About Twenty Companies Including Sega Made a Bid on Atlus, 20 Billion Yen Offered

Looks like things are starting to get heated on the war for the acquisition of Atlus. About twenty companies including Sega made a bid on the studio.

[Jreca]

They are worth it. I hope some third party retailer can take them and assure it's independence.

[Kevlar009]

3rd party does seem ideal. Everyone wins

[Toon_Link]

3rd party would be great, but I was really hoping Atlus would have bought their independence.

[ZodTheRipper]

Are there any 3rd parties that could support Atlus enough? Sega would be a joke, I'm still hoping for Sony, I want to see some RPG greatness for PS4.

[Need4Game]

SONY !!!

[DeFFeR]

I'd be okay with Sony buying them, but I would definitely miss playing ATLUS games on my 3DS.

It would also probably kill any chance of the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem cross-over game that was in the works :/

[Ritsujun]

Sony and Atlus both deserve each other.

[Reibooi]

3rd party is what I hope happens but more then that I want someone who can provide the funding they need and just leave them alone so they can continue making the great games they make without someone dumbing them down for stupid reasons.

Atlus games are so great because they don't fear taking on very mature themes and subject matter and if the wrong people get them then they may screw with that.

[guitarded77]

I'm for 3rd party, but I can't think on one big 3rd party pub that would be a great match.

As for Sony or Nintendo... I'd trust Sony more to allow them to take chances, and make more adult driven games. I don't see an ideal situation with either though.

[DragonKnight]

I hope that none of the following get Atlus.

Sega, Capcom, EA, Activision, Microsoft.

All of those companies would be the death of Atlus.

It would be interesting if Square-Enix picked them up, but still worrisome.

[pixelsword]

That could be a console game-changer; DS and DkS were the "Castlevania" of this gen, and I could see myself buying the console that went exclusive on.

The only problem is if companies like EA gets their hands on them because they love to impose things on games which don't need them.

[gaffyh]

They're in a 24.5 billion yen debt, and have bids of up to 20 billion, surely they would just take the highest bid? Although, Atlus themselves probably have a say as they probably don't want to be bought out by a company that will ultimately change the publisher for the worse.

[AbortMission]

I agree. I want Atlus to remain free but if a Big 3 company were to buy them, I definitely would want Sony to do so. Sony is very lenient and encouraging with their devs to make the best games. MS is horrible at that and Nintendo is a dying ship at best.

But for now, I want Atlus to stay independent and 3rd party. Or perhaps one day they'll be able to buy themselves off?

[user5575708]

honestly if sega/sammy is the name mentioned in the article then i would say its a safe bet that they are the largest and most well known company bidding on atlus

if sony or nintendo were bidding i think it would have been leaked

[AzureskyZ]

I dont want sega to win this-- they have a history of not releasing jrpgs out in the states-- pso2 , shinging series, valk 3-- i think marvelous or nis is the best choice

[RedDevils]

Come on Sony!

[miyamoto]

Atlus will have my $50 this August 6,2013.

Come to me Dragon's Crown baby!

[TronEOL]

It's gotta be a damn good 3rd party (Ubisoft, Valve, etc), or Sony. If they want to keep their creative freedom, it's gotta be one of those choices.

I can only see Sega or Sony knowing what to do with them though. And at least with Sony, they're guaranteed creative freedom, and help from Sony's other first parties, using Sony's in-house dev engine if they choose.

My only issue with that is that they'd become Sony exclusive if Sony bought them, and I'd feel bad for others since Atlus makes games for all platforms.

[zeal0us]

I just hope Atlus don't experience the same situation Rare went through after they got brought out by Microsoft.

[Misaka_x_Touma]

Reason Nintendo need them. Bith Intelligent System and SMT, Etrian Odyssey, Trauma, Persona same developer are working together anyway. Not only that Index owes Nintendo over 100m.

[DonFreezer]

What are you smoking about?What game did Rare ask Microsoft to make and they refused to cooperate?Are you that buthurt? I think Nintendo should be the winning bidder. The Wii U needs a huge rpg alongside Xenoblade to become the must have console for rpg gamers. And since most publishers are buthurt on Nintendo they should buy them.

[Myze]

Main problem with Nintendo, at least for me, is that they would probably never have a major release on a console again. The handheld games are great and all, but I'm a MUCH bigger fan of console games. I don't want to see Persona be exclusive to handhelds (3DS or Vita).

[Donnieboi]

Hell NO not SEGA! They don't even publish Valkyria Chronicles 3 in the west. SEGA is a total mess right now. Would prefer Gung Ho!

[Protagonist]

Here is hoping for Sony, since its "a bid on the studio behind Persona and Catherine"

[nirwanda]

Segas not in a mess the made $131million profit last quarter, sega are good at making the right game for the right pc/console.

[KillaManiac]

EXACTLY...

