Atlus Faces Potential Trouble After Parent Company Declares Bankruptcy - Blistered Thumbs
I really hope things work out here. :(
Printable View
Atlus Faces Potential Trouble After Parent Company Declares Bankruptcy - Blistered Thumbs
I really hope things work out here. :(
Atlus' Parent Company Files For Bankruptcy | Siliconera
So, what does this mean? I just now heard about this, so I thought I fill in the forums here about it.
Does nobody read my smurfing threads?
Oh, I'm sorry. I just looked at the thread titles and didn't see that your last thread was about this. :P
When have I ever made a thread title that you could gleam the topic out of it?
It's only after the realization of my topic does the title make sense. You should know this by now!
Square Enix acquires them, you heard it here first
So long as they stand back and leave the designers the smurf alone to do their thing, which seemed to be the case with titles like Arkham (I could be wrong there), then I don't imagine it would turn out badly. :p
Square only published the first one through Eidos, but it was really kind of co-published with Warner Bros. who handled publishing the sequels themselves. A better example would probably be games like Deus Ex and Tomb Raider which were developed by Square owned companies, but they didn't seem to meddle too much with them and let them do their own thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
It seems that Square is generally smart enough to realize that when they're buying a company it's for a reason and all they do is support them in doing their thing.
Personally, I thought 'The greatest games - A Personal list of Neocracker~' was a pretty easy to understand thread title.. And 'Remember Me'.. And 'Jackie Chan Adventures'.. And 'E3 live reactions thread'...Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Well yeah, if you go digging for examples you are bound to find them.
This is very, very unsettling news. Atlus is one of the best current RPG makers, in my opinion. I do hope they can either strike out on their own, or get picked up by someone who will let them continue their work, at the quality they are known for.
Someone should make a "Save Atlus" kickstarter or something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
...You know, as much as this sucks, I don't think there should be a Kickstarter to save a company from the state it's in when they are there partially due to a couple years of tax fraud. :p
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
...You know, as much as this sucks, I don't think there should be a Kickstarter to save a company from the state it's in when they are there partially due to a couple years of tax fraud. :p
Edit: Well, the US branch yeah, but regardless I doubt a kickstarted would help at all.
Wait, was that on the part of Atlus, or it's parent company?Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCrackerQuote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
...You know, as much as this sucks, I don't think there should be a Kickstarter to save a company from the state it's in when they are there partially due to a couple years of tax fraud. :p
Edit: Well, the US branch yeah, but regardless I doubt a kickstarted would help at all.
It was on the part of the Parent company. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by SkybladeWait, was that on the part of Atlus, or it's parent company?Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCrackerQuote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
...You know, as much as this sucks, I don't think there should be a Kickstarter to save a company from the state it's in when they are there partially due to a couple years of tax fraud. :p
Edit: Well, the US branch yeah, but regardless I doubt a kickstarted would help at all.
Mind you, even if something happened to the Parent company, saving Atlus USA wouldn't really matter in terms of games, as Atlus USA just publishes, and all the Shin MEgami Titles are made in house over at Atlus Japan. :p
Jesus smurfing Christ Atlus better not die.
And I'm not trusting Square to handle this.
*Squall and Rinoa, inside the moon complex
Somebody mentioned in the comments in that link that Valve should be the ones to buy Atlus.
I don't even wanna live on this planet anymore. Somebody shoot me.
After declining to outbid Square Enix, Valve will instead acquire Nihon Falcom, since so much of the Ys series is already on Steam. The next one will be a Steam exclusive, launching day and date with the Steambox.
You heard it here first.
NoooooooooOOOooOOoooOOOoooooooooooo!!!!! :(
^- This.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
What could this mean for the release of Dragon's Crown?
Iiiiiiii HATE you, Bolivar. HATE. :hot:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bolivar
Don't mind me, I can't stand Valve.
Absolutely nothing, pulishing is already happening, and it wasn't developed by Atlus in Japan, Atlus USA publish's quite a few Non-Atlus Titles stateside. Even if the company itself just folded, Dragon's Crown is to close for it to affect anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by Depression Moon
Even if it would affect it, you'd probably just see another company get the publishing rights on the cheap and kick it out the door to make an easy few bucks.
I'm more worried about their in-development projects.
