Square Co., Ltd. (株式会社スクウェア, Kabushiki-gaisha Sukuwea) was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masashi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became Square Enix. The company also used SquareSoft as a brand name to refer to their games, and the term is occasionally used to refer to the company itself. In addition, "Squaresoft, Inc" was the name of the company's American arm before the merger, after which it was renamed to "Square Enix, Inc".
History
Square was founded in Yokohama in September 1983 by Masashi Miyamoto after he graduated from Waseda, one of Japan's top universities. Back then, Square was a computer game software division of Den-Yu-Sha, a power line construction company owned by Miyamoto's father. While at the time game development was usually conducted by only one programmer, Miyamoto believed that it would be more efficient to have graphic designers, programmers and professional story writers working together on common projects. Square's first two titles were The Death Trap and its sequel Will: The Death Trap II, both designed by part-time employee Hironobu Sakaguchi and released on the NEC PC-8801.
A yūgen gaisha or yūgen kaisha (Jp. 有限会社, lit. "limited company," abbreviated in English as Y.K. or as wasei-eigo Co., Ltd.) is a form of business organization in Japan.
Yūgen gaisha are based on the German GmbH and were implemented in Japan in the Limited Company Act (有限会社法) of 1940. Companies Act, implemented on May 1, 2006, replaced the yūgen gaisha with a new form of company called gōdō gaisha, based upon the American limited liability company. Following the implementation, no new YKs were allowed in Japan, but pre-existing YKs were allowed to continue their operations as kabushiki gaisha under special rules.
Whether the term is pronounced as yūgen gaisha or yūgen kaisha is up to the local dialect or the company's preference when it is part of the company's name. While it is pronounced yūgen gaisha in standard Japanese, the alphabetic abbreviation is always Y.K. by standard.
Structure
As of 2005, a Y.K. can have up to 50 investors, called members (社員, shain). The members were required to provide at least ¥3 million in capital contributions, with each investment unit (持分, mochibun) valued at no less than ¥50,000. The minimum capital amount was much more permissive than the ¥10 million minimum for a kabushiki gaisha. A Y.K. was also not required to issue certificates for investment units, whereas stock certificates were required for a K.K.
A private company limited by shares, usually called a private limited company (Ltd.) (though this can theoretically also refer to a private company limited by guarantee), is the private limited type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareholders with limited liability and its shares may not be offered to the general public, unlike those of a public limited company (plc).
"Limited by shares" means that the company has shareholders, and that the liability of the shareholders to creditors of the company is limited to the capital originally invested, i.e. the nominal value of the shares and any premium paid in return for the issue of the shares by the company. A shareholder's personal assets are thereby protected in the event of the company's insolvency, but money invested in the company will be lost.
A limited company may be "private" or "public". A private limited company's disclosure requirements are lighter, but for this reason its shares may not be offered to the general public (and therefore cannot be traded on a public stock exchange). This is the major distinguishing feature between a private limited company and a public limited company. Most companies, particularly small companies, are private.
LTD, Ltd, or Ltd. may refer to:
Business and finance
Music
Science and technology
Transportation
Other uses
Leukotriene D4 (LTD4) is one of the leukotrienes. Its function main in the body is to induce the contraction of smooth muscle, resulting in bronchoconstriction and vasoconstriction. It also increases vascular permeability. LTD-4 is released by basophils. Other leukotrienes that function in a similar manner are leukotrienes C4 and E4. Pharmacological agents that inhibit the function of these leukotrienes are leukotriene receptor antagonists (e.g. Zafirlukast, montelukast) and are useful for asthmatic individuals.