interpreted as stating that the complements of line graphs of bipartite graphs are perfect.

Notes

1. ^ In a poster displayed at the 1998 ICM in Berlin and again at the Bled’07 International Conference on Graph Theory, Harald Gropp has pointed out that the same result already appears in the language of configurations in the 1894 thesis of Ernst Steinitz.
2. ^ Biggs et al. (1976).

Personal Weight Loss

A gas-filled tube, also known as a discharge tube, is an arrangement of electrodes in a gas within an insulating, temperature-resistant envelope. Although the envelope was typically glass, power tubes often use ceramics, and military tubes often use glass-lined metal.

Gas-filled tubes operate by ionizing the gas with applied voltage to start electrical conduction. Both hot cathode and cold cathode type devices are encountered. Depending on application, either the glow from the gas or the arc discharge may be the desired function.

Switching gas-filled tubes

Some important examples include the thyratron, krytron, and ignitron tubes.

Lighting and display gas-filled tubes

Fluorescent lighting, CFL lamps, mercury and sodium discharge lamps and HID lamps are all gas-filled tubes used for lighting.

Neon lamps and neon signage (most of which is not neon based these days) are also low-pressure gas-filled tubes.

Specialized historic low-pressure gas-filled tube devices include the Nixie tube (used to display numerals) and the Decatron (used to count or divide pulses, with display as a secondary function).

Xenon flash lamps are gas-filled tubes used in cameras and strobe lights to produce bright flashes of light.

The recently developed sulfur lamps are also gas-filled tubes when hot.

Other types of gas-filled tubes

A type of gas-filled tube called the Geiger-Müller tube is used to detect and measure ionizing radiation.

One of the proposed designs for a fusion reactor is basically a gas-filled tube, the Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor.

A tube in which electrons move through a vacuum (or gaseous medium) within a gas-tight envelope is called an electron tube.

See also

• Vacuum tube
• Mercury-vapor rectifier
• Voltage regulator tube
• Electric glow discharge tube

Calculating Lbs

Power electronics is the applications of solid-state electronics for the control and conversion of electric power

Introductions

Power electronic converters can be found wherever there is a need to modify the electrical energy form (i.e modify its voltage, current or frequency). Therefore, their power range from some milliwatts (as in a mobile phone) to hundreds of megawatts (e.g in a HVDC transmission system). With “classical” electronics, electrical currents and voltage are used to carry information, whereas with power electronics, they carry power. Therefore the main metric of power electronics becomes the efficiency.

The first very high power electronic devices were mercury arc valves. In modern systems the conversion is performed with semiconductor switching devices such as diodes, thyristors and transistors. In contrast to electronic systems concerned with transmission and processing of signals and data, in power electronics substantial amounts of electrical energy are processed. An AC/DC converter (rectifier) is the most typical power electronics device found in many consumer electronic devices, e.g., television sets, personal computers, battery chargers, etc. The power range is typically from tens of watts to several hundred watts. In industry the most common application is the variable speed drive (VSD) that is used to control an induction motor. The power range of VSDs start from a few hundred watts and end at tens of megawatts.

The power conversion systems can be classified according to the type of the input and output power

• AC to DC (rectification)
• DC to AC (inversion)
• DC to DC (chopping)
• AC to AC (cycloconvertion)

Principle

As efficiency is at a premium in a power electronic converter, the losses that a power electronic device generates should be as low as possible. The instantaneous dissipated power of a device is equal to the product of the voltage across the device and the current through it (). From this, one can see that the losses of a power device are at a minimum when the voltage across it is zero (the device is in the On-State) or when no current flows through it (Off-State). Therefore, a power electronic converter is built around one (or more) device operating in switching mode (either On or Off). With such a structure, the energy is transferred from the input of the converter to its output by bursts.

Applications

Power electronic systems are virtually in every electronic device. For example, around us:

• DC/DC converters are used in most mobile devices (mobile phone, pda…) to maintain the voltage at a fixed value whatever the charge level of the battery is. These converters are also used for electronic isolation and power factor correction.

• AC/DC converters (rectifiers) are used every time an electronic device is connected to the mains (computer, television,…)

• AC/AC converters are used to change either the voltage level or the frequency (international power adapters, light dimmer). In power distribution networks AC/AC converters may be used to exchange power between utility frequency 50 Hz and 60 Hz power grids.