Persona 5
Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem
Persona x Final Fantasy
What is going to happen to those?
No more worries guys, things look like they will be okay. :love:
It?s Happening: Index Registers Persona 5 Domain
Yay!Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Now I just hope they don't rush out the game to offset the earlier bad news. I want P5, but I want it at Atlus quality!
Oh god damn it.
UPDATE: Atlus May be Sold as Early as Next Week
Gosh darn it. Just two days ago I had read an article essentially saying that, as far as Atlus was concerned, everything was back to "business as usual".Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Please, please, please, let them be picked up quickly by a company that will not drive them into the ground.
Yeah I thought Atlus was going to be ok, but the situation seems really ambiguous, at least with the way the US gaming press is presenting it.
Well, to be fair, until Atlus is sold it really is business as usual for them. There's not much they can do but keep chugging along. Honestly, as strange as it may sound, I wouldn't mind a company like Square buying them. So long as they do what they've done with their western developers and stay out of their way.
I'm resting my hopes on Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem. Nintendo is already aware of the niche, the market, and the profitability of ATLUS's properties, and they already have an investment in them due to the joint project.
And Nintendo or Namco/Bandai are the only groups I can think of who would purchase ATLUS and not destroy it.
I'd much rather only get ATLUS games on Nintendo systems than see what would happen to ATLUS under the aegis of EA.
And Atlus Sold for 30% more then it's estimated Value. Winner of the bid not yet announced.
Atlus Fetches $200 Million at Auction, Index to Announce New Owner
Gosh dang it, if I'd won that Powerball, I could have bought ATLUS.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Sorry for the sequential post, but I figured I'd bring this up again for a little bit more in-depth discussion.
First, the bidding is apparently not over. Since Index is not yet in bankruptcy and being forced to auction its properties, this isn't a straight auction, but rather a presentation by various companies who are interested in taking over the subsidiaries. This means that Index does still have some control/veto power over who actually gets control (though, due to their financial troubles and fraud investigations, money is likely to be pretty much all that matters). There is some back-and-forth, similar to an auction, but it stretches the process and introduces other factors. So the money could climb higher, or ATLUS could actually go for a lesser amount if Index really liked another offer. Either way, don't expect it to drag out too long, as Index does really want to sell. I figure around two weeks minimum before we get any news.
Second, the suspects. Well, there are probably several Japanese companies we've never heard of who are in the bidding for acquisition here (and would probably be fairly safe bets). But, as for the rest, let's list off companies who we know might have an interest in this acquisition.
Well, there's SEGA. SEGA-Sammy holdings is the only confirmed bidder I know of. In my mind, they're also a fairly poor choice for final control. ATLUS's position as a smaller company likely means that both ATLUS and ATLUS USA would be folded into SEGA's respective companies. While this might mean that ATLUS gets to continue making quality games, it also likely means that they would never ben ported over here, as SEGA of America has been pretty much gutted and refuses to port any of the Japanese niche titles the company has been making (like Yakuza or Valkyria Chronicles).
Then there's Nintendo. Personally, I believe they might have a lot of interest in ATLUS. ATLUS has actually been a decent supplier of games for the DS and 3DS. Further, Nintendo has recently shown far more than the usual interest in ATLUS games. Shin Megami Tensei IV has been being pushed very heavily by Nintendo, and is doing very well for the 3DS. What's more, Nintendo has started and shown interest in crossover products and promotions with Fire Emblem, with both Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem and the Nintendo e-shop promotion for registering the two. I think Nintendo is a good bet for someone who's seeing the potential for ATLUS, knows its market, and would not utterly destroy them. It would also mean that you'd need a Wii U to play Persona 5, but nothing's perfect.
Of course, if we're counting the console moguls, we can't really discount Sony. Sony's consoles have been the home to most of the biggest name ATLUS games. Persona 4 The Golden is STILL considered the best game on the Vita. Further, since ATLUS does produce a lot of high quality handheld games, Sony might see them as a way to help secure and promote the Vita (which, despite being a great system, has no one really developing for it), in addition to being able to produce more games like Persona, or developing an actual sequel to Demon's Souls.