Where current Atlas would bring over SO much we can't even get Valkyria Chronicles 3 or hell where is the Phantasy Star Online 2 that was announced for the west but suspended indefinitely over a year ago.

[ziggurcat]

@protagonist

... And they published demon's souls, as well as 3d dot game heroes...

[Donnieboi]

Why do they only mention SEGA? Who are the other bidders?

[Muffins1223]

My guess sony

[pixelsword]

Yeah; the big boys are probably breaking bread with Atlus because I can't see any independent game company kicking around the big numbers.

[Xer0_SiN]

as much as i would like them for be strictly independent, the most logical choice for them is to be acquired by sony. sony would give them the freedom they deserve and atlus already has a fantastic standing with sony and their products. its a win-win really.

[MrMister]

Although 3rd party would be ideal, the best of the 1st party companies would indeed likely be Sony. Sony's company named Aniplex produces and distributes Atlus's films, and soundtracks. So at least there's no worries about their films being cancelled or cut off. Also Sony would never censor them.

If I could choose a 3rd party, it would be Gung Ho (wealthy, acquired niche japanese devs such as the makers of Tenchu and the devs of Mind Zero (a blatant Persona knockoff), and works with Suda 51 (who is NO stranger to controversial games). Also XSEED's parent company (Marvelous AQL), would be good as they already acquired Atlus's online division not too long ago. But Marvelous AQL may not have the money to buy them. Gung Ho Online, however, makes about $4 million a day (due simply to their Puzzles and Dragons game), and is already worth countless billions. Plus they've published console games like the recent Ragnarok game and some others.

[helghast102]

That would mean either breaking their contract for SMTxFE and getting sued, or Sony paying for Wii U development.

They need to remain third party, you fanboys just want to shove your exclusives in everyone's face.

I hope Nippon Ichi Software is trying to get in on this, they'd be a great choice.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

@helgast

SMTxFE is a 3ds game, not a wii u.

[helghast102]

@Vashlion
Please don't try to correct me with falsities.
It's a Wii U game.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Myze]

@helghast102

I believe Atlus Co. is well over twice the size of Nippon Ichi Software, so I don't that's gonna work.

I do agree they should stay 3rd party.

However, about the SMTxFE project. They could require, on being bought, that all current projects are completed if bought by, say, Sony. That would not be an uncommon occurance, as similar situations have happened in the past. Also, it is very unlikely they could be sued for abandoning development, and we know zero details about any contract in play.

[Xer0_SiN]

the great thing about atlus is they are edgy. they arent afraid to take a chance. you guys remember demons soul? they arent afraid to fill the gap for the niche market. i a way they remind me of working design. those of you that are privelaged to remember that company.

[rainslacker]

Even being a Sony fan I would prefer Atlus to stay independent, even if brought out by a big 3rd party. Although IF a first party was the only choice, I'd say Sony for the same reasons you listed.

As far as those concerned for crossovers, keep in mind that if those games are in the works, contracts will already have been drawn up, and anyone buying them would have to honor any existing contracts as they would be part of the purchase, even if it's a first party publisher. It's possible they could break the contract if they felt it was a serious threat to their own brand, however given the nature of Atlus games, it would likely still be profitable, so best just to ride it out for future exclusivity on new games.

[Tr10wn]

Apart from Persona and shin megami tensei and maybe growlanser i don't know how you can justify 201 millions for that company, Sega is seen something i don't.

nvm, they make bunch of 3ds games now i understand the interest in that company, 3ds=money.

[MoveTheGlow]

Not only that, they make some of the best 3DS games out there if you've got a love of RPG's and the guts to face down some of the most cruel developers in the business. Maybe 3DS doesn't equal money from the start, but with the following they have on that system, they sure do.

[nirwanda]

JRPGs sell like crazy in Japan for obvious reasons and right now the 3DS is by far and away the most popular console, so being with a publisher that deals with Nintendo is probably essential.

[rainslacker]

Because that's what they're worth, or have the potential to be worth. Companies are looking at their potential revenue/profitability, and Atlus has already proven to have both high revenue and profitability. Only gamers judge a companies worth based on the games they make...although a lot of times the quality of a studios games is directly linked to their worth.

BTW...those 3 IP's you mentioned alone are probably worth at least 100 million. Do you have any idea how many copies they sell on any release holding those names. Atlus itself is both a publisher and developer with several studios under it's wings. They have quite a few IP's that are quite valuable.

Here's a list of all their games as both publisher or developer

http://www.gamefaqs.com/fea...

[Craigatorian]

why did they specifically point out Sega?

[ABizzel1]

Sony, Nintendo, and Namco would be best for Atlus IMO

Capcom, Square, or Sega are possible if they get their stuff together. (Capcom stop the ripping off, Square stop over spending, Sega start developing better games).

[showtimefolks]

here is hoping sony gets them

[Kevlar009]

The plot thickens. Wish we knew more on who all bid, guess we'll have to wait and find out

[_QQ_]

but who had the highest bid? wish we had a list of the bidders.