• DC/AC converters (inverters) are used primarily in UPS or emergency light. During normal electricity condition, the electricity will charge the DC battery. During blackout time, the DC battery will be used to produce AC electricity at its output to power up the appliances.

See also

• Power semiconductor device

boss nwt

It has been suggested that Crystal Tools be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

It has been suggested that Project GB be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
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Type	Public (TYO: 9684)
Founded	September 22, 1975 (as Enix) April 1, 2003 (merged with Square Co. to become Square Enix)
Headquarters	Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Yasuhiro Fukushima, Honorary Chairman Y?ichi Wada, President and CEO Keiji Honda, Executive Vice President
Industry	Software & Programming Books & Magazines (Japan only)
Products	Final Fantasy Dragon Quest Kingdom Hearts
Revenue	?¥174.516 billion (2006)
Net income	?¥9.196 billion (2006)
Employees	3,275 (as of September 30, 2007)
Subsidiaries	Taito Corporation
Website	www.square-enix.com

Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. (????????????????????, Sukuwea Enikkusu H?rudingusu^?) TYO: 9684 is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Dragon Quest series, the Final Fantasy series, and the Kingdom Hearts series. Square Enix was formed as the result of a merger between rivals Square Co. and the Enix Corporation. On April 1, 2003, Enix legally absorbed Square, with Square stockholders receiving 0.85 shares of stock in the new company compared to Enix stockholders receiving a one-to-one trade. Despite this, many top officials within Square assumed leadership roles in the new corporate hierarchy, including Square president Y?ichi Wada, who was appointed president of the new corporation.

Corporate developments

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Square Enix has regional operations, including Square Enix, Inc. (for all of North America) and Square Enix Ltd. (for Europe and other areas that use the PAL-television standard). In July 2003, Square Enix relocated its headquarters to Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo. In March 2004, Square Enix acquired UIEvolution, Inc. in order to strengthen its wireless market. On August 22, 2005, Square Enix announced its acquisition of the amusement gaming developer and publisher, Taito Corporation, renowned for their arcade hits, Space Invaders and the Bubble Bobble series. By September 28, 2005, Square Enix had wholly acquired Taito. In January 2005, the company expanded operations to Beijing, People’s Republic of China by establishing Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company also has a controlling interest in Community Network Software Engine of Beijing, China which focuses on network middle-ware for gaming. On August 29, 2008 Square Enix made plans for a friendly takeover of Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of 22.3 billion yen. By September 4, 2008 Square Enix had withdrew their offer after Tecmo rejected the proposed takeover.

As of 2008 Square Enix’s headquarters are in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its North American offices are on the third floor of 999 North Sepulveda Boulevard in El Segundo, California, United States. Its Europe offices are on the second floor of the Castle House in Borough of Islington in London, United Kingdom. Its China offices are in Room 610 of Golder Plaza, No. 10 in Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.

Before 2007, Square Enix’s titles were published by other companies in Europe as Square Enix Ltd. did not have their own distribution network in place. Their titles were published by Nintendo of Europe (Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Children of Mana), Ubisoft (Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Drakengard 2), Electronic Arts (Final Fantasy X-2), Take 2 Interactive (Drakengard) or Infogrames (Unlimited Saga, Musashi: Samurai Legend). Their first self-published titles in Europe were Kingdom Hearts II for PlayStation 2 and Final Fantasy III for Nintendo DS.

Production teams

As of September 2003, Square Enix’s production staff was divided in eight different Square teams and two Enix teams:

As of May 2005, Production Team 10 was headed by Yoshinori Yamagishi. Yusuke Hirata left Square Enix in June 2005 to join Aquaplus, Yasumi Matsuno left in August 2005 for speculated reasons, and Koichi Ishii left in April 2007 to start his company Grezzo.

Business model

The business model of Square Enix is centered on the idea of “polymorphic content”, which consists in developing franchises on all potential hardware or media rather than being restricted by a single gaming platform. An early example of this strategy is Enix’s Full Metal Alchemist manga series, which has been adapted into an anime TV series, a movie and several novels and video games. Other polymorphic projects include Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Code Age, World of Mana, Ivalice Alliance and Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII. According to Yoichi Wada, “it’s very difficult to hit the jackpot, as it were. Once we’ve hit it, we have to get all the juice possible out of it”.