Another name that has been coming up in the discussion is Gung-Ho Online Entertainment. Not exactly the big name that the others are, most of us will recognize it as being responsible for titles like Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Oddesey, or its tie to ATLUS, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine. Gung-Ho does have a few interesting points, however. First, it recently acquired Grasshopper Manufacture, Suda 51's company. This gives it control of another company known for producing, translating, and promoting Japanese niche games. The other point is that Gung-Ho does seem to have the money to support another such purchase, as they have been making money hand over fist through their creation of the most profitable app on the iOS and Android markets, Puzzle and Dragons (seriously, check the numbers, this thing is insane). Gung-Ho is an ambitious little company that does seem to be moving to be a bigger producer, and would be a fairly interesting choice. Picking up ATLUS would give them access to more IPs, and access to ATLUS USA's distribution/localization system.
Those are all I've seen being discussed as likely candidates, short of the praying that the Evil Ones (EA, Activision, and their ilk) don't catch wind of this potential to drive another company into the dust. But if any of you have any more thoughts or ideas you'd like to bring up, I'd be happy to hear it. I know we could just wait and find out in a few weeks, but I do find the analysis and discussion interesting.
Yeah I've seen a lot of talk of Sega possibly coming out on top, and I don't think it would be such a bad thing if not for the point you made in that very recently, they haven't done a good job of bringing some of their most-beloved games over here. That's a big problem, and even if they don't acquire Atlus, they need to find a way to give their western fans what they want, in a way that makes sense for them.
I don't think Sony's going to do it, just because they're in very tight times right now where they're trying to cut down as many costs as possible and get their company back on track. I think this is the first time ever that they haven't sold their new console at loss, hoping to make it back on games.
I guess Nintendo makes sense but I dislike how they've been hogging all my favorite companies/brands to themselves. After seeing what Level-5 did for Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2, it was really disappointing for IX and X to be DS and Wii games, respectively. Now they're doing this with Sega, and while I'm not the biggest fan of Atlus, I'd be sorry to see it happen with them as well.
Not going to lie, if Nintendo were to buy Atlus I would break down and cry because it would mean I won't be playing their games for the next 5 years minimum.
Sega Buys Atlus Parent Company Index Holdings | The Escapist
Probably one of the better outcomes we could have hoped for.
Still not good news (look forward to more mobile releases and less console), but then again, Atlus is one of the best. There isn't really anyone who deserves to own them.
Yeah not a bad outcome at all. Now that I think about it, probably the top of my favorite recent RPGs list are all Sega and Atlus games.
This is probably the best-case scenario, so can't complain. Goddammit Atlus, you can't quit on us!
I'm just glad that it wasn't Nintendo or someone else that bought them so they aren't locked into a single platform. Everyone should get to play Atlus games.
Most ATLUS games are only released for a single platform anyway. Sure, they hit a variety of them. But if you're a Persona fan, you need the Sony systems. No way around that. If you like the Devil Survivor games, you need a DS. Etcetera. ATLUS doesn't do multi-platform releases of a single title.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivi22
Personally, I'm pretty dang unhappy with this. SEGA does not have a good history with me. They were once a beacon of the industry. They then drove their own consoles into the ground, forcing themselves to switch to software only. Their history with Sonic Team shows just how badly they can ruin a good series, and how far they'll go milking it. And their recent history away from Japan has been horrible, in my mind. They butchered their own US distribution centers and localization teams, and they've refused to localize most of their niche titles, like Yakuza and Valkyria Chronicles.
I'm afraid that ATLUS America is not going to survive this acquisition, and that we'll never see another Persona game released stateside.
Idk I think we've received most Yakuzas and Valkyrias although recent times may have been a bit more sparse. I feel like Sega needs to keep Atlus' traditionally solid Western business to maintain the value of their acquisition.
I give you this quote from 2012, after SEGA-Sammy discussed the results of its US and Europe restructuring:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bolivar
SEGA butchered their own localization teams and decided to refocus them on only those games that they thought would sell well over here. They don't want to localize anything that they can't count on to be a huge success.Quote:
Originally Posted by SEGA-Sammy Holdings
So long as they go the route they did with Relic entertainment and let Atlus do their own thing, it should be just fine. Depends entirely on if they do that or not though.
I don't' think we'll see the death of Atlus USA if only because they are arguably one of the strongest localization groups we have right now, and I don't think even Sega is silly enough to not put that to use, not after how much they paid for it.
