Sega Sammy acquires Index (Atlus) Fuck You Sega. Fuck You.

[Genosync]

http://ascendancy.net/tribalwar/victoly.gif

One can only hope.

[6souls]

Naoya Tsurumi explains Atlus' role within Sega's collective

When Sega acquired Index Corporation, parent company of Atlus, the company’s name ended up staying the same, with the addition of Sega Sammy’s Chief Operating Officer, Naoya Tsurumi, as its president. In an interview with Famitsu magazine, Tsurumi recently talked about the future of the Atlus brand and its relationship with Sega.

Famitsu: What will happen to the Atlus brand?

Naoya Tsurumi: As a new company, we will venture together, with Index working as an independent company. The plan is to have Atlus and Sega continue shining as brands, while aiming to increase their degree of independence.

Similar to the studio we’ve acquired from overseas [note: presumably Relic], they’ll continue managing their own brands and IPs, and making them bigger. Then, Sega will be the ones to sell them. So, think of it as us telling them “Continue working on your own IPs with pride and confidence—the sky is the limit.”

Will the development structure remain the same?

Tsurumi: Everything will remain the same. The people of Index will continue working thoroughly, and Sega have no plans to undertake any of their work. However, we’re at a point where Sega is offering Index to freely make use of any resources they may have, that Index does not. Index will be keeping many of their fine qualities, such as Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei IP, and many others.

What are some of the benefits for Sega from the acquisition of Index?

Tsurumi: I believe that the addition of genres is a crucial factor. Especially with regard to the fact that Sega have never excelled in RPG titles. With consideration towards Atlus’ strengths, Japanese RPGs would be a prime example [of an added benefit].

And the JRPGs they make are quite popular overseas.

Tsurumi: That’s right. The fact that they’ve been able to capture fans from North America is really huge. That said, for Sega, it’s a big plus to have more IPs, but an even bigger plus to have more genres.

It must be reassuring to have added a group capable of making great RPG titles.

Tsurumi: While we have no intention of forcing this, we’d definitely love to have them utilize any of Sega’s dormant IPs.

Sakura Wars, Jet Set Radio, and Space Channel 5… are some that come to mind.

Tsurumi: There are plenty that haven’t been active. [laughs] However, the new company just recently got started, so there’s nothing on the table for now, but we’ll definitely be giving it more thought.

Atlus just announced the latest of the Persona installment. The timing of the announcement must have made fans feel reassured.

Tsurumi: Having the fans feel uneasy is the worst thing we could do. Above all, I’d like to make sure that the fans feel a sense of reassurance. If we were to lose fans, then all would be for nothing. Making fans and the employees of Index happy is what I believe will be our best return [for the company], and we’ll do our best to keep that up.

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/11/27...any-president/

[Genosync]

Making the fans and employees happy will create success. So fucking true. That guy knows how his business works and what has made Atlus successful. Let's hope that things keep on the same path they have for the last several years.

SO HYPE FOR CHAIRS



.... More hyped for PQ though, sorry guys.

[Correction]

Tsurumi: While we have no intention of forcing this, we’d definitely love to have them utilize any of Sega’s dormant IPs.

Yes please.

[The Blackrose]

Tsurumi: I believe that the addition of genres is a crucial factor. Especially with regard to the fact that Sega have never excelled in RPG titles. With consideration towards Atlus’ strengths, Japanese RPGs would be a prime example [of an added benefit].

Maybe if they stopped fucking the chickens that were once the Shining Force and Phantasy Star series, they wouldn't be having these problems.

[Kirin]

Atlus making a Skies of Arcadia...

Forget taking my money. Heres my credit line, run that shit up! Just give me that game.

[Elcura]

SEGA is the land of great dreams and broken promises.

Don't get your hopes up.

[6souls]

Sega dividing Index into two companies: Index and Atlus
http://gematsu.com/wp-content/upload...x-Feb-News.jpg

Index Corporation, a subsidiary of Sega, will divide into two companies—Atlus and Index—on April 1, Sega announced.

At the same time, Index Digital Media, Inc.—Index Corporation’s overseas subsidiary—will change its name to Atlus U.S.A., Inc.

The purpose of this divide is to maximize the creation of synergies within Sega Sammy, as well as within each industry of the Sega Group. With the companies divided, Sega aims to further its growth and expedite new business development.