[Minato-Namikaze]

I dont think a list like that will be available, but i'd wanna see a list like that also.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

wish sony would pick them up. Atlus has some serious front runner potential with a lot of its software. would be great to see sony promise us some crazy exclusives down the road.

[Abriael]

No, a first party would just cut Atlus' wings instead of making them a "front runner".

[edgeofsins]

Cause Sony limits their first party? From what we see they give them plenty of time and a ton of help in their projects.

[Groo]

I'm sure EA, Activision or Sega wouldn't cut Atlus' wings right?

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

what in the world would ever give you that idea? many of the most creative, beautiful and truly outlandish games are exclusives, be it sonys, nintendos or microsofts. i dont know where youve been for the last 6 years, but its definitely multiplatform mindset that often kills creativity and ambition.

also, several development heads have stated how great and supportive sony is as a company to work with.

[Firan]

No because Atlus develops and publishes many games outside Sony platforms. Making Atlus any platform exclusive would just limit their overall offering.

If you really like Atlus then you know that 3rd party is the best solution.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

absolutely not. historically speaking, most of the more creative, and whacky higher quality titles have definitely been exclusive. multi platform is a creativity killer. 3rd party does definitely not expand their horizons by any means.

[Firan]

Exclusive yes but their series are for many consoles. If Sony, Nintendo or MS would buy Atlus, then they would only develop for one brand. That would suck.

3rd party does not expand their horizons? Of course it does. Instead of 1 console, they can develop and publish games for any console they want.

I don't know why are you mentioning multiplatform since the only multiplatform game they have developed is Catherine. Their other games were released exclusively and some were ported for other consoles later on.

[rainslacker]

I think for the discussion you have to seperate the games that Atlus develops, and the ones they just publish. Atlus doesn't own all of the developers of the games they publish. Sometimes they will fund developers projects, or seek out 3rd party developers to create a game they want to publish.

Going first party may cut out a lot of those types of games. However, things like Persona, SMT, Growlanser, etc, would belong to a new 1st party effectively making them exclusive.

I personally would rather see them stay 3rd party. I don't want anyone to have to not play their games because they don't want to get a particular system. If they do stay 3rd party, I hope they remain autonomous and can continue to run their company the way it's always been run. I'd imagine the really big 3rd parties would bring those IP's under their own banner to increase it's brand recognition.

[DiRtY]

@edgeofsins

Zipper Interactive: Bought by Sony in 2006, closed forever in 2012.

BigBig Studios: Bought by Sony in 2007, closed forever in 2012.

--> Sony is so supportive!

Rare: Bought by MS in 2002, still running and expanding.

--> MS killed Rare, because I don't like their games even though they sell great.

<3 N4G

[Groo]

and how well are the ones that Sony owns now doing these days?

[DiRtY]

Well it depends. Naughty Dog, Santa Monica are doing just fine and have good sales numbers.

Team ICO and the Last Guardian on the other hand is probably the perfect example of mismanagement.

[trouble_bubble]

@Dirty
Rare was a disaster this gen considering MS paid 375 million for 'em. Staff left, management changed, games tanked, the whole studio was restructured from AAA to Kinect shovelware, peaking with Kinect Sports.
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

"Sony is so supportive!"

Jenova Chen and David Cage seem to think so, and they're 3rd party to boot
http://www.nowgamer.com/new...
http://www.gameinformer.com...

[DiRtY]

Yeah, you don't like the Kinect Sports games, but they sold 8 million copies with 2 games. That is more than God of War 3 and GoW:A combined...

[trouble_bubble]

Really? You wanna play the "combined" game VS God of War?!?!

Okay here. God of War 3 per 2012 E3 press release http://www.videogamer.com/p... sold more than all FOUR of these Rare titles COMBINED

Perfect Dark Zero = 740,000
http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...
Banjo Nuts n Bolts = 720,000
http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...
Conker = 710,000
http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...
Viva Pinata = 430,000
http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...

Get it? Got it? Good. I didn't write the articles, post the estimates or do the press releases. tis what it is

[Concertoine]

Sony did indeed introduce some nefarious buisiness practices when 3rd party devs were perplexed by the needlessly complex cell architecture. Youre forgeting

Zipper interactive (SOCOM, MAG)
Super Bot Games (a studio created BY sony for PSABR)
SE Liverpool aka Psyknosis (wipeout)
SE Cambridge
989 Studios made the new Twisted Metal
Incognito (old twisted metal)

All studios were bought to get exclusives out when all the crappy ps3 ports were still out there, then went under because their games sold below expectations and sony didnt care enough to give them a boost. Theres at least a few more too. Sonys good and im sure this was all fueled by the ps3's troubled early lifespan, but this doesnt deserve to be neglected when everyone bitches about MS's Rare aquisition. Because these were all great studios, and at least MS made the right descisions to keep Rare alive.