They didn't pay for it, though. They paid for Index. They got everything which went along with it. I think they're looking forward to using the ATLUS IPs, but I don't think they care at all about ATLUS USA, and I think the next bad year or quarter SEGA gets, ATLUS USA is going to be one of the first things on the chopping block.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
For some reason I doubt the first thing that would be on the chopping block is something that makes money. :p
One might think. But SEGA has shown it's willingness to do that to its international services before. And ATLUS USA is quite a bit smaller than SEGA's own localization service used to be.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Smaller true, but they are still considered to be one of, if not the best, localization teams there are right now. They may lose the "Atlus" brand getting put on things, though I highly doubt Sega will allow such a great asset to go to waste.
I mean they might in the worst case scenario, but I don't think it's that likely.
I think Sega sucks more at handling its franchises than it does in handling its third party teams. As far as I was aware, they let Monolith and Obsidian do what they wanted. Other than the typical time and budget woes that sometimes creep in for any publisher, I never heard of them knocking on the doors of developers and saying "Hey, we need you to put this in your game, the Americans will love it". Though I may be mistaken
Atlus States Business to Continue as Usual
Atlus seems to be saying it's business as usual, so I guess there is nothing to worry about. :p
Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
No talk, anywhere, of ATLUS USA or their localization teams. Business may be great for ATLUS, but what about their localizers across the sea?Quote:
We have nurtured a great relationship with SEGA Inc. for a long time, especially concerning our consumer games business in Japan.
Having followed their twitter, they seem to be doing the same trout as always. It's possibly they are just keeping silent about it, but I doubt there is anything to worry about.
Stopping being such a negative nancy. :p
This thread reminds me, I should replay Thousand Arms for the tenth time. :bigsmile:
Fine, but I reserve the right to say "I told you so" if SEGA screws them over.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
Positive thoughts. ATLUS can now use SEGA IPs. That means that ATLUS could make a Shining Force game. SQUUEEEEEE!
Skyblade, just don't. I don't know what gave you the idea I enjoy getting my hopes up for inevitable disappointment. So I'm done. Don't contact me anymore. Just don't do it.
Because nothing you could say could hurt me more than what you just said.
Facts:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bolivar
ATLUS USA has a forum dedicated to taking fan suggestions for projects they should translate, even ones that didn't originate from ATLUS in Japan, and as long as localization rights are available for the product and they believe in the project, they're willing to work on it.
SEGA has held on to the Shining Force IPs, and done nothing with them except ban people on YouTube who mention Shining Force III.
Radical Conclusion:
We could put in a request on the ATLUS USA website that they translate the now-available Shining Force III, and finally get a translation of that game. With that, we could prove interest in the series, and get ATLUS permission to take on Shining Force IV.
This deserves to be bigger than operation rainfall. It unfortunately won't be, but someone needs to start this.
Wait when did this happenQuote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
Just in my imagination.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessweeee♪Wait when did this happenQuote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
Bolivar's right. I'm an evil, evil person. :D
I just happen to think that ATLUS and Shining Force have a possibility, and I'll be posting that suggestion as soon as I can (my registration was a little off due to bad internet, so their mods are having to fix my forum capabilities over there). Also, I'll be spreading that word to the Shining Force fansites I know, because he's also right in that this should be a huge deal.
:nonono:
Alright, listening to Thumb Wars (Show on Blistered Thumbs) It seems one of Sega's reasons for buying up Index was that Atlus knew how to sell Japanese games to an american Audience. So yeah, Atlus USA was a part of the reason they bought Index, meaning I think Atlus USA is coming out of this fine. :p
Never claimed otherwise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyblade
Not totally accurate. At worst their guilty of making a couple of unpopular add-ons for the Genesis and botching the Saturn's launch while misjudging the direction the market was headed with its hardware. So, one bad console release? Hardly as bad as you make it sound.Quote:
Personally, I'm pretty dang unhappy with this. SEGA does not have a good history with me. They were once a beacon of the industry. They then drove their own consoles into the ground, forcing themselves to switch to software only.
They didn't really ruin Sonic considering Sonic just doesn't work in 3D. I can't blame them for continuing to try though considering its their best known series and one of the few they have that's not clearly a niche series.Quote:
Their history with Sonic Team shows just how badly they can ruin a good series, and how far they'll go milking it.
