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NEWS: Bandai Merges with Namco


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Glory Questor



Joined: 28 Sep 2004
Posts: 456
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 4:44 pm Reply with quote
Actually, this is pretty good news for both companies.

For subsidiary BANDAI Games, which has always been behind the times (i.e. InuYasha: Secret of the Cursed Mask), this infusion of Namco's talent will probably bring their mission statement closer to reality.

For Namco properties, as people mentioned, animation based on them. (How about a Ridge Racer anime to go head-to-head with the popular Initial D?)
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T0FFe3m@n



Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 114
Location: Liverpool, England, UK
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 5:02 pm Reply with quote
I must admit, a Soul Calibur anime would be one for the future..
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TiredGamer



Joined: 11 Mar 2004
Posts: 246
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 5:46 pm Reply with quote
dmanjdb wrote:
Just 3 words:
Katamari Damacy Anime

It'd make FLCL look sane, that's for sure...
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msi435



Joined: 29 Nov 2004
Posts: 465
Location: Behind you!
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 6:00 pm Reply with quote
dmanjdb wrote:
Just 3 words:
Katamari Damacy Anime


mmm that makes me feel wram and fuzzy inside...... *goes in to a fantasy land filled with katamri's*

The merger could be either a really bad thing or a really good thing; time will give us the truth, eventually. I hope bandai doesn’t control namco because they were the dominate half in the merge.
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Godaistudios



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2075
Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment)
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 6:11 pm Reply with quote
Necros Antiquor wrote:
Godaistudios wrote:
Necros Antiquor wrote:
No, Pac-Man! Run away from the Bandai ghost!

Seriously, what is Bandai going to do, just let Namco have some of its licenses so they can make good games that Bandai claims ownership of?

Quote:
Bandai is has a strong stable of character rights, but is weak in technology, while Namco is a video game technology leader but has few stong character brands.

Few strong character brands? Try Soul Calibur, Tekken, Xenosaga, the Tales of... series, and one of the most popular characters ever, Pac-Man! They don't need anything more!

(Hopefully this doesn't interfere with the Donkey Konga series on Gamecube, since Bandai seems to be avoiding Nintendo's console.)


And that's considerably fewer character brands than Bandai, Geneon and the like carry - they really only have a handful of titles to rely on.

But I'm not saying that Bandai doesn't have more brands, especially in terms of anime. What I'm saying is that Namco doesn't need more brands, it's current brands are so strong.


In terms of market share, it'd be like comparing Animeigo to Geneon - All that Namco does right now is keep buidling off of the titles they've had for a long time - much like Animeigo has had to do to (barely) stay in the game. A company that doesn't grow, that doesn't innovate - can't last long. The article even concedes that the current brands that are strong for Namco are far and few between. Namco clearly sees that the merger is in their best interests.
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2992
Location: Los Angelas
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 6:20 pm Reply with quote
If you know Namco, they've done some really awesome CG work on Tekken, Soul Calibur, Ridge Racer and Xenosaga. What i see from this merger is better Bandai cg animation for bandai titles.
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Necros Antiquor



Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 571
Location: Funny in a car crash sort of way
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 8:30 pm Reply with quote
Godaistudios wrote:
Necros Antiquor wrote:
Godaistudios wrote:
Necros Antiquor wrote:
No, Pac-Man! Run away from the Bandai ghost!

Seriously, what is Bandai going to do, just let Namco have some of its licenses so they can make good games that Bandai claims ownership of?

Quote:
Bandai is has a strong stable of character rights, but is weak in technology, while Namco is a video game technology leader but has few stong character brands.

Few strong character brands? Try Soul Calibur, Tekken, Xenosaga, the Tales of... series, and one of the most popular characters ever, Pac-Man! They don't need anything more!

(Hopefully this doesn't interfere with the Donkey Konga series on Gamecube, since Bandai seems to be avoiding Nintendo's console.)


And that's considerably fewer character brands than Bandai, Geneon and the like carry - they really only have a handful of titles to rely on.

But I'm not saying that Bandai doesn't have more brands, especially in terms of anime. What I'm saying is that Namco doesn't need more brands, it's current brands are so strong.


In terms of market share, it'd be like comparing Animeigo to Geneon - All that Namco does right now is keep buidling off of the titles they've had for a long time - much like Animeigo has had to do to (barely) stay in the game. A company that doesn't grow, that doesn't innovate - can't last long. The article even concedes that the current brands that are strong for Namco are far and few between. Namco clearly sees that the merger is in their best interests.

Well, as long as Bandai doesn't start messing with Namco's brands or start taking undue credit, I'm fine with it. If it's what needs to happen to keep Namco afloat, so be it. I'm just irritated by this move in games towards massive publishers and companies with no little man. EA is trying to consume Ubisoft (after taking the NFL and ESPN licenses exclusively), I believe Sega absorbed Sammy, Gamespot bought out Electronics Boutique, and now this. If this gets at all extreme, we could end up with one console, one publisher, and no competition to spur creativity and innovation.
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.Sy



Joined: 11 Mar 2005
Posts: 1266
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 8:49 pm Reply with quote
I can't even keep track of the companies anymore with mergings every other month.
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2262
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2005 10:57 pm Reply with quote
.Sy wrote:
I can't even keep track of the companies anymore with mergings every other month.


I know, everybody's doing it. it's a miracle that David Lucas hasn't merged with Steven Jay Blum yet. Wink

"Seriously", though, Kaiba was right. Business is all about who has the most cards at the end. Instead of hostile takeovers, it's mergers.
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Killer 7



Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Posts: 68
Location: "America,F&&k Yeah"!
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2005 4:14 am Reply with quote
Oh good, now i can play a decent Gundam game for once. Rolling Eyes
And while they're at it, how about scrapping the aforementioned Cowboy Bebop game only to start from scratch.
Outside of the Tekken characters, i don't really care for any other Namco related Anime.Namco got successful buy ripping off
SEGA. Virtual Fighter=Tekken Virtual Cop=Time Crisis etc.

IMO Namco owes Yu Susuki a royalty check.
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Haiseikoh 1973



Joined: 24 Apr 2004
Posts: 1590
Location: Waiting for the Japanese 1000 Gunieas.
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2005 5:05 am Reply with quote
I want Ridge Racer Anime. Initial D and Wagan Midnight are coool, but RR did give Drifting it's home in Racing Games.
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Shirasagi



Joined: 02 Mar 2005
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2005 4:12 pm Reply with quote
Hmm... I wonder if Bandai Entertainment will put Xenosaga: The Animation onto R1 DVD? I'd like to see it. A Soul Calibur anime might be good, too.
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ferrarimanf355



Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 159
Location: Seacrest County
PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2005 8:10 pm Reply with quote
A Soul Calibur anime will probably happen; hell, look at any game in the series and you'll see a heavy anime influence. Once it happens, as long as it stays away from Ivy-related fanservice, I'll probably watch it.
How about an anime based on Wonder Momo?
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=W&game_id=10467
Wink
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TMBounty_Hunter



Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 235
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2005 11:01 am Reply with quote
Quote:
hey, maybe there'll be better gundam games now!!

um, ever heard of the One Year War game by Namco that came out like a month ago?
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JinchuuGundam85



Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 149
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2005 7:50 pm Reply with quote
It would be cool if an Ace Combat anime came out of this.
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