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Sega Sammy confirms that Sega Dream Corporation has fully acquired Index (Atlus)

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Well considering if Nintendo bought them you could immediately kiss any Atlus games on non-Nintendo platforms goodbye...

not sure if many people here do tbh unless you're counting the 3ds

A platform holder should not have Atlus. It doesn't matter which one. It's a good thing that they can choose which platform is best for each of their games.

I wish I could share your positive thinking here, guys.

The last time I checked, platform exclusivity is still better than no games (in the west) at all.

(Yeah, I knwo that's a worst case scenario, but it is SEGA we are talking about here
 
Sega? Fuck.

What's the best case scenario here? I don't want to think of the worst.

Hopefully it doesn't impact a new Persona getting made.
Best case scenario? Atlus games multiplat with PC versions and Atlus USA localizing SEGA games.

But that's the absolute, almost delusional best case scenario.
 

yami4ct

Member
Sega? Fuck.

What's the best case scenario here? I don't want to think of the worst.

Hopefully it doesn't impact a new Persona getting made.

Best case: Atlus left as a wholly owned subsidiary and Sega is just the new Index.

Persona is the least likely game to get impacted. It will still be made. It will still be localized. Those games do gangbusters in Japan and quite well in the US.

The only major franchise that could get affected is EO, but I also don't expect it. Those games are profitable in the US, even with low sales. It's also a growing franchise. As long as it makes money, it makes business sense to keep it.
 
Worst case scenario i.e.: smartphones is Sega does shitty overpriced ports of old SMT games, like Square's been doing with classic FF.

They've so far demonstrated zero interest in creating new mainline titles on a mobile format.
 
It probably won't because it's a very profitable franchise, but it probably will impact its localization. Especially if it's a Vita or 3DS game, Sega of America/Europe loves to pretend that they don't exist.

Sega may not like the 3DS a ton, but it damn sure loves the Vita. 11 games either for it or coming for it.

I wish I could share your positive thinking here, guys.

The last time I checked, platform exclusivity is still better than no games (in the west) at all.

(Yeah, I knwo that' sa worst case scenario, but it is SEGA we are talking about here

Like Ace Attorney, there's basically zero chance of a mainline Persona or SMT game -not- getting localized. They do very well.

The other stuff? Well...deal with it?

I expect PC stuff from them for certain, because again, Sega loves that platform and it's easy as hell for them (all digital).
 

LTWheels

Member
Courtesy of Giant Bomb:

2548024-sonic___persona_3_by_mcgenio-d3abx49.png
 

shaowebb

Member
A lot of folks here should really look at Sega's earnings and how their PC and digital emphasized business model switch has worked for them. They are not the same old Sega that gets parroted around as doomed and trash and haven't been in awhile. From year to year they used to lose around 20% in profits. That is no longer the case.

This year profits increased by 50% and they are healthy and financially stable. They still took some operating loss from the business end but going from $148 million in loss waaaaaaaaay down to $7.2 shows some huge leaps in the right direction and its expected to lower further. By next year they are estimated to be fully in the green and it hasn't been that long since they switched models for their business.At one point during the THQ bankruptcy they had more operating income than Ubisoft did (though it was prior to Assassin's Creed profits). Plus if you still think Sonic is trash you haven't paid attention. Sega is putting out good games again. Nothing mind blowing but by God good games are coming out. Sonic is good, their kart racing game is one of the best I ever played, their PC games like Football manager and Total War are pulling in huge crowds and overall they are doing good business.

Now with Atlus on board stop and think about what this means for PC. Sega is pushing digital and PC, its working and turning them around fast. Expect lots of Atlus titles soon to start getting announced for PC ports is my prediction.
 

Dinda

Member
Oh damn Sega... that doesn't look promising regarding localizations.

If they at least would make a deal with someone like xseed, and allow them to bring over the titles that they themsleves don't think are profitable enough. Yeah like that would happen....

Please suprise me Sega! Oh, and if you're at it i would like to see Persona on PC please.
 
If Sega is the company that'll make Catherine on Pc dream a reality then i'm all in for this,so much so that i'll buy every single Sega published game on Steam to show my appreciation .

Just make it happen goddamnit.
 
Completely missed my point, it's the localizations of said 11 games we're not getting.

...Those are games that have come out in America/Europe or are.

Virtua Tennis, Super Monkey Ball, Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed, Jet Set Radio HD...

tldr I missed nothing, I am the king of everything ever :p
 
Like Ace Attorney, there's basically zero chance of a mainline Persona or SMT game -not- getting localized. They do very well.