[DiRtY]

Viva Pinata sold 1.52 million and not 430k like you claimed. You have to use the global numbers, not the NA ones.

That is 300k more than God of War: Ascension by the way.

Pretty big self own IMO.

And I said Santa Monica is posting healthy numbers anyway. All I said was Rare, as it is today, is a very healthy and profitable studio. And when you see studios dropping left and right, like SCE Liverpool. BigBig and Zipper, this is not a given.

[cee773]

@dirty

The viva piñata numbers are global in fact all the links is global.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

-zipper was nothing but a lackluster team of developers for years. glad sony gave them a chance but what it comes down to is that the developer talent just isnt there. nothing sony could have done about it. but OKAY, ill even give you that one.

-Bigbig studios? HAHAHAHA! IS THAT THE BEST YOUVE GOT? bro...their sole purpose was to develop small portable games for PSP. theyre one of the smallest companies out there. im so sorry you were apparently so deeply affected by their closing, but rest assured their parent company (evolution studios) is alive and kickin'. so no worries there! ;)

lol who even brings up rare as a strong point for MS's? Rare is trash since it was bought by MS. they ruined everything about the company and they have not produced a single worthwhile game since. most gamers would agree.

sony owns a slew of companies that have produced game of the year games year in and year out. most AAA games that are exclusive to xbox are made by companies they dont even own. not to mention each and every one of those companies is now developing for playstation as well. (bungie, epic, valve, ext)

[TronEOL]

It's worth noting that most of the developers Sony shut down were offered to join up with other Sony studios. They shut down the other entity, but kept the talent.

This saves them money obviously, and retains the talent pool from the previous company.

But I hope you enjoy your casual motion games. I'm sure you'll just have a blast playing Rare games for the rest of your life.

[Misaka_x_Touma]

after they just post a loss, spent a lot of money on PS4 development that going to go well when Atlus games get overshadowed by western games as a oppose to being on Nintendo where Atlus been more successful.

[MrMister]

More successful? Does Nintendo let their studios be their own publishers? Atlus is a publisher. Will they let them keep publishing? Also, does Nintendo show any interest in producing (financially) Animation films, music soundtracks, comic books (manga)? Does the modern Nintendo have absolutely ZERO reserves about publishing risque content (other than Bayonetta 2)? Especially after Nintendo had banned "The Binding of Issac"? Hmmm?

Well Atlus is interested in all of those things. So if Nintendo owned them, we would see a change so drastic in atlus that they would never be the same again. Ever. I don't mind it if Nintendo still has some or even all of Atlus's games on it's system, but NOT as an exclusive first party dev. The amount of things that would be stripped from Atlus would render it as a totally different entity. 3rd party is the best option...even for Nintendo fans. Because as a 3rd party Atlus is more free and can be as offensive (violence, sexually, and religiously offensive (unlike The Binding of Issac was allowed to be) as they want to be. It's far better for Atlus fans who fell in love with all aspects and it's edginess. Nintendo may let them get away with it as a 3rd party. But I don't want to risk it as a first party. No one knows FOR SURE that they will allow them to opperate as usual. So a 3rd party with similar interests as Atlus (publishing, animation/media, etc, very offensive and sensitive subject matter, etc). And don't give me that hoopla about Nintendo buying edgy games like Bayonetta 2. Games like that are a needle in a haystack with Nintendo (especially with the current way it's run). A 3rd party with Atlus's interest in mind would ease alot of worry in the hearts of Atlus fans, as well as allow Atlus to run as a publisher while still getting financial support from it's 3rd party owner/partner.

[Megaton]

Yeah, I think Sony's their best option. We all know what happens when Microsoft buys game companies (RIP Rare), and I think they'd just be exploited into the dirt by companies like EA, Activision, etc.

[Bluepowerzz]

sony would smash with atlus vita would soar too

[savaroth]

So roughly 200 million dollars for Atlus studio?
They'd better sell a lot of Persona 5 games ;)

[Donnieboi]

I hope it was a misquote (especially sin e it said "company" that makes Persona and Catherine, as opposed to saying "development team"). I hope they meant for ALL of Atlus. To buy only the Persona team would be bad since they all help each other out. In fact, some smt guys helped with persona 4 while some persona guys helped with SMT 4. Plus what will happen to their film and music divisions?

[sherimae2413]

as much as i love sony! please let it be a 3rd party, let it be gungho or tecmo for the best! and........ and .........

and capcom and square enix for the worst?...... nooo....
im still bummed by that breath of fire 6! capcom!!

[Hicken]

It'd be best if they could be bought by someone who wouldn't ruin the good thing they've got going. But most of the third party companies with the money to acquire them aren't exactly reliable, in that respect. Like Capcom, as you mention.