The standard game design model of Square Enix is to establish the plot, characters and art of the game first. Battle systems, field maps and cutscenes are created next. A typical game of the company involves a team of at most 200 people. Square Enix doesn’t usually use other companies’ engines, preferring to code from scratch. According to Taku Murata, Square Enix has settled into this game making model since Square’s Final Fantasy VII in 1997 and did not try other approaches since, as Enix did not have any internal development studio. Similar to Sony’s Greatest Hits program, Square Enix sometimes re-releases games under the Ultimate Hits label, a designation given to games that have achieved a certain level of sales, at a reduced retail price.

In 2004, Square Enix began to work on a “common 3D format” which would allow the entire company to develop titles without being restricted to a specific platform: this led to the creation of a game engine, named Crystal Tools, which is compatible with the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, Windows-based PCs and to some extent the Wii. Nevertheless, Square Enix has also begun considering other companies’ engines and programming languages, licencing Epic Games’ Unreal engine in 2007 for use in The Last Remnant, and using the Squirrel language for the WiiWare title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King.

Properties

Video games

Cover of Dragon Quest VIII. The Dragon Quest series is one of Square Enix’s most valuable assets.

Main articles: List of Square Enix games and List of Taito games

Square Enix’s main concentration is on video gaming. Of its properties, the Final Fantasy franchise is the best-selling of Square-Enix’s properties, with total worldwide sales of over 80 million units as of 2007. Square Enix’s Dragon Quest franchise is considered the second most popular game series in Japan after Pokémon, and new installments regularly outsell other games at the times of their release. Of the 43 million units of games in the series sold so far, about 39 million have been from Japan. More recently, Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts series (developed in collaboration with Disney’s Buena Vista Games) has become popular.

In early 2003, Square Enix’s U.S. subsidiary registered the Dragon Quest trademark, retiring the Dragon Warrior moniker, which was necessitated in 1989 due a trademark conflict with the now defunct TSR, Inc. In May 2004 Square Enix announced an agreement with Sony Online Entertainment for the Japanese publishing rights to EverQuest II. Square Enix has produced or is producing titles for most major consoles beginning with the Nintendo Entertainment System, though never on a Sega platform. Square Enix has historically developed exclusively for certain consoles. The company developed its flagship games almost exclusively for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 in their respective eras. However, Square Enix is not developing its major titles exclusively for any console in the seventh generation, but will instead release the next major installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XIII on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America and Europe. Square Enix has developed titles for handheld game consoles, including the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. In addition, they have published games for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers, and for various models of mobile phones. Square Enix mobile phone games are available on the Vodafone network in some European countries, including Ireland, Great Britain, Spain, and France. Twenty five of Square Enix’s video games were included in Famitsu magazine’s top 100 games, seven being in the top ten list, with Final Fantasy X claiming the number one position.

Before its launch, Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix, spoke about the PlayStation 3, saying “We don’t want the PlayStation 3 to be the overwhelming loser, so we want to support them, but we don’t want them to be the overwhelming winner either, so we can’t support them too much.” Square Enix continued to reiterate their devotion to multi-platform publishing in 2007, promising more support for the North American and European gaming markets where console pluralism is generally more prevalent than in Japan. Their interest in multi-platform development was made clear in 2008 when the previously PlayStation 3-exclusive game Final Fantasy XIII was announced for release on the Xbox 360.

On July 8, 2008, Square Enix released their first game for the iPod, Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes.

Online gaming

In 2001, Enix published its first online game Cross Gate in Japan, mainland China, and Taiwan.

Final Fantasy XI was first released before the merger by Square in Japan on May 16, 2002, for the PlayStation 2. In March 2004, Square Enix released the game worldwide. With the huge success from Final Fantasy XI, Microsoft had the game ported into the Xbox 360 in April 2006, making it the first Final Fantasy game ever to be on the Xbox console. Due to the success of their MMORPG, Square Enix began a new project called Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion. GamePot, a Japanese game portal, got the license to publish Fantasy Earth in Japan and it was released in Japan as “Fantasy Earth ZERO.” In November 2006, however, Square Enix dropped the Fantasy Earth Zero project, giving acquisition to GamePot.

