Support NeoGAF

[ULTROS!]

as far as I'm aware all the actual talent behind the Lunar series has continued to work with GameArts, Kubooka, Shigema, Hino, Uesaka, Uchida all stayed til Grandia 2 and most of them are still there or have worked with GA in the last few years

I see, guess that sort of invalidates my point then. But why is there some sort of legal problem regarding the Lunar IP (or specifically, Eternal Blue I think).

 

[Ban Puncher]

New Challenger Approaching!

Yip!

 

[Rpgmonkey]

Interesting.

Hopefully if another company picks them up they'll basically operate as they are now instead of being exclusive to one company's platforms or pushing yearly Persona sequels or whatever.

 

[jimmythepage]

Let's kickstart it!

Ok, really, I fear they will be stripped of all their IPs like it happened with THQ just to cover the bank and then disappear.

Sad for all the employes, a great company.

 

[RPGamer92]

New Challenger Approaching!

Yip!

If anyone from SMT/Persona got in, it'd be Jack Frost.

 

[ash_ag]

Both Konami and SE have a bad history with this kind of stuff. I don't want Atlus to be the next Hudson or Taito.

Come on, don't compare Hudson with Taito. Unless I'm wrong, Square Enix has done good to Taito, if anything. Their arcade business is going as it was (that's why they bought them, after all), and we've had gems like Space Invaders Extreme and regular entries to each and every of their core franchises (even Lufia). I think they liquefied two Taitos subs, but I'm not sure what purpose their filled -- maybe that's why you mentioned them?

What has Konami even done with Hudson?

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

I think honestly Nintendo is going to be interested. Wii U is floundering and they have just recently indicated that they are going to open the war chest to expand their operations - one way of doing that is buying a well known developer/IP like Altus. Sony has just barely started to make money as a company. Money-hatting a game and buying an entire studio is two different venture. I don't think they have the stomach to buy Altus unless it can be had at a discount, but if Nintendo is in the bidding war then I don't think Sony will do it just to get Persona 5 on Vita/PSx. Nintendo has much more to gain by taking P5 away from Sony and really solidify their position as the future of Japanese handheld gaming, and they also have the resource to do more with Altus' various IPs. My gut feeling is that Nintendo and Sony will bid it out and NCL will win. And GAF will be in full meltdown - bayo 2 x 100.

Recently? lol. The only new partnership they've announced after Bayo was Sonic. WiiU getting Persona 5 is really going to help it lol. Delusional. 3DS is already doing well and nothing Atlus has will alleviate the WiiU's problems.

 

[Dantis]

If anyone from SMT/Persona got in, it'd be Jack Frost.

He's not making a Smash Bros joke. He's making a joke about the Fox being rich.

I think, anyway.

 

[Soriku]

Realistically, they're the team that really matters.

IDK man the majority of their games aren't Persona games...

Most of their Megaten games aren't Persona games.

 

[gngf123]

He's not making a Smash Bros joke. He's making a joke about the Fox being rich.

I think, anyway.

That's how I took it as well.

However, I'd be totally okay with Jack Frost in Smash.

 

[Daschysta]

Recently? lol. The only new partnership they've announced after Bayo was Sonic. WiiU getting Persona 5 is really going to help it lol. Delusional. 3DS is already doing well and nothing Atlus has will alleviate the WiiU's problems.

They already commissioned smtxfe...

 

[Just take it with you.]

Interesting.

Hopefully if another company picks them up they'll basically operate as they are now instead of being exclusive to one company's platforms or pushing yearly Persona sequels or whatever.

This, basically.

Let's hope whoever buys Atlus (or the parts that were Atlus) is someone who'll let them remain an independent third-party entity.

 

[Honey Bunny]

You know what to do Electronic Arts!

 

[entremet]

To be fair, that hasn't stopped Sony from buying companies before (Gaikai acquisition last year comes to mind)

But what was the last major Japanese investment SCE has made?

 

[fluffydelusions]

#SonySaveAtlus

 

[Caerith]

That fox could buy Sony and Nintendo with all the money he's gotten from me.

Oh, but if we are making Smash Bros jokes, I don't see why it would be one of the Jacks. The most recognizable character is easily Mara.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

Nintendo fanboys want Nintendo to buy them and Sony fanboys want Sony to own them. Typical Persona 5 thread.

Worst choices:
MS (exclusivity to Xbox)
Nintendo (exclusivity to Nintendo)
Sony (exclusivity to PS)
SE (probabaly will make it an ios game)
Capcom (will give the rights to a western dev)

Time for Valve to move in and monopolise the JRPG market.

 

[MrValtor]

Gotta call Nintendo

 

[Homu]

If Atlus actually went to Sony (and I doubt that will happen), I'd sell my 3DS the next day.