I said it to someone else before, but I'd like it best if Sony bought them, but allowed them to continue the franchises they have on other consoles. It'd never happen, but that would be the best outcome for ATLUS, I think. And for us gamers, too.

Edit: Perhaps Sony and Nintendo could each buy like a 50% stake, so neither could get in the other's way, and both could still get all their games.

[sherimae2413]

is that possible? a share between ninty and sony? well if it happens... sounds good ^_^

[TronEOL]

That last Edit you did was actually a fantastic idea. It'd probably be the first thing of it's kind happening in this industry.

I vote for this mystical option. (50/50 buyout from Sony and Nintendo)

[TimeSkipLuffy]

I wish Sony would buy Atlus and then output more and more exclusive RPGs for the Playstation brand + some new IPs :3

[MegaLagann]

No, no just stop with the whole "Atlus should go with Sony/Nintendo" rhetoric. The only people who would benefit are fanboys who can brag on forums that they got Persona 5 on "X" system. You know who would not benefit? Half the fanbase. If Sony were to buy Atlus, half the fanbase (the Nintendo fans) would lose, and if Nintendo were to buy Atlus, half the fanbase (the Sony fans) would lose. Also, that would mean no more Atlus USA, no more distributing and localizing games that would of never gotten over here like Dragon's Crown, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Code of Princess and more. And I know some people will bring up how I said "a first party Atlus is better than no Atlus". Yeah, but that's worst case scenario for me. Anyway, no Sony, no Nintendo, just stay third party Atlus. There, can we stop...

Oh and on a petty side note if Sony were to buy Atlus that would mean no more Etrian Odyssey games and i'd be D*MNED if that were to happen (I like the series...)

[doogiebear]

Gee, and I was so close to clicking agree, until you did that part at the end of your statement where you tried to do that little Nintendo plug-in. Oh well. Anyway, Nintendo is only the publisher of Etrian Odyssey in Europe. They don't own it. Atlus retains that IP.

[MegaLagann]

@doogiebear

That wasn't a Nintendo plug-in. Etrian Odyssey only works with two screens. If Sony were to buy Atlus, that would mean no more Etrian Odyssey as you can only do it with two screen (PS4 with Vita as a controller doesn't count as it would require people to buy a separate device just to play it and no company would be stupid enough to try that... unless you're Nintendo). I'm a big Etrian Odyssey fan, so I wouldn't want to see the series go the way of the dodo bird. I don't see what's so wrong with that. People on this site have been saying for a month they don't want Nintendo to buy Atlus because they would "ruin" Persona, but no one bats an eye to that. But when I say I wouldn't want Sony to buy Atlus because Etrian Odyssey, a series I love, would cease to exist because it needs a second screen it's an "pro Nintendo agenda" even though I didn't mention Nintendo AT ALL in that last part. And in the same post I said BOTH Sony and Nintendo fans needs to stop begging for Atlus to be bought because it would be bad for everyone. But apparently that flew over some people's heads. But yes, I have a pro Nintendo agenda.

[rainslacker]

While I admire your commitment to Etrian Odyssey, the fact remains no matter who buys them, there will likely be loses occured for many gamers around the world. The only way that things would stay the same is if Atlus is allowed to operate in it's current state as a completely separate entity from the larger corporate structure...not unlike they were with their current set up.

It's really hard to say if Sony or Nintendo would do that, or if they would want to bring it under their wing.

Keep in mind, it's possible for a 1st party to buy the company, and keep it a subsidiary operating completely independent of it's parent company. Atlus delves in quite a few areas of media, and much of it's worth would be lost if a 1st party were looking to buy it simply for their game IP's. However, it is hard to imagine they would want a company making products which benefit their competition.

I think one thing that many people are overlooking is that it's possible for a company completely unrelated to gaming specifically to buy it. Say like Viacom, AT&T, or any other various media outlets who want to gain revenues off of new business ventures. If this is the case, then it's likely to be business as normal for Atlus...or at least hopefully business close to normal.

In this I think people are being way too myopic and not seeing the bigger picture. There are way more than game companies that would be interested in Atlus as a whole. OTOH, it's quite possible that Atlus itself could be broken up into different parts for sale.

[GenericNameHere]

With Capcom and Square Enix's astubatory-may of mobile games, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, I pray to thee, Yu Narukami and Flynn and every big-breasted girl in the Devil Survivor series, PLEASE don't let those two horrible companies get a hold of Atlus! AND DEAR NO TO EA and Activision either!!!!

"bid on the studio behind Persona and Catherine."
Why Persona? It's a spin-off game, and the full title is still "Shin Megami Tensei Persona". Only Persona 4 The Golden removed the "Shin Megami Tensei" name

[Kaiou]

I doubt there are any bids from either nintendo or sony because they are not stupid enough to buy a third party company that develop on multi platforms only to significantly limit it's potential by making it release for one console.