The other stuff? Well...deal with it?

huh... don't know if you are sarcastic here. To me it felt like AA5 wasn't even a given and we have to be thankful to at least get it digital only...
 

KingJ2002

Member
I don't see a reason to freak out about this. If anything i see that Sega is saving the company from going belly up and having all the talent / franchises scatter like THQ.

Best Case Scenario: Business as usual with Sega as the parent company

Worst Case Scenario: Sega Dream Corp consolidates the atlus brand into Sega and Persona comes out of Sega


to me.... this is a good thing out of a bad situation

A lot of folks here should really look at Sega's earnings and how their PC and digital emphasized business model switch has worked for them. They are not the same old Sega that gets parroted around as doomed and trash and haven't been in awhile. From year to year they used to lose around 20% in profits. That is no longer the case.

This year profits increased by 50% and they are healthy and financially stable. They still took some operating loss from the business end but going from $148 million in loss waaaaaaaaay down to $7.2 shows some huge leaps in the right direction and its expected to lower further. By next year they are estimated to be fully in the green and it hasn't been that long since they switched models for their business.At one point during the THQ bankruptcy they had more operating income than Ubisoft did (though it was prior to Assassin's Creed profits). Plus if you still think Sonic is trash you haven't paid attention. Sega is putting out good games again. Nothing mind blowing but by God good games are coming out. Sonic is good, their kart racing game is one of the best I ever played, their PC games like Football manager and Total War are pulling in huge crowds and overall they are doing good business.

Now with Atlus on board stop and think about what this means for PC. Sega is pushing digital and PC, its working and turning them around fast. Expect lots of Atlus titles soon to start getting announced for PC ports is my prediction.

Couldn't agree more. When Sammy merged with Sega it was to ensure this outcome and shift focus on what makes money. Index was picked up because of their strengths in the mobile and console business. Sega isn't going to bleed money anymore... they have a business model that works and applying it to a company that went corrupt is a good thing.
 

DPtheGod

Member
Sega? Fuck.

What's the best case scenario here? I don't want to think of the worst.

Hopefully it doesn't impact a new Persona getting made.

SEGA tells Atlus they can continue business like normal and they go on to continue burying themselves.

However, SEGA will more than likely ruin the future of Atlus. Since SEGA rides Nintendo D, we'll see a lot of Nintendo exclusives I'm sure.
 

Jamix012

Member
SEGA tells Atlus they can continue business like normal and they go on to continue burying themselves.

However, SEGA will more than likely ruin the future of Atlus. Since SEGA rides Nintendo D, we'll see a lot of Nintendo exclusives I'm sure.

This isn't the Gamecube Era, Nintendo's D has been considerably lacking in Sega slobber for some time.
 

vinnygambini

Why are strippers at the U.N. bad when they're great at strip clubs???
I hope we get an update on the FE X SMT game. We know it's a Nintendo funded project but we haven't heard anything since :S Hopefully Nintendo's next Direct will shed some light on the matter.
 

yami4ct

Member
A lot of folks here should really look at Sega's earnings and how their PC and digital emphasized business model switch has worked for them. They are not the same old Sega that gets parroted around as doomed and trash and haven't been in awhile. From year to year they used to lose around 20% in profits. That is no longer the case.

This year profits increased by 50% and they are healthy and financially stable. They still took some operating loss from the business end but going from $148 million in loss waaaaaaaaay down to $7.2 shows some huge leaps in the right direction and its expected to lower further. By next year they are estimated to be fully in the green and it hasn't been that long since they switched models for their business. Plus if you still think Sonic is trash you haven't paid attention. Sega is putting out good games again. Nothing mind blowing but by God good games are coming out. Sonic is good, their kart racing game is one of the best I ever played, their PC games like Football manager and Total War are pulling in huge crowds and overall they are doing good business.

Now with Atlus on board stop and think about what this means for PC. Sega is pushing digital and PC, its working and turning them around fast. Expect lots of Atlus titles soon to start getting announced for PC ports is my prediction.

Yep, PC is doing really well for SEGA. They've done well keeping their hands off of their PC devs as well and just letting them work. As for ATLUS games on PC, Atlus really only has a few major franchises. They have Etrian Odyssey, SMT (Including persona) and Trauma Center (which is dead even under Atlus). All of those besides persona have been mobile focused and I doubt will translate well to PC, but it could happen. I cannot imagine EO without a way to easily draw maps without switch screens, so that's basically out. Persona could come to PC, but not sure how likely that is given that game should be fairly far along at this point. The greatest PC benefit Atlus gives Sega on the PC side is their channels for publishing niche titles like Zenoclash.


huh... don't know if you are sarcastic here. To me it felt like AA5 wasn't even a given and we have to be thankful to at least get it digital only...

