From the Land of the Rising Sun comes the major news. Details are inside!
Joining forces, Namco and Bandai would become the second largest game/toy maker in Japan. Their combined 458 billion yen in annual sales would be surpassed only by that of Sega Sammy Holdings.
Both companies had been looking for other companies with which to integrate their operations to ensure their survival against newly intensified competition.
Japan's leading toy maker (Bandai), and one of the leaders in video game offerings (Namco), hope to have everything in place by this Autumn.
We'll have more information on this breaking news as it comes out.
UPDATE: CNN reports that Bandai is purchasing Namco for $1.6 billion.
Financial experts believe the merge will not significantly affect either companies' operations.
"Basically, this is a positive step for both firms," said Takeshi Tajima, a consultant at BNP Paribas. "This isn't a merger where one is rescuing the other. Each will bring strengths to the table and together they can work to address any weak points."
Namco fans around the world can only hope Mr. Tajima's statements are accurate.
UPDATED AGAIN: Namco's official Japanese site discloses further details. The merged company, Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc., will be established on 29 September 2005. Kyushiro Takagi (Representative Director of Namco) will act as Chairman and Director and Takeo Takasu (Bandai President and Director) will assume the role of President and Representative Director. These two head honchos will be joined by three other directors from each company, as well as others from outside of either company.
The official report also iterates Namco Bandai's plans to focus on both companies' strengths. Most importantly for American gamers, this means that the company will play up Bandai's strong merchandising muscle and Namco's software development skills.
poor Sega 
Sega-Namco has a nicer ring to it... (Virtua Fighter vs Tekken: You know you want it!)