[Bluepowerzz]

huuuurduuuurur

[pacostacos]

i want atlus games to remain multiplat!

[MegaLagann]

I don't know how I feel about this. Sega's been pretty shoddy with localizations lately (Yakuza 5, Phantasy Star Online 2, Valkyria Chronicles 3, anything to do with Shining Force) so the prospect of a Etrian Odyssey or Trauma Center staying in Japan doesn't sit well. On the plus side though, maybe Atlus games will finally be released in Europe... not two years later... and with a game breaking bug. Oh and the prospect of Atlus making games for iOS or digital only games? *Cringes*

Also, if Sega were to buy Atlus, what would happen to Atlus USA? Most of the games they bring out over here were not developed by Atlus, Atlus USA just got the distribution rights. So does Atlus USA go away, and say goodbye to games like Dragon's Crown, Gungir, Code of Princess and more? Or does Atlus USA absorb into Sega of America and become a little localization branch. If that were the case I would be all for that buy it remains to be seen. Hell Sega might not even win the bid. Could be a company like GunHo or Marvelous AQL.

[Donnieboi]

Lets pray it's GungHo or Marvelous AQL. I mean, literally pray :O

[MadLad]

Keep it 3rd party.
Keep the player base as large as possible.

[r21]

Capcom, SE, Sega...stay away from this studio. Some 3rd party multiplatform supporter would be grand and ideal.

[Weetrice]

If Tecmo Koei or NIS is in the bid I'm rooting for either of them

[majiebeast]

Nis doesnt have the cash for this.

I dont want Sega to buy Atlus, we have been begging for ages with Yakuza and VC3 and it falls on deaf ears. Sega is a company that sabotages itself and its developers every step of the way. Only thing Sega does well is PC games.

Gungho,Marvelous or a holdings group outside of gaming would be a good choice.

I dont want
Square Enix,Capcom or Konami touching them because everything will become a freaking shitty mobile game no1 asked for.

[MrMister]

Damn, it's funny that you mentioned Konami. Apparently Konami is a minority shareholder for Atlus, Genki, and Sting. Also, Atlus has exclusive publishing deal to publish Sting's games. So it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that Konami may be a bidder too. But I also hope Konami doesn't get involved.

Damn, what a fine mess Index Co. made for Atlus. SMH.

[Weetrice]

Mmm I guess your right about NIS since they don't potentially have the cash to outbid the other companies.

Gung Ho Online or Tecmo Koei are my top choices atm. I would like a company with EU/NA branch so localization for Western fans is faster.

[zekk]

won't mind namco Bandai

[blackblades]

Sony, namco, temcokoei mainly namco.

[Agent_hitman]

Sony should buy atlus lol.

[fsfsxii]

Sega... lol
We'd never see any thing outside japan from them again.
Namco... lol even more
Either go with Gung Ho and stay 3rd party, or 1st part with Sony

[Moncole]

I hope they stay third party.

[Baka-akaB]

Someone needs to pry this away from Sega's stiff hands . They'd be the kiss of death to some properties

[CaptainSheep]

Aw, **** no. Not Sega.

[ApolloTheBoss]

So long as it doesn't go to Sega, Square, or Capcom I don't care who it goes to. NOTHING will stop me from buying Persona 5.

[wingman32x]

The plot thickens. As an NHL fan, this reminds me of trade deadline drama lol.

High profile player gets put on the market(Atlus). It draws a lot of potential suitors. The team holding the player's rights(Index), takes time to narrow the list and ultimately decide on a partner.

Now, I know this isn't a 1:1 analogy, obviously, but that's honestly what it feels like to me at this point.

Hopefully a third party gets it so things can go on as normal.

[andshesays]

this is so worrying...

they will completely ruin Shin Megami Tensei :(..

[Misaka_x_Touma]

Then Nintendo is the only choice.

[Kratoscar2008]

Its the one that makes most sense too, and they probably have the biggest bid of them all they are really rich.

Iwata open tha checkbook!

[nigelp520]

Only if Sega was more into Localizing their rceent games ill say im all for it. I kind of understand their reasons but most Atlus games are for a niche audience.BTW how many companies and studios has Sega bought in the past few years?? If their Sonic team studio was amazing I wish they would get back into hardware

[Baka-akaB]

Even if they localized better , they have an awful record on handling their old franchise .

The only IPs they managed right were new or their newest like Yakuza or Miku . Hell they started great with Valkyria Chronicle only to fold on it .

One look at what they did or are doing with Golden Axe , Shining Force , Skies of Arcadia among many others , tells me how they'd treat most of Atlus' properties

[tiffac008]

Please let it be the likes of Kodakawa, Marvelous AQL, Gung Ho, Tecmo Koei or Level-5. They know how not to kill games and will have a good chance of localizing JRPGs outside of Japan and let Atlus remain 3rd party.