AA5's localization was announced at almost the exact same time as the game's first reveal in Japan. It was almost never in doubt it was coming over in some form. Only thing that's changed is the release format.
 
Sega may not like the 3DS a ton, but it damn sure loves the Vita. 11 games either for it or coming for it.



Like Ace Attorney, there's basically zero chance of a mainline Persona or SMT game -not- getting localized. They do very well.

The other stuff? Well...deal with it?

I expect PC stuff from them for certain, because again, Sega loves that platform and it's easy as hell for them (all digital).
If they truly loved that platform, they would port Yakuza and Miku to it. Their Japanese stuff doesn't really get PC ports.

A lot of folks here should really look at Sega's earnings and how their PC and digital emphasized business model switch has worked for them. They are not the same old Sega that gets parroted around as doomed and trash and haven't been in awhile. From year to year they used to lose around 20% in profits. That is no longer the case.

This year profits increased by 50% and they are healthy and financially stable. They still took some operating loss from the business end but going from $148 million in loss waaaaaaaaay down to $7.2 shows some huge leaps in the right direction and its expected to lower further. By next year they are estimated to be fully in the green and it hasn't been that long since they switched models for their business.At one point during the THQ bankruptcy they had more operating income than Ubisoft did (though it was prior to Assassin's Creed profits). Plus if you still think Sonic is trash you haven't paid attention. Sega is putting out good games again. Nothing mind blowing but by God good games are coming out. Sonic is good, their kart racing game is one of the best I ever played, their PC games like Football manager and Total War are pulling in huge crowds and overall they are doing good business.

Now with Atlus on board stop and think about what this means for PC. Sega is pushing digital and PC, its working and turning them around fast. Expect lots of Atlus titles soon to start getting announced for PC ports is my prediction.
You are going to be disappointed, the Japanese stuff outside of phantasy star doesn't touch PC.
 

Silky

Banned
SEGA has been doing a lot of hands off stuff for their other companies they acquired, what makes this any different? Because of overseas issues?

Atlus will be fine, SEGA will still continue to be successful, the world keeps on spinning. I seriously don't see the negative in this.
 

yami4ct

Member
You know, I guess I might be the only one who cares, but I wonder what this means for the Tex Murphy game.

I've been wondering what this means to Atlus as a niche western publisher as well. It seems like the aspect most at risk, and it's something I've always enjoyed about them.
 
You know, I guess I might be the only one who cares, but I wonder what this means for the Tex Murphy game.

It'll probably get canceled if Sega doesn't pick up Atlus USA. I'm kinda feeling good about that since Atlus USA has been focusing on PC and digital lately and that's the sort of stuff Sega would be interested in. Daylight and Tex Murphy should be very lucrative.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
If they truly loved that platform, they would port Yakuza and Miku to it. Their Japanese stuff doesn't really get PC ports.


You are going to be disappointed, the Japanese stuff outside of phantasy star doesn't touch PC.
Well, that's not entirely true.

Sonic and Binary Domain made it over.

Not sure how many other home console games they've made in the past 2 years from Japan.

Edit: There are Yakuza and Miku but historically they don't leave Japan, so them being PS3 only isn't surprising.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
way too many misguided tears about sega in here

sega is actually one of the more open minded japanese publishers, releasing all their shit on steam and buying niche developers. this is far better than nintendo buying them imo.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
I've been wondering what this means to Atlus as a niche western publisher as well. It seems like the aspect most at risk, and it's something I've always enjoyed about them.
It'll probably get canceled if Sega doesn't pick up Atlus USA. I'm kinda feeling good about that since Atlus USA has been focusing on PC and digital lately and that's the sort of stuff Sega would be interested in. Daylight and Tex Murphy should be very lucrative.
Hrm, I guess if they treat Atlus USA like CA or Reli, then they'd be fine. Turning them from localization house to indie game publisher though... I dunno how I feel about that.

way too many misguided tears about sega in here

sega is actually one of the more open minded japanese publishers, releasing all their shit on steam and buying niche developers. this is far better than nintendo buying them imo.
The difference is that Sega seemingly doesn't want to release its niche games in America. That, of course, is before even talking about the planned push into mobile.

I think this dream of seeing all these Atlus games on PC is just that. But then again, maybe that's why they named the company Dream Corporation.
 
Well, that's not entirely true.

Sonic and Binary Domain made it over.

Not sure how many other home console games they've made in the past 2 years from Japan.

Sonic might as well be considered a western franchise at this point and BD was a TPS. Of course that was going to make it over. None of the super Japanese stuff have touched the PC.

