Topic: Atlus Co., Ltd. Absorbed by Parent Company - UPDATED

[Crimm]

The Shin Megami Tensei and Trauma Center developer will no longer operate as an independent developer/publisher.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/23940

Japanese developer and publisher Atlus Co., Ltd. has been dissolved by parent company Index Holdings, which originally acquired the company on October 30, 2007. The parent company will continue to release games under the Atlus brand, merged with their mobile subsidiary Index, and Atlus will no longer operate as an independent entity. Atlus will no longer be listed on the Japanese stock exchange following the merger on October 1, and Index has the possibility of using Atlus IP for cell phone titles.

It is not yet known how publishing divisions and foreign branches are affected. Atlus USA is a subsidiary of Atlus, acting as a publisher for Atlus-developed games, while also localizing and publishing games from other Japanese developers such as Sting Entertainment's Baroque, and Shiren the Warrior from Chunsoft. Upcoming releases include Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City for Nintendo DS.

Update: Inzaghi, an administrator on Atlus USA's message boards, described this as "corporate organizational maneuvering" and notes it "will not effect anything we do."

[ThePerm]

pull an Atari and change your name? Atlas is a stronger brand name.

[TJ Spyke]

Actually, it appears that nothing will change. Games will still be developed and publishes by Atlus, it will just not be a seperate company. With Atari/Infogrames, Infogrames itself change its name.

[greybrick]

I think my main concern with this is that the parent company will find it not worth their while bringing titles to the US that we would have otherwise gotten. True, Atlus titles are usually difficult to find due to their small production runs and high sales:production ratio, but I can see Index deciding not to bother with some of these ventures.

[Stratos]

I think my main concern with this is that the parent company will find it not worth their while bringing titles to the US that we would have otherwise gotten. True, Atlus titles are usually difficult to find due to their small production runs and high sales:production ratio, but I can see Index deciding not to bother with some of these ventures.

I hope that is not the case. They release some wonderfully unique games we would regularly not get.

[Mop it up]

I can only hope that this does not spell the end of the Trauma Center series.

[TJ Spyke]

I don't think this will have any impact on Atlus titles, this just means they will not be separate from their parent company. Considering that the Trauma series has done pretty well and is one of their better selling franchises, I doubt they will end it because of this.