[Baka-akaB]

I'd hope to see a publisher used to doing dual audio games finally get a hold of atlus

[listenkids]

Stay away Sega, when you say Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia HD releases are expected almost a year ago, you shove Sonic further down the pit and say a Wii U exclusive is for the fans? We're done.

[KittyEmperor]

I guess since Sega was the only name really mentioned in the article that means that either Sony nor Nintendo made any bids for Atlus. We will have to wait until later to see the full list but I think that it's a safe assumption that neither of them bid on it. I guess I would be ok with Sega buying them. The only problem I have with Sega is that they aren't exactly quick with localization. Still waiting for Yakuza HD and Yakuza 5.

[BlaqMagiq24]

The only ones I can see picking Atlus up is:

NIS
GungHo
Sony
Tecmo Koei
Namco Bandai

As long as Sega, Square and Capcom don't get them I'm all right with whoever.

[josephayal]

I really hope Activision buys them

[PopRocks359]

You're insane.

[Roper316]

why so they can make Call of DOO Doo like every other acti dev?

[AceBlazer13]

Wish NIS could pick them up but Namco would have to be my next choice.

[tanookisuit]

I would love if NIS, XSeed and Atlus combined onto one MEGA corps. Those 3 are my absolute favs.

I have to disagree with Namco though... I'm still bitter about them mucking up LOH for the PSP.

[tiffac008]

Bamco also owe us some "Tales of" games. >_<

I mean Tales of Rebirth one of the best selling Tales games in Japan, never made it into the English speaking market and that was on the PS2.

@xBlackSm0kesx (below)

I do not think Konami has anymore interest in JRPGs. I mean, look at what they have done to the Suikoden franchise and Beyond the Labyrinth for the 3DS has no localization.

[Jyndal]

Are the employees of Atlus part of the sale? If someone like Sega were to aquire the talent pool Atlus has to offer, it would be epic as all hell.

Can you imagine that team of developers being put to work on a new entry into the Shining series? That would rock so damn hard!

[o-Sunny-o]

Altus just needs a good home again. All those good games. Persona 5...can't live without Persona. ^~^

[will313]

Wow all this buying they are doing...they could have a first party strong enough to make a console again , if they wanted to.

[Gamer Muzz]

I'd LOVE to see Gega get them...and then go exclusive with all their content on a new Sega console!

Dreamcast 2 FTW!

[xBlackSm0kesx]

I don't think Sony doesn't have a dept to buy Atlus. (Corrected if I'm wrong) But i'm guessing is Namco, Konami, Nintendo (maybe), and NIS.

[gamer42]

I think they owe aniplex, which is owned by sony I believe. But the debt isn't anywhere near Sega, nintendo, or kadokawa

Edit: http://www.dualshockers.com...

[Kratoscar2008]

Check the SMTxFE crossover.
Check the deal of the 30$ eshop between SMT4 and FE: A.
Check so many 3DS tittles from ATLUS.

Nintendo is the only correct choice.

[S2Killinit]

hope Sony gets them. I think that their biggest audience is in Sony fan base as well so it makes more sense for them to go Sony. IMO

[Shok]

Sega would be a good fit.

[wishingW3L]

Sega only publish mediocre Sonic games and Rome on PC. They abandoned great franchises like Valkyria Chronicles, Bayonetta, Vanquish, Shining Force, Yakuza, etc. I don't want Sega anywhere near Atlus' IPs because then we'll never see any of them ever again in the west.

Another bad choice would be Konami, just look at how those guys treat Suikoden fans and cut funds to KojiPro for Zone of the Enders because the collection sold like crap, forces Kojima to milk Metal Gear, etc... Capcom would be another absolutely terrible choice for obvious reasons. I think the best bet would be Square (they make bad games but are good publishers) or Namco (based on how they are handling recent Tales games localization)... Like seriously.

[Reverie]

Too bad the recent Tales Of games were all poor and boring, so no.

[MrSwankSinatra]

umm no it wouldn't be a good fit. you'd have to be mental to even think that.

[Relientk77]

Sony buy them please, they are RPG kings

if not please stay 3rd party, they make excellent games

[EXVirtual]

I really don't want Nintendo to buy Atlas. I like em but they would hold back Persona 5 and say 'Please Understand.'

[wishingW3L]

just look at all fans had to fight for The Last Story, Xenoblade, Pandora and Earthbound... It's ridiculous how out of touch Nintendo are with the market.

[EXVirtual]

Well said. Bubble vote for you.
I seriously like Nintendo, but you're right. I really couldn't believe that after Famitsu was giving these games perfect scores all across the board and after fans pleading Nintendo to bring them over, it took that long to convince them to localize. That was the first sign to me that Nintendo's mangament is all over the place. If they don't step up this gen, the PS4 and even the damn XB1 will leave them far behind. I'm already getting the PS4, but I'm really not feeling the Wii U.

