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Bandai's Plex Subsidiary to Absorb Tamagotchi Developer Wiz
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Bandai Namco Holdings announced on Wednesday that it is merging its subsidiary toy company and Tamagotchi maker Wiz with the Plex toy company of its Bandai subsidiary, dissolving Wiz as a company effective April 1.
Akihiro Yokoi, previously employed at Bandai, founded Wiz in 1986. The company was best known for developing the Tamagotchi and Digimon toy lines and franchises. Wiz acquired the Production Reed anime studio in 2006 (itself a previous subsidiary of the Bandai Group), but sold the studio in 2009. The company's profits began to dip in 2010, and Bandai Namco Holdings acquired Wiz in 2016, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary.
Popy founded Plex in 1981 under the name Popy Planning Studio. Popy changed the company's name to Studio Plex in 1985 when Bandai Namco Group acquired Popy. Studio Plex then changed its name to just Plex in 1990, and in 2007 Bandai Namco Group merged Popy and Plex together.
Sources: Bandai Namco Holdings, Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)
Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.
