About Twenty Companies Bid on Atlus, Including SEGA
Atlus has been put up for sale by Index Corporations in an auction, and it seems the Japanese firm has garnered a lot of interest. More than twenty companies have made a bid on them, and even went as high as 20 billion yen.
There are no results of the auction yet, however, “According to officials familiar with the situation, and plans to squeeze a candidate before or as early as next week, determine the transferee also of month.” - google translate
I would love to know who the other companies in that auction are. Is Nintendo among them? How would you guys feel about Sega owning Atlus? Put your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Dang 20 Companies!!! They must love Atlus.
Or they love money too, lol ! I wonder who's in the process right now for buying Atlus.
Sega could be a choice. Though I want Nintendo to take it.
If it's SEGA I hope they don't screw over Nintendofans like the rest of the 3rd parties.
I'm surprised Sega has money to spare for this…
Was thinking the same thing.
I am actually curious who these 20 are
Inb4 Nintendo didn't even try.
This is what I fear
I'd be cool with Sega. I can't really think of anything they've done to piss off Nintendo fans lately so…yeah. Nice to see the ball has started rolling, hopefully we find out at least some of the bidders.
If Nintendo isn't one of them…..wtf guys.
What about Mickey's Castle of Illusion not coming to the Wii U? That's a little bit of a screw over from SEGA.
Very small potatoes compared to what is being given instead.
Yakuza HD in Japan, Sonic Lost World, Mario&Sonic Sochi, 3rd Sonic game, Bayonetta 2….possibly more stuff that'll be announced at TGS. Not entirely sure they are working on much else at the moment.
I know that we're getting a lot of content that's also exclusive, and there's still more to come from SEGA as they DID announce 7+ games that they haven't even revealed most of. But Bayonetta 2 had no input from SEGA, just correcting you a bit on that one. As we all know Bayonetta 2 is entirely funded by Nintendo.
But the IP is still owned by Sega, so they definitely have a word in there.
I just realized how much 20billion yen is, 200 million dollars for ATLUS! Just wow are they really worth that much!
Atlus expected value is be around at $150 million, so the $200 million bid was a bit of surprised for analysts and viewers of the bid.
I can't seem to translate on this comp, but I won't put too much stock in what the article states. Most companies making inquiries usually do it in private and knowing Nintendo they are likely asked not to be known as one of the bidders.This is probably leak to drum up interest or raise the price higher!
I'm not sure if I want SEGA to own Atlus
I think I only want Nintendo to own Atlus, because a lot of third-party companies screw Nintendo over. There isn't as much support. Nintendo needs Atlus.
I hope Nintendo grabs them before its too late.
Nintendo could need all of the help it can get, Francis.
It would be shocking if Nintendo wasn't on there but not too upsetting because whoever falls under Atlus (besides Sony although that is very unlikely), we would still be getting games from them. I care more about Atlus surviving rather then Nintendo owning them because that would be great IPs from them gone forever.
Not too sure about that. When was the last time you saw a 2K game on Nintendo?
2k owning them is extremely unlikely since Atlus is more niche. Of course If say a company like Konami or Capcom owns them, then yes it would be unlikely to appear on a Nintendo system but outside of them, who knows who is bidding on them. I'm just saying we shouldn't get all that upset if its the case Nintendo doesn't own them, regardless if they didn't bid or not.
my problem with sega owning them is that they barely localize JRPG'S now and which is the exact opposite of the main i want to come with altus being sold at least on par or better localization like a world wide release of say persona 5 or perhaps not giving europe a game after it has been out in america for months
Given that SMTXFE is in development I think Nintendo must be bidding in order to keep that crossover alive.
It’s in contract I’m sure, it should happen regardless.
The only companies I'd be fine with owning Atlus are Sega and Nintendo. And on that note, I'd just find it strange for a Western Company to buy Atlus. Collaboration would be a nightmare most likely because of how douchey Western publishers are and would probably lead to everyone jumping ship. Furthermore, I can't see small/struggling guys like Sega or Square Enix winning the auction if they bid. If Nintendo big, they could probably win. Sony doesn't seem to care about Japan right now. Nintendo should really jump at this chance. There third support is awful right now, so they'd best be interested in increase their dev teams. I'd be disappointed in them if they let it slip by…
Nintendo should at least buy the rights to Shin Megami Tensei. That way, we can still have SMTXFE. But if they could buy the whole company (which they should with all the money they have), then that would be so much better.
If a third party were to buy Atlus, It wouldn't be good for Nintendo fans, considering that most 3rd parties have been screwing Nintendo fans over by, either not releasing the games or making a gimped and bad port. However SEGA doesn't seem to act like the rest of 3rd party developers so who really knows. I just hope that Nintendo is somewhere in those 20 bidding companies.
Sega wood doom Atlus bc just bc Sega has not ben doing so good
Oh please do not let it be Microsoft, or that will be the end of Atlus for sure.
I wouldn't mind SEGA buying Artlus to much but I would rather see nintendo buy them.
I really doubt that Sega would spend 20 billion yen (around $200 million) to buy a niche RPG studio like Atlus. While I wouldn't mind Sega owning Atlus, Sega isn't doing too well financially, they're not as bad as Capcom or Square Enix but still I just don't think they would spend that amount of money for Atlus. It really wouldn't hurt Nintendo spending that amount of money and they could go well beyond if they're in the bid. 20 billion yen is probably close to the max bid for a lot of companies so if Nintendo's in this, it's their choice if they want to win or lose.
Anyone know when the results will be in?
I read somewhere that a "winner" could be decided by the end of next week, with a deal closing by the end of the month. At the very least, I expect to find out by September. The faster Index gets this taken care of, the better considering they are probably still bleeding money even after filing for bankruptcy or whatever it is in Japan.
