Reports That Square Enix Employees Have Above Average Salaries Are Incorrect [Almost!]

Whoah! Square Enix employees are the highest paid in the industry? Really? According to site Nensyu Labo, here are the top 10 video game companies that have the highest average salaries for their employees:

Square Enix Holdings: ¥21,680,000 (US$272,988)
Sony: ¥9,230,000 ($116,189)
Nintendo: ¥9,140,000 ($115,032)
Sega Sammy: ¥8,220,000 ($103,486)
Konami: ¥6,780,000 ($85,371)
Namco Bandai: ¥6,400,000 ($80,577)
Tecmo Koei: ¥6,150,000 ($77,418)
Capcom: ¥5,710,000 ($71,891)

The numbers are overwhelming. But wait! They are also deceptive! According to Brian Ashcraft at Kotaku, here's why:

The strong yen makes the salaries appear much larger in US dollars. Also, this doesn't necessarily mean your typical Square Enix employee is earning $200k. Rather, it probably means there is a layer of upper and mid-management with very high salaries.

He further suggested the other reason: Square Enix Holdings is not the Square Enix we know that publishes and develops games. What is a holding company?

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. The term usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. - Wikipedia 

Square Enix Holdings only has 18 employees. And perhaps these are the people who does, well, the upper management decisions such as acquiring other companies etc. As a reader at Kotaku pointed out, the word Holdings should have been a giveaway. :) That means it should not be on the list because the others are really developers!

So assuming we remove SEH on that list, then the top will belong to Sony. What can we expect? video games is not even the bread and butter of their business. But still, keep in mind that we have a stronger yen now, so the figures looks really high. Another is the cost of living in Tokyo. Yes. The standards of living. If you are not from there, like me, that figure looks really high. But if I am in Tokyo and living there, perhaps the numbers are just enough. If there is a reader who can gladly add to this issue, please don't be afraid to leave a comment at the section below.

Do you want to work for Square Enix? :)

Source:
Brian Ashcraft at Kotaku