To sum things up, we have two companies:

• Atlus (the splitting company whose name was changed from Index Corporation) – They’re in the business of game planning and development, and related industries. The company employs 121.
• Index Coporation (the newly organized division) – They’re in the content and solutions business (content distribution, systems development, internet advertisements, etc.), and related industries. The company employs 166.

Yukio Sugino, the current Sega managing director and Index company director, will act as Atlus’ new representative. And Yasuhiko Hamada, the current Index representative director and executive vice president, will act as the new Index representative.

http://gematsu.com/2014/02/sega-divi...es-index-atlus
http://www.segasammy.co.jp/japanese/...e/sg140218.pdf

[Genosync]

So do we need to worry about Sugino messing with our stuff, or the other guy? Pretty sure it's Sugino but yeah. He's apparently on the credits for Sonic Lost World as Exec Supervisor or some shit. Which to me, is bad news, but if someone more up to speed can show he's worked on 7th Dragon/recent Shining games, we may be in luck?

[Mina]

So do we need to worry about Sugino messing with our stuff, or the other guy? Pretty sure it's Sugino but yeah. He's apparently on the credits for Sonic Lost World as Exec Supervisor or some shit. Which to me, is bad news, but if someone more up to speed can show he's worked on 7th Dragon/recent Shining games, we may be in luck?

I don't know how to feel right now...

[Genosync]

I don't know how to feel right now...

I really don't either. I'm hoping someone else can shed some light on it, so that my knee jerk reaction can be proven incorrect...

[Kirin]

I'm going to watch from the sidelines for a bit until it's pretty obvious Sega is starting to meddle where they don't need to. They've said previous that they intend to leave "Atlus" alone, and making "Atlus" a real game company again instead of a brand tells me they may yet keep good on that idea.

On the knee-jerk side, I have the same sinking feeling of "great, who is Sega gonna destroy now". Keeping my fingers crossed on this and hoping for the best. Good news is we won't have to wait long to see, Persona Q isn't too far away.

[6souls]

Hello.

It feels as though I can finally revive this [blog]. [cries]

The past few years, we’ve caused all of you fans to worry greatly. The Atlus group (company) that was always there, was lost, just like that, and for the sake of continuing as a brand, it’s almost as though we had no other choice [but to rely] on our products’ uniqueness that brings joy. It’s how we’ve faced the past few years.

This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I believe that a product should have characteristics similar to what a person should have—something that can provide a feeling of stimulation or impact to someone, and perhaps even a ‘charm’ that could change one’s own sense of values.

Without simply stopping at what’s just fun, the desire for making those who get the experience to play it, retain something in their hearts… those are the thoughts and feelings that are important to us, as we’ve continued pursuing creativity.

That will not be changing.

We’ll keep working hard to be able to continue making games that will bring you joy, and nothing would make me happier than hearing your warm voices of encouragement.

Persona Team

Chief Director & Creative Producer

Katsura Hashino

http://p-ch.jp/news/detail/?nid=60

[Genosync]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I hope by Atlus group he only means the parent company people. Otherwise, scary.

[6souls]

New Atlus logo

http://www.atlus.co.jp/

New Index logo
http://indexweb.jp/assets/images/sha...logo_new02.gif
http://indexweb.jp/

[6souls]

Former Index CEO and president arrested on fraud charges

Japanese business periodical Nikkei just broke word that former Index CEO Masami Ochiai and his wife, former Index president Yoshimi Ochiai, have been arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosectors Office earlier Wednesday Japan Standard Time. Index, which was once the parent to Shin Megami Tensei and Persona development house Atlus, encountered a string of financial and legal troubles last year that ultimately culminated in the company’s sale to Sega Sammy Holdings and subsequent spinoff into a solutions business meant to function in isolation of Atlus. Translated details of both the arrest and the charges are as follow below.

Index Leaders Arrested on Suspicion of Falsifying Stock Reports

Former CEO of game content production company Index Masami Ochiai (age 54) and his wife, former president Yoshimi Ochiai (age 48), have been arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on May 28 on charges related to the company’s collapse, namely window-dressing their financial records, as well as inflating profits and other related statistics by way of round-tripping in violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law.

The special investigation team heading the probes into Index will proceed to fully uncover details behind the company’s accounting, as well as work with the governmental oversight committee in determining how to handle the company’s securities.

According to a source knowledgeable in the matter, Index utilized round-trip transacting to give off the appearance of dealing in IT systems and software in order for its records to show that buying and selling of goods was taking place, despite not otherwise actually actively conducting any business of the sort. As a result, the company is under suspicion of inflating its sales and profits for the business quarter ending in August 2012.

