The Wall Street Journal Japan has reported that Sony has sold off its stake in video game publisher, Square-Enix for a selling price of 16 million yen, or $156 million USD.
Sony owned 8.25% of the publisher, best known as the creator of Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior franchises, and was the third largest shareholder. Sony originally purchased 19% of the company as stock in 2001 to counter the upstart game system from Microsoft called “Xbox,” a new rival trying to ink exclusivity deals with the Japanese RPG powerhouse, then known as two separate companies, SquareSoft and Enix, which merged in 2003.
The stock sell off comes as Sony has been liquidating assets to remain relevant in the technology world. Even with the astounding success of the PlayStation 4, which has moved over 7.0 million units worldwide since November, the electronics giant has struggled in other areas and recently sold off its VAIO brand of PCs.
