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Square Enix Lays Off Sound Team
Square Enix has long been known for having some of the best musical scores in the industry, so its disappointing to hear that the Japanese developer is shaking up its development teams and laying off a large portion of its audio team.
According to Square Enix Music the list of lay-offs includes:
Masashi Hamauzu (Final Fantasy XIII, Dirge of Cerberus, SaGa Frontier II)
Junya Nakano (Final Fantasy X, Threads of Fate, Musashi: Samurai Legend)
Tsuyoshi Sekito (The Last Remnant, Dawn Of Mana)
Naoshi Mizuta (Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Gaiden)
Kumi Tanioka (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Chocobo series, Code Age Commanders)
Takeharu Ishimoto (The World Ends With You, Dissidia, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII)
Square has cited budget concerns as the major reason behind the lay-offs, and will reportedly start hiring independent composers on a contractual basis for all future games (this will presumably include series veteran Nobuo Uematsu). Incidentally, this model is how most western developers handle game scores. All the same, it’s sad to hear that people have lost their jobs, and we wish the affected artists all the best in their future endeavors.
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