Sure, let's just ignore the number of very well received western titles they've published in recent years. As for Yakuza, unless I'm mistaken we've gotten a fair number of those. And as much as I love Valkyria Chronicles it's a bit silly to complain about them not localizing the later ones considering none of them sold well here. Why should they localize them if they haven't been able to make any money off of them so far?Quote:
And their recent history away from Japan has been horrible, in my mind. They butchered their own US distribution centers and localization teams, and they've refused to localize most of their niche titles, like Yakuza and Valkyria Chronicles.
Sure, we'll never see one of the most popular JRPG series released stateside because apparently Sega is terminally stupid and bought Atlus just to have them not do the thing they're best at and popular and successful for?Quote:
I'm afraid that ATLUS America is not going to survive this acquisition, and that we'll never see another Persona game released stateside.
You crack me up. :exdee:
This is amazing news!Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
To further elaborate, Sega and Atlus have had a pretty damn solid history, with Sega Japan originally releasing many of their games over there.
Further more, Yakuza 5 is the first one we haven't gotten, and ever since the first one their sales have been declining title by title. The first Valkyria did well, but 2 did very poorly here. It's not so much SEGA has a history of not releasing Niche titles, it's that those niche titles rarely do well over here.
Hell, look at them taking a chance on Hatsume Miko (YEs, I probably butchered that name. :p). Sega actually has a pretty bitching history of taking chances on Niche titles, it just also comes with them not selling well enough to warrant sequel releases.
Just doing what I can to ease the dread, no need to let all the negativity pre-emptively wreck what could be a good thing. ;P
Also, one last mention, ATLUS has had a hell of a time even getting their games released over in Europe, and given Sega has a big reach there it seems the European audience will get more access to Atlus titles. :p
The second Valkyria did poorly because they released in on a smurfing handheld. Not only does that limit your initial fanbase, the PSP is also widely less popular than the smurfing PS3. It was a terrible idea even if it is a pretty solid game.
The PSP was the hottest system at the time in Japan, though and they had a pretty solid first week there, enough to warrant a sequel. I think they just didn't get the hint that in the West it was little more than a glorified homebrew platform.
It was a good game, I'm not going to complain because Sega didn't make enough money off of it. Though I really do want to play VC3.
I just remembered I never beat Eggs of Steel all the way through. I should dig it out and finish it. That game was awesome.
Sega was really the best choice, all things considered. This might even be a good thing for Sega. I could see Atlus helping them with the Yakuza games overseas, for example. Or maybe even translating/porting older games, like Sega's Saturn library. Things like that. And they'll still keep making their own games.
Whoever said Sega ran their own consoles into the ground was way off the mark. The only systems they really did that with were the 32X and the Saturn. The Saturn was only botched because Sega released it here during E3, on the same day they presented it, without letting retailers know, so they broke a lot of trust with that.
The Dreamcast became unpopular after only 9 months through no fault of Sega's own. It really had to do with the PS2 coming up. Everybody was so hyped about it. Even if Sega had waited to release the DC, or had released it here the year before like in Japan, the same thing would have happened. It was just terrible luck.
I've seen Sega of America has been hit with layoffs, not sure if this bodes well for our localization aspirations...
Hmm, funny, I could have sworn that somebody warned about exactly this sort of thing when SEGA was first announced to have bought ATLUS. Who was it again?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bolivar
Could it be the same guy spouting nonsense based off half informed claims? :pQuote:
Originally Posted by SkybladeHmm, funny, I could have sworn that somebody warned about exactly this sort of thing when SEGA was first announced to have bought ATLUS. Who was it again?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bolivar
Layoffs hit Sega of America | Polygon
So yeah, only a small number of employees were affected, and all things considered that was to be expected. Remember, Atlus USA was part of their reason to buy up Atlus at all because their current American branch wasn't cutting it. If this was a large scale lay off you may have something, but as it stands the negativity is still pretty unfounded. To say anything even remotely definitively is rather silly.
Well, the entire point of that post was to be silly (which is why I worded it the way I did), so mission accomplished!Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
When is the next ATLUS USA-localized game coming out? Their website isn't working right for me for some reason (not displaying video or images).
EDIT: Nevermind, got it. Aqua Pazza, November 19th. Well, that will give me a day to feel a bit more comfortable with the situation.