Hrm, I guess if they treat Atlus USA like CA or Reli, then they'd be fine. Turning them from localization house to indie game publisher though... I dunno how I feel about that.

I think they would still be allowed to localize stuff, no reason why they wouldn't be able to.
 

yami4ct

Member
Hrm, I guess if they treat Atlus USA like CA or Reli, then they'd be fine. Turning them from localization house to indie game publisher though... I dunno how I feel about that.

I see it going the other way, actually. They'll keep ATLUS US around for their localizations, but fold the people who have good relationships with indies into sega corporate.
 
Sonic might as well be considered a western franchise at this point and BD was a TPS. Of course that was going to make it over. None of the super Japanese stuff have touched the PC.

Look at how going PC/digital has turned out for them. You really think they won't make that move with their next games/franchises? They might not have been able to for this go round, but expect that shit.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Sonic might as well be considered a western franchise at this point and BD was a TPS. Of course that was going to make it over. None of the super Japanese stuff have touched the PC.



I think they would still be alowed to localize stuff, no reason why they wouldn't be able to.
Am I missing anything except Yakuza and Miku which don't come over quite often on home consoles?

After their reorg when BD tanked that is.
 

duckroll

Member
I think one silver lining with regards to Atlus USA is that last year Naoto Hiraoka took over as president and CEO of Index Digital Media. He is the head of the consumer games division at Index, which basically makes him the head of "Atlus". The fact that he took over running the US branch personally indicates that the US side of the business as it is, is valuable to Atlus' operations. As the head of the consumer games division it also gives him considerable influence with regards to how the business will continue moving forward.

In the end the decision probably still lies with Sega management, but hopefully it means that with someone high up in the development chain having a stake in it, they won't get thrown under the bus immediately.
 

SparkTR

Member
It'll probably get canceled if Sega doesn't pick up Atlus USA. I'm kinda feeling good about that since Atlus USA has been focusing on PC and digital lately and that's the sort of stuff Sega would be interested in. Daylight and Tex Murphy should be very lucrative.

The game is already funded via Kickstarter, so at the very least they'll have to go through Steam Greenlight/Early Access as opposed to the easier publisher-backed way.
 

Cactus

Banned
At this point, I don't see how this acquisition could be any worse than the original Index acquisition. I recommend staying calm until we learn the fate of Atlus USA. If Sega keeps them around, it's likely that Atlus will continue to function normally.

If Atlus USA is dissolved during the restructuring process, it might be time to start worrying.
 
Look at how going PC/digital has turned out for them. You really think they won't make that move with their next games/franchises? They might not have been able to for this go round, but expect that shit.

Yes, Yakuza Ishin isn't touching PC, the new Miku isn't touching PC, Shining isn't touching PC, that idol game isn't touching PC, Phantasy Star Nova isn't touching PC
 
Am I missing anything except Yakuza and Miku which don't come over quite often on home consoles?

After their reorg when BD tanked that is.
I'm not sure, what other Japanese games did they make?
The game is already funded via Kickstarter, so at the very least they'll have to go through Steam Greenlight/Early Access as opposed to the easier publisher-backed way.
Oh okay, cool
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Yes, Yakuza Ishin isn't touching PC, the new Miku isn't touching PC, Shining isn't touching PC, that idol game isn't touching PC, Phantasy Star Nova isn't touching PC

Many of those games don't even leave Japan.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
The difference is that Sega seemingly doesn't want to release its niche games in America. That, of course, is before even talking about the planned push into mobile.

I think this dream of seeing all these Atlus games on PC is just that. But then again, maybe that's why they named the company Dream Corporation.

Total War series? Company of Heroes? Binary Domain? Sega isn't scared to get weird and already had a taste of those sweet Gaben bucks.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
You know, I guess I might be the only one who cares, but I wonder what this means for the Tex Murphy game.

That is incumbent on the fate of publisher Atlus USA. Indeed, something that gets forgotten here is Atlus USA is not just a localizer for Atlus Japan stuff but also publishers a fair amount of Western games as well, and we might be losing that.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Yes, Yakuza Ishin isn't touching PC, the new Miku isn't touching PC, Shining isn't touching PC, that idol game isn't touching PC, Phantasy Star Nova isn't touching PC
Some of those are handheld games which rarely ever leave handhelds (or often even Japan).

I'm assuming most people aren't expecting Etrian Odyssey on PC and are thinking more along the lines of PS3 games.
 

Busaiku

Member
I dunno why people are expecting PC ports for everything.
Yakuza and Project Diva aren't the only series which haven't gotten PC ports recently. Anarchy Reigns, Viruta Fighter, Puyo Puyo haven't gotten PC offerings.
 
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