 

[Daimaou]

I know, I have 3 Persona's in my top 5 Megaten games:

1. SMT3 Nocturne
2. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
3. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
4. Persona 2: Innocent Sin
5. Persona 4

Also Dai we are on IRC now instead of Steam, haven't seen you in a while lol

I fell back into WoW pretty hard, so I haven't been on GAF much, but I've run out of stuff to do recently.

I've never really used IRC, I should try to figure it out.

 

[Coxy]

I see, guess that sort of invalidates my point then. But why is there some sort of legal problem regarding the Lunar IP (or specifically, Eternal Blue I think).

there isnt? They specificly tried to drum up some interest in a psp remake:
http://www.siliconera.com/2010/03/19/lunar-silver-star-harmony-producer-talks-future-of-lunar/

the only reason it never happened is likely poor sales of the first psp game

The reason I'm blaming gungho is because I followed the development of Grandia Online pretty heavily. gamearts had to make the game 4 times, GungHo kept pushing them to make it a more generic korean MMO. There was a time when it was called Grandia Zero and was going to be an actual part of the series and looked cool and had a story, gungho pushed them to make the absolute shite we ended up with

 

[Nezzhil]

Anyone is better than Konami, I will never forget...

 

[Sendou]

So what would be so bad about Sony or Nintendo buying them? They're one of the more substantial players in the industry. Is buying Playstation 4 or Wii U and 3DS out of question for some? Wouldn't it be more reassuring that your favorite company has actually money behind it and you would know exactly what platforms to buy to play their games?

 

[Samurai_Heart]

You know what to do Electronic Arts!

Spoiler

I know it's a joke but had to XD

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Spoiler

I know it's a joke but had to XD

Poor Vegeta ;(

 

[libregkd]

But what was the last major Japanese investment SCE has made?

Got me there. Could be reason enough for them to make an invest though since its been so long (especially with talk of trying to make SCEJ relevant again).

But to be honest, I don't want either Sony or Nintendo to be potential buyers. I just want a company that will essentially keep Atlus the same as they are now and let them make games for whatever system they want to.

 

[Shahed]

All these Sony and Nintendo posts make me sad. Why not a 3rd party publisher instead?

 

[DBPlayer]

Recently? lol. The only new partnership they've announced after Bayo was Sonic. WiiU getting Persona 5 is really going to help it lol. Delusional. 3DS is already doing well and nothing Atlus has will alleviate the WiiU's problems.

I think it's more delusional to think Sony will buy an entire developer just to keep one semi-popular hardcore game on their last gen/dying handheld platform. It make more sense for Nintendo to do it due to the lack of 3rd party support, plus the hard-core RPG gamers they will convert to their platform. Sony doesn't have the same issue - they will get hosts of other popular RPGs.

 

[Father_Brain]

Nordic Games, maybe?

 

[Sendou]

All these Sony and Nintendo posts make me sad. Why not a 3rd party publisher instead?

Like who?

Nordic Games, maybe?

lol

 

[ShogunDarius]

Ahahaha saw your tweet to Yosp to buy them up XD

Yup I did tweet that, I know he reads his tweets, not sure if NIS do or I would have tweeted them too

 

[NeonZ]

Let's kickstart it!

Ok, really, I fear they will be stripped of all their IPs like it happened with THQ just to cover the bank and then disappear.

The issue with Atlus' IPs is that many of them are tied together. A Devil Survivor or Persona without the SMT IP would need to redesign all demons/Persona, change some names and more... It'd also heavily cripple re-releases of the games due to those elements. The various parts of the SMT franchise have to stay with a single owner otherwise it'll just create many complications going forward.

Recently? lol. The only new partnership they've announced after Bayo was Sonic.

FE x SMT was announced in the beginning of this year. Although, you're right about the idea of Atlus' titles saving the Wii U being stupid.

 

[Dantis]

IDK man the majority of their games aren't Persona games...

Most of their Megaten games aren't Persona games.

Yup.

But most of the best ones had involvement from the Persona Team.

All these Sony and Nintendo posts make me sad. Why not a 3rd party publisher instead?

This would definitely be the best outcome (Outside of just surviving at Index).

 

[RPGCrazied]

SMT and Persona needs saving. I hope they will sell the ips if things get really bad.

 

[TheSeks]

All these Sony and Nintendo posts make me sad. Why not a 3rd party publisher instead?

Well, Atlus has generally been publishing on Sony/Nintendo majority. Now and then PC/X-box titles. If a third party bought them, I don't see that really changing.

 

[Homu]

Like who?

TK, GungHo, NIS

 

[Raist]

So was that what Nirolak was referring to when he made that cryptic post about persona 5?

 

[2+2=5]

well, tropes vs women in video games: at least you tried

Are you kidding me? Have you played bayonetta?
Her extreme sexuality was ironic and a joke to all the sexualized character in video games, cutting that would be a damage for girls, not me that i want it.
Bayonetta without extreme sexual attitude would make her a simply a stylish fighter, a female dante more or less, bayonetta is more than that.