A next-gen MMORPG code named Rapture is currently in development by the Final Fantasy XI team using the company’s Crystal Tools engine.

Other media

The company has made two forays into the film industry. The first, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), was produced by Square subsidiary Square Pictures prior to the merger (Square Pictures is now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix). Its box-office failure caused Enix to delay the merger, which was already considered before the creation of the film, for fear of associating with a company that loses money. In 2005, Square Enix released Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, a CGI-animation movie based on the PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII, set two years after the events of the game.

The company also has a manga publishing division in Japan (from Enix) called Gangan Comics. It publishes manga for the Japanese market only. Titles published by Gangan Comics include Black God, Papuwa, Pani Poni, Spiral, He is My Master, Sekirei, Bamboo Blade, Soul Eater, Zombie Loan, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Other titles include manga adaptations of diverse Square Enix games, like Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts and Star Ocean. Some of these titles have also been adapted into anime series.

Fullmetal Alchemist so far is the most successful offspring of Square Enix’s manga branch, with more than 30 million volumes sold in Japan alone. The anime series obtained great popularity and even spawned a movie sequel. Both series and movie are licensed to many locations worldwide (in North America by FUNimation Entertainment). The same occurs with its manga series, licensed in North America by Viz Media. Kingdom Hearts and Spiral were licensed in North America by Tokyopop; Tokyopop dropped Spiral, and the title is now pending release by Hachette’s Yen Press, which licensed other Square Enix titles including Soul Eater, Bamboo Blade and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

Public opinion

• The company won IGN’s award for Best Developer of 2006 for the PlayStation 2.
• Square Enix’s North American subsidiary, Square Enix, Inc., joined The Better Business Bureau in July of 2007, and has since been assigned a rating of “B”.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} “Corporate Profile”. Square Enix. Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
2. ^ “Financial Results for Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2008″.
3. ^ “Interview: Square Enix’s National Manager of Merchandise, Kanji Tashiro”. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-08-04.
4. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2008-08-29). “Report: Square Enix makes $200M Tecmo bid”. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
5. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2008-09-04). “Report: Square Enix Takes “No” For An Answer, Withdraws Takeover Offer”. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
6. ^ “Corporate Locations.” Square Enix Japan. Accessed September 20, 2008.
7. ^ Winkler, Chris (2003). “Square Enix Talks Current Status”. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
8. ^ Nutt, Christian (2005). “Yoshinori Yamagishi Interview (PS2)”. GameSpy.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
9. ^ Winklet, Chris (2005). “Square Enix Producer Joins Aquaplus”. RPGFan.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
10. ^ Parish, Jeremy (2006). “Retronauts: Volume 4 – Yasumi Matsuno”. GameSetWatch.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
11. ^ “????????”. Retrieved on 2008-10-23.
12. ^ Square Peg, European Hole Interview // None /// Eurogamer
13. ^ Square Dance // GamesIndustry.biz
14. ^ ^{a b} Gamasutra - GDC 2008 Event Coverage
15. ^ How WiiWare Changed Square Enix | Game | Life from Wired.com
16. ^ GDC08: Square Enix unveils Crystal Tools engine - Joystiq
17. ^ Tomer (2007). “Square Enix Acquires Unreal Engine 3 License”. Forever Fantasy. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
18. ^ “Square Enix Company Information”. (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
19. ^ Wollenschlaeger, Alex. “Japan Picks the Best Games Ever”. Kikizo.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
20. ^ Sinclair, Brian (2006). “Square Enix wants a three-way race”. GameSpot.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
21. ^ Berti, Matt (2007). “Square Enix to devote more attention to U.S., European markets”. SquareHaven.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
22. ^ p. 31 and 55
23. ^ RPGamer > Square-Enix Gives Chrono Break Trademark Some Playmates
24. ^ “IGN presents Best of 2006″. IGN.com (2006). Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
25. ^ “Company Report – Square Enix, Inc.”. The Better Business Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.

• Yahoo! Finance company profile
• TGS 2005: Square Enix Video Wall Presentation
• Japan Game Software Firms Square, Enix to Merge
• The Bell Tree
• Top 10 Wildest Statements by Industry Veterans

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Events

• none listed

Publications

• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Il desiderio secondo libro

Classical music

Births

• probable - Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, madrigalist, composer of church music (d. 1613)

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