Square Enix

English

Challenges

Transfers of large volumes of game ROM data between locations in Japan and overseas required an extremely large amount of time
Due to the necessity for multiple users at Japanese locations to download the same large game
ROM data, stress was created on the connection, which risked interfering with operations

Benefits

Data transfers between international locations, which used to require half a day, were sped up and now take one-tenth of the time
Data time lag was eliminated, and development was streamlined
Efficient utilization of the WAN connection was implemented while also ensuring reliability

Overview

Square Enix Co., Ltd. is a globally renowned content creator that has produced internationally renowned games including the DRAGON QUEST and FINAL FANTASY series. The company releases video games, online games, mobile content, published material, and other excellent entertainment content on a variety of devices and through a variety media.

The Square Enix Group, which includes the internationally renowned content creator Square Enix Co., Ltd., has constructed an international business promotion structure with major development locations established in Japan, North America, and Europe. Since these three locations perform localization to meet the needs of each market, development data (ROM) is transferred on a daily basis.

Solution

The SH5050 was implemented overseas where lag was severe and connection bandwidth was 100Mbps, and data transfer times were shortened through large-volume caches and technology that increased TCP speed
For transfers of large amounts of media data at Japanese locations, where lag was close to zero and connection bandwidth was 1Gbps, SH7050s that used only SSDs were adopted, circumventing stress on the connection

For data used in development the differences alone would not be enough, so we have to constantly send all of the data back and forth. At the time, we were predicting that the volume of data would be hundreds of gigabytes once Blu-rays became mainstream, so we began seriously considering our options from around 2008

Keisuke Takahashi

Square Enix