Bayonetta doing sexy things at her own will is all she ever does lol. Watch the damn video a page back if it looks toned down from Bayo 1 then I dont know what to tell you... weirdo

I dunno, i have seen this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amFu1hsOtuM

And call your sister weirdo.

 

[QaaQer]

I think honestly Nintendo is going to be interested. Wii U is floundering and they have just recently indicated that they are going to open the war chest to expand their operations - one way of doing that is buying a well known developer/IP like Altus. Sony has just barely started to make money as a company. Money-hatting a game and buying an entire studio is two different venture. I don't think they have the stomach to buy Altus unless it can be had at a discount, but if Nintendo is in the bidding war then I don't think Sony will do it just to get Persona 5 on Vita/PSx. Nintendo has much more to gain by taking P5 away from Sony and really solidify their position as the future of Japanese handheld gaming, and they also have the resource to do more with Altus' various IPs. My gut feeling is that Nintendo and Sony will bid it out and NCL will win. And GAF will be in full meltdown - bayo 2 x 100.

Actually, the 3ds-Vita fight is done. Vita is Sony's last dedicated handheld, and no other corporation will be entering that market. Nintendo 'won'. There is zero reason to moneyhat games let alone buy a studio just to get games on 3ds. Their fight now is against the smartphone/tablet tide, which has dramatically hurt 3ds software unit sales.

As far as meltdowns, I doubt we'll see any. I don't think there is anyone deluded enough to think Vita is going to get any exclusives that aren't from Sony studios going forward.

Personally, I can see Persona 5 releasing on the following platforms, with a few months in between each release: PS3 followed by 3DS followed by Vita followed by iOS followed by Android.

 

[Y2Kev]

Stop talking about batonetta's couture. No one wants to read that. This is a thread about index holdings.

 

[SenatorBot]

I see Tecmo Koei, Gungho and Bamco to be the ones with enough spare cash to buy up Atlus easily without sacrificing their ability to publish games on every platform.

 

[Sendou]

I see Tecmo Koei, Gungho and Bamco to be the ones with enough spare cash to buy up Atlus easily without sacrificing their ability to publish games on every platform.

Why do they need to be able to have games on every platform? :S

 

[ULTROS!]

there isnt? They specificly tried to drum up some interest in a psp remake:
http://www.siliconera.com/2010/03/19/lunar-silver-star-harmony-producer-talks-future-of-lunar/

the only reason it never happened is likely poor sales of the first psp game

The reason I'm blaming gungho is because I followed the development of Grandia Online pretty heavily. gamearts had to make the game 4 times, GungHo kept pushing them to make it a more generic korean MMO. There was a time when it was called Grandia Zero and was going to be an actual part of the series and looked cool and had a story, gungho pushed them to make the absolute shite we ended up with

That's even more depressing than the suing issue.

 

[Celine]

Fuck you new Konami.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Are you kidding me? Have you played bayonetta?
Her extreme sexuality was ironic and a joke to all the sexualized character in video games, cutting that would be a damage for girls, not me that i want it.
Bayonetta without extreme sexual attitude would make her a simply a stylish fighter, a female dante more or less, bayonetta is more than that.


I dunno, i have seen this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amFu1hsOtuM

And call your sister weirdo.

Stop talking about batonetta's couture. No one wants to read that. This is a thread about index holdings.

Yea! What Y2Kev said

 

[Shahed]

Like who?

I don't know. I'm not that familiar with Japanese publishers and their situations. Namco? They might have too much DLC and too many releases for my liking though. What about Gungho or Marvelous AQL?

The people hoping to get one over the other team with their desire to see a first party pick them up is disappointing is all

 

[boinx]

I'm fine with either Sony or Nintendo buying them out since i have their consoles but some third party publisher is most likely to purchase them. Will it be a high profile publisher like Capcom or Square? I don't know, probably not since their games are pretty niche. They sell well for niche games though but they still ain't very big titles.

 

[ShogunDarius]

honestly all this talk of Tecmo Koei getting the company has me worried slightly, I like TK dont get me wrong but on handhelds they aren't that great at bringing games from Japan over here, even a main series like Samurai Warriors latest installments aren't even out here both 3DS and PS3.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

Why do they need to be able to have games on every platform? :S

There are several reasons, the most prominent is the fact that if Sony or Nintendo buys Atlus themselves do not expect the Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (MMORPG) to continue, don't expect to see the rerelease of Atlus games on Virtual Console or PSN etc

honestly all this talk of Tecmo Koei getting the company has me worried slightly, I like TK dont get me wrong but on handhelds they aren't that great at bringing games from Japan over here, even a main series like Samurai Warriors latest installments aren't even out here both 3DS and PS3.

Yes, no Tecmo-Koei

The best publisher I can see for Atlus is NIS, but have no idea if they can buy them.

 

[Yo93]

this is random, right?
https://twitter.com/yosp/status/350217505349963776