As a long-time fan of Bandai Namco and their iconic franchises, I must admit that this year has been a roller coaster ride for them. The controversies, cancellations, and disappointing releases have left me worried about the future of my beloved Gundam series and other cherished titles. However, the recent announcement of the merger between Bandai Namco Entertainment and Bandai Namco Online has given me a glimmer of hope.
2021 has seen significant partnerships in the gaming world, with Konami and FIFA being a notable example, teaming up for this year’s FIFAe World Cup. More recently, Bandai Namco Holdings, a major player in the industry, unveiled plans for their future. On November 20th, they revealed that their two primary gaming subsidiaries, Bandai Namco Entertainment and Bandai Namco Online, will merge on April 1st, 2025.
Originally known for releasing video games, one branch of the company was established in 2012 specifically for developing online games. It’s famous for managing popular series like “Gundam,” and this move is a response to the difficulties encountered by other branches this year as the corporation works towards improving its overall efficiency.
Bandai Namco’s Tough Year Birthed the Need for a Change of Operations
2024 has been far from a tranquil voyage for Bandai Namco Entertainment, as the company has found itself embroiled in numerous controversies. Earlier this year, Bandai Namco scrapped several upcoming games, including some high-profile collaborations with Nintendo, and also reduced its workforce substantially. Subsequent to these events, Bloomberg published an article suggesting that Bandai Namco Entertainment was employing “oidashi beya” strategies to persuade employees to resign rather than dismissing them, thus avoiding the obligation to provide severance packages.
This strategy entails assigning team members to trivial tasks while keeping them out of major projects, resulting in their idleness until they choose to depart from the company. Approximately 100 employees at Bandai Namco have reportedly resigned using this method since April. Despite the backlash caused by Bloomberg’s report, Bandai Namco Entertainment has managed to thrive, finding itself in a significantly better position compared to its sister company, Bandai Namco Online, due to the success of games like Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and Tekken 8.
Bandai Namco Entertainment experienced a significant success with Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, selling over three million copies on its debut day. However, their online division had to abandon the global release of their anticipated anime MMORPG, Blue Protocol, due to lackluster feedback in Japan. Despite investing approximately 8.2 billion yen ($51 million) into this abandoned intellectual property, it represents a substantial financial loss for them. This setback is part of a concerning pattern, as something similar happened with Gundam Evolution in 2023.
Despite a promising start for the team shooter game, it struggled to maintain a steady player base even after reaching a peak of 57,000 simultaneous players on Steam. This left its publisher with limited choices but to close down the servers. With Blue Protocol expected to follow this pattern in January 2025 and another fiscal year ending in losses for Bandai Namco Online, questions are being asked about their ability to survive independently.
The Details Behind The Bandai Namco Merger
Bandai Namco Holdings, the umbrella corporation for two major entities, has chosen to carry out a merger where one part (Bandai Namco Online) will be absorbed. This implies that Bandai Namco Online will cease operations, and all its obligations, client agreements, possessions, including existing intellectual properties, will be moved to Bandai Namco Entertainment. The rationale behind this merger, as stated by Bandai Namco Holdings on their official site, is to adapt to the current shifts in the gaming industry landscape and fortify the overall structure of their digital business sector.
The main corporation is optimistic that this merger will enable them to consistently produce top-notch games as per fan desires, with Bandai Namco Entertainment set to excel in managing franchises such as Gundam Tribe, SD Gundam Operations, and Idolish7 once the union occurs in 2025. Fingers crossed that they can live up to these expectations.
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2024-11-23 16:05