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Bandai and Namco To Merge
Entertainment company Bandai announced today that they've purchased game creator Namco and as of September of this year will be merging into a single company. From the article: "Bandai shares fell 2.5 percent to 2,335 yen as of 2:27 p.m. in Tokyo, after dropping as much as 3.8 percent. Namco shares rose 8.8 percent to 1,530 yen, headed for their biggest gain since November 2003. The companies' shares were suspended for the first one and a half hours of trading, following an earlier report of the merger plan by the Nihon Keizai newspaper."
What do you mean? It's already butchered. The best one is still Tekken Tag Tournament. Didn't you know every sequel add 1 character and subtract 2. Only way Namco gets my approval is a Tekken Soul Calibre merge with 100 characters.
Sorry, but If Namco and Bandai have merged that means they dont need anyone else, Namco and Bandai (together) sum up to a lot of money and some very good and strong franchises. (Besides if N wanted to merge with Bandai they certainly wouldnt have taken Namco, someone said NO at that final contract Im not sure which though) I do agree their titles should be multi platform and theres a strong rumor soulcalibur 3 and tekken 5 will be available for xbox and gc soon.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
Bandai's games tend to sell extremely well in Japan.
Do the research on Banpresto's (Bandai subsidiary) Super Robot Taisen series some time. These consistently upset huge names in gaming to take the number one sales spot on all platforms. And if you're a mecha anime and strategy game fan, they are pretty fun. Mindless "gaiden" kind of storylines, but still fun.
Anyway, I'd say Namco fans have nothing to worry about. If anything, Namco's game development efforts will most likely take priority, given their legacy and old prestige from their glory days. The Japanese see Namco as Sega-Lite, whereas Bandai is seen as being like a combo of Hasbro and Disney. Namco clearly holds higher esteem among Japanese gamers. Bandai's games will be seen to benefit from Namco's expertise, while the Bandai name will not negatively Namco's name or development.