Two big named in the video game field have merged. Bandai and Namco are now one and will share gaming licenses. Their new name is now Namco Bandai Games. Here is a statement that the company released on January 4th:
?Namco and Bandai Officially Integrate In North America,
Creating NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
Joint North American Operations Now Based In Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara, Calif., (January 4, 2006) — NAMCO HOMETEK INC. and Bandai
Games Inc. today announced that the integration of their two companies
is now complete. The two companies are now officially known as NAMCO
BANDAI Games America Inc. in North America. The company now operates
out of the Santa Clara, California facility, formerly held by NAMCO
HOMETEK INC.
Effective January 2, 2006, NAMCO BANDAI Holdings (USA) Inc. (formerly
called NAMCO HOLDING CORP.) owns all of the BANDAI NAMCO Group US
subsidiaries including Bandai America Inc. (Toy), Bandai Entertainment,
Inc.(Visual/DVD), NAMCO AMERICA INC. (Arcade machine), NAMCO
CYBERTAINMENT INC.(Arcade facility), NAMCO NETWORKS AMERICA INC. (Mobile games) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.(Video games).
“We are thrilled that the integration of the two North American entities
is now complete and we are all now under one roof,” said Genichi Ito,
the new President and CEO of NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “We are
proud to be part of the new NAMCO BANDAI Games America family and look
forward to a successful year ahead.”
“The integration of our two companies has been a team effort over the
last several months,” said Naruo Uchida, who is joining from Bandai
Games Inc. and now serving as the Corporate Planning Senior Vice
President of NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “We have worked together to
fuse the many strengths each of our companies have to form one strong
North American operation.”
The integration brings together two of the most well-respected
Japanese-owned interactive entertainment companies. With brands
including Pac-Man(r), Tamagotchi(r), SoulCalibur(r), Naruto and
Tekken(r), NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. ‘s separate brands now fall
under one strong brand, with many new properties and offerings also on
the horizon.
Stay with mygamer.com as more news about this important merger continues.
-Zachary Gasiorowski