If Nintendo doesn't win, I can still picture them hiring their best game designers/programmers to join Nintendo. If I was the head honcho at Atlus or even just an employee there, I would be scared for anyone else to buy Atlus except Nintendo. Everybody else is struggling and most companies are laying off people left and right.
I do hope Nintendo at least buy some of their IP's if not the whole company, but $200 million seems an awful lot. It's a long long long term investment if Nintendo acquires Atlus for that price, but they could afford them. For that price though, I would totally understand if Nintendo passed on Atlus, but my gut still wants them to make the purchase even though it might not make sense financially. I'm still sure Nintendo will make the right decision, because if not the whole company, they can still grab a lot of the talent from Atlus. I guarantee there will be an exodus of employees if anyone but Nintendo wins the bid. Let's be honest here, only one company can save Atlus, and it's Nintendo.
Atlus is definitely worth that 200 million imo. Their IPs are excellent and they aren't afraid to take chances.
A few questions, please.
First, does anyone know and confirm what other companies besides Sega that have made an initial bid for Atlus?
Second, who has the financial resources readily available to make a 20 billion yen (roughly over $200 million) bid for Atlus right now in the Japanese entertainment industry, especially with a lot of companies are penny-pitching right now? Reality is that the number to beat, if anyone else wants Atlus.
Remember, “The Index Corp., based in Tokyo, is seeking as much as 15.0 billion yen ($148.7 million) in the asset sale to assist it in dealing with its 24.5 billion yen ($242.9 million) of debt, Bloomberg News said.”
Wow, the sale of Atlus only seems to be enough to cover and surpass expected Asset Sales, if the initial bid numbers (high bid at over $200 million) are finalized.
Source for the Quote: http://www.ibtimes.com/atlus-prize-asset-index-co…
Nintendo better be one of those bidders. They NEED to acquire Atlus. It would be a major cap in their feather. I think Nintendo is the only right choice here. I would be seriously confused if Nintendo didn't even try to get Atlus. They have the money, so I don't see why not.
The more I think about it the less I want Sega to buy them.
My question is, can Sega really afford to make the purchase?
Simple answer, yes.
I think the question should be is whether or not, who ever acquires Atlus; will they Atlus to operate under their normal business model (a key feature while Atlus manage to stay afloat since the 1980s), which is to run a small operation (publishing & game development) with reasonable to conservative goals of game sales. Basically, Atlus is the anti-standard gaming company unless other gaming companies of today (overbudget game development, near-impossible sales numbers, anti-fan communication etc).
I think that nintendo should be the one to acquire atlus. Although they are supporting ninety, the only game they are will to bring to the 3ds and the wii u are sonic lost world and sonic and mario mash up. Other games likely not to come because those will be put on either PS and Xbox negative ( their games don’t sell we’ll on those because those fps shoo shoo boom games). Also they are not in any condition, because of fail games on other consoles. The game that come to nintendo is sonic ,other games genre are rare. To make things worst is alien didn’t sell and they are getting sued. For kadawka , I nearly see any games get localized. Namco bandai they are some what not supporting nintendo and haven’t since the tales remake on the 3ds.( my opinion only reason project x zone was localized because nintendo owned monolith soft who made the game and they were to pull some strings.) They aren’t willing to make a wii u verison of soul caliber ( I also think online tekken as well). So far I haven’t seen anything from them since. Remember when they own monolith soft, they destroyed them until nintendo bought them ( they became great again.) I don’t know if they sell on sony’s or Microsoft consoles and end up selling atlus if they do acquire them( they haven’t been supportive at all). Capcom has games , but for reason they cannot keep their games exculsive on nintendo platforms ( they are able to do that on the ps and Xbox negative infinite). Remember resident evil revelations( 6 sucked so bad they got rid of 3ds exculsive verison) monster hunter is starting not to become exculsive they are again coming back to ps3 and pc. Batman has no online , ubisoft is cutting down support, ea like money more than nintendo, were unlikely get the dlc for cod. Other third party feel it good idea to a game that has barely anything in for full price or a lazy port. SE isn’t willing to bring final fantasy or kingdom hearts and they sell well on nintendo consoles. That is the reason why nintendo should acquire atlus because they will support them. Like many people said they have a great relationship. I hope they are one of the 20 bidding for atlus because they are working close together and their games sell well on nintendo console for a while now. Get 30 on shop account if you register fire emblem and shin megami tensei 4 and they are working together with those franchises( I think I spelled the titles right).
If I’m missing something you can add more.
Ps: Great site Francis, better than those doom and glomm sites. I been on this site a lot and hesitated to post comments. Sorry for spelling error I’m typing on my phone.
No problem! Welcome to the site, hope to see you posting more!
Are my reason why nintendo should buy Atlus reasonable?
Yes!
I'll admit I have a sort of fanboy desire for Ninty to buy Atlus. It would preserve all the amazing games already coming to their systems while giving them greater access to rest of Atlus' talents. Plus, with how they've been treating indies and Monolith Soft I can't help but believe it could be a great match.
I'm not a big fan of the Sega route though. As much as a third party buying Atlus sounds great (nothing will change, so no one really loses!) Sega just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, they're the ones that canceled Bayonetta: an amazing niche series…hmmm, what are other amazing niche series I can think of? Oh yeah, SMT, Persona, Trauma Center, Catherine, and Etrian Odyssey…Atlus, pretty much. I'd hate to see Sega can SMT, have to watch Nintendo save it, and then have the Sony Ponies unleashed on us again like it's Nintendo's fault. I'd rather just face the flame head on while enjoying great titles like SMT V and Persona 5.