[Thehyph]

I don't think Sony will go for them. Sony should be focusing all of its spending power for western markets right now. Ps3 is obviously important in Japan, and I don't think Sony will have much trouble keeping the audience over the next few years as consumers transition to next gen. Sony is mostly secured in home consoles in Japan so the fight for consumers money should be in the west.

[extermin8or]

This is where companies go wrong-wheb they are doing well they get complacent Sony did it with ps3 and MS have done It to an extent recently and Nintendo deffo did it with Wii u. Sony should still try to secure more games for Japan etc purely to show that even when they are doing well they won't turn a blind eye to that market to pursue others they aren't doing swell in-art is in keeping EVERYONE happy.

[Thehyph]

So if Sony doesn't buy them then they won't make games for ps4?
I'm confused.

[extermin8or]

No what I'm saying is "sony's got japan pretty mc sorted" isn't a reason they should stop putting effort to try and secure more japanese centric exclusives. Although loads of people in the west like those games to so...

[_FantasmA_]

Why? So they can make bro shooters for the west? RPGs with killstreaks and perks? Jarheads going on quests? No thanks. I think a Eurasian company is better for making games for the east and west.

[Thehyph]

I'm not talking about eastern games versus western games. No where in my post did I mention games.

I'm talking about marketing. Come autumn the biggest money grab and install base to sway over will be the west. Are people forgetting that all of those preorders are merely a fraction of what the real market for next gen consoles are? Sony is a business. Their PlayStation brand has had trouble in the market. Install base leads to attach rates for games, accessories and services. Do you really think that Sony is going to spend resources on buying studios at any point before this year is over?

Now, in terms of games, which you brought up, I'll say the same that I did in my post above: Sony does not have to buy atlas to have those games come out on ps4. It sounds like you just want exclusivity.

[Knightofelemia]

Hope Sony scoops them up I wonder if Nintendo threw in a bid as well? Wish the article would list who the companies are that are placing bids for Atlus.

[swice]

Come on Nintendo. I'm rooting for you, as it seems no one else is on N4G

[Kratoscar2008]

Im with you in this, Nintendo is the one that makes the most sense.

[drsnoopyseussdog]

I hope Xseed or aksys buys atlus!

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

aksys games wouldn't be bad. But I think Arc Systems Works would be a good choice given the critical success of P4 Arena.

[extermin8or]

I hope Sony buys them tbh-failing that then Nintendo. I think only those two companies can enable the companies future properly as they have the understanding of how the Deva Atlas often works with work, and funds to keep it going. Whereas Sega these days is but a shadow of the company 20 years ago...

[VTKC]

I am glad EA nor Microsoft did not get hold of them.

[gamer42]

We don't know that yet, We haven't seen who the other bidders are. We'll probably find out who gets them by the end of the month.

[VTKC]

I see. Well I hope neither of those arrogant companies get Atlus. They are getting way too big for their boots with the way they do things.

[Man-E-Faces]

I don't think any American west company will buy them, Index and Atlus will have the last say on the matter on where their going and I do believe they would feel more comfortable with a Japanese company/publisher rather than a western company. Leaving Nintendo/Sony and the couple of other Japanese pubs as the front runners.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

If we want them to stay identical to who they are, Namco would be their best bet.

[_FantasmA_]

Sony is really the only option. Most other companies would have their way with Atlus and force them to do something that would change them. Sony would give them the freedom and money they need. I don't even play RPGs but more RPGs on Sony systems is good for everyone.

[UnHoly_One]

I hope Microsoft gets them.

[kirbyu]

Could I please get a list of what those 20 companies are?

[kingPoS]

I really like Atlus because of their old school approach. If Capcom or Activision bought them, they'd probably force them to take up DLC like a chain smoker or churn out rehash after rehash. By then Atlus would have been twisted into an unrecognizable form.

[Sevir]

Namco Bandai seems the best suited to bid for these guys... Atlus has been a long time supporter of Sony and Ninty so i'd like to see that trend of business continue, so independence is what would be ideal, but If one of the Big 3 are bidding for these guys i hope to God that its Sony! Because to be quite honest the PS brand needs some home grown RPGs and perhaps with Sony's publishing funds the studios under Atlus would have a greater library of resources to work from, hell They may even Take up the reigns on a Dark Cloud reboot

[Dagobert]

Sega and Sony seems the best for Atlus but seeing as how Sega hasn't even said anything about localizing Yakuza 5 or Valkyrie Chronicles 3 I'd rather it goes to Sony.

[Majin-vegeta]

Sony would be there best bet since they allow more creativity than M$&Nintendo.

[SEAN1617]

They been floating a lot of debt.

[Drainage]

as long as microsoft, activi, or other bs companies dont buy , im good.

[Reverie]

Great to see Sega getting them. They stay free.
I don't get it how n4g expect Sony to buy them. They aren't in position of buying anything right now. They can't even pay their debits.

[progaor2013]

xseed or nis buy them please