To hear Index’s stock report tell it, during that period, the company’s sales were approximately 183 billion yen [roughly $1.8 billion USD], with the final figures tallying at around 4 billion yen in profit [roughly $39 million USD].

Index’s insolvency wasn’t made clear until after it had entered bankruptcy and an internal investigation was opened on it. There is a high probability that its round-tripping antics were as such done in an attempt to avoid having the company delisted from JASDAQ [the Japanese equivalent to stock exchanges such as NASDAQ in the United States and Euronext in the European Union].

Investigators are continuing their inquiries under the suspicion that the series of fraudulent dealings were headed by Index’s management and that their window-dressing was performed systematically. When asked about Nikkei’s findings thus far, Masami Ochiai denied them, asserting that he had “not been engaging in fraud.” He has also stated the same thing to the governmental oversight committee during hearings conducted on the matter.

Index was founded in 1995. While it had been listed on the JASDAQ, that status was removed last year after a Tokyo district court invoked the Civil Rehabilition Law. Control of the company was then handed off to Sega Sammy Holdings. Since then, finding there to be no chance of the company to put forward a plan to revive itself, the same district court this past April officially put such efforts to rest and the company is now expected to enter bankruptcy proceedings.

http://gematsu.com/2014/05/former-in...-fraud-charges
http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNAS...n_cid=TPRN0009

[6souls]

Atlus x Sega

Atlus CEO Naoto Hiraoka along with representative director and president Yukio Sugino recently mentioned that they have a few new titles in the works. In this week’s issue of Famitsu magazine, they also talked about the benefits of being a part of Sega.

Famitsu asks the two to share their thoughts about the new generation of consoles with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Regarding current generation consoles, Hiraoka says, “As console game makers, of course we won’t just avoid them. We’ll definitely be making an effort on that front.”

“Sega released Yakuza at the PlayStation 4’s launch, so they have some know-how when it comes to making software for the current generation consoles, which I believe we can share as needed,” says Sugino.

He continues, “Compared to Atlus, Sega are on a much bigger scale [as developers], and our respective know-how is completely different. They’re much more advanced than us when it comes to tools and middleware.”

Sugino also explains that if you look at the bigger picture, the Sega Sammy group has various small companies within it, all with their own expertise; so if Atlus felt the need to get something done a certain way, they could always ask Sega Sammy.

Famitsu points out that they’ve heard that both companies [Sega and Atlus] seem to be quite happy with one another, and that it looks like we can expect a lot more from them and their synergy together, in the future.

Hiraoka replies, “That’s right. The other day, we held a briefing session with Sugino and myself on Atlus’ side, with [Yakuza producer, Sega CCO Toshiro] Nagoshi and others from Sega to discuss our title line-up for the next three years, where we talked about things such as, ‘Ah, with that kind of lineup, we can do this and that.’”

Sugino concludes the talk by explaining that even if two companies are aware of what they’re working on and when it will be announced to the public, the timing for joint projects and such is often difficult.

However, he continues, by knowing what both are working on well ahead of time, it makes it much easier for such collaborations to be possible. So if we are to see future collaborative projects between Sega and Atlus, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see this happen in about three years’ time.

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/07/31...s-near-future/

[BWYuko]

Sorry for necro. GameInformer reports Sega is now officially publishing all Atlus games in the US:

Sega is completing its acquisition of Atlus, which began in 2013. In order to streamline its business operations, Atlus games will now be published by Sega. But before you start to worry, we have some good news.

Essentially, nothing from the end-user point of view is changing. The Atlus brand will remain intact and visible. Sega says that it and Atlus will still act independently.

However, Sega does discuss how its acquisition of Atlus has positively impacted its own operations. "Since Atlus U.S.A.—renowned for the award-winning Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, and Etrian Odyssey franchises—integrated with SEGA of America, the ATLUS expertise has allowed SEGA to localize and publish popular Japanese titles in the west, including the Yakuza series, Project DIVA series, and more," the company says.

Additionally, Sega has named Ivo Gerscovich as the new head of the Sonic brand and its related businesses in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Gerscovich will serve as the Sonic chief brand officer and senior vice president of Sega of America.

[Kirin]

So where does that leave Atlus USA? Weren't they the ones who previously published titles stateside?

[Kaslo]

Is this why we haven't got Persona 5 news? Kappa