Atlus "Dissolved" by Parent Company
Japanese RPG developer/publisher Atlus has been "dissolved" by its parent company, though precisely what this means is uncertain.
According to a report from 1UP [http://www.1up.com/news/atlus-disolved-parent-company], Index Holdings - the parent company of Persona maker Atlus - ended Atlus' existence as an independent entity earlier Monday, August 30th. Index had apparently been making business decisions for the publishing house for some time, and with this move seems to be internalizing Atlus' development team.
While this may sound big and scary on paper, particularly for Atlus' rather devoted fan base, it's unclear just how much is changing on the development end. According to a press statement, the Atlus brand will continue to exist regardless of the state of Atlus the corporate entity, and Katsura Hashino, director of Atlus' recently-announced Catherine [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102879-Persona-Creators-Announce-Adult-Oriented-Catherine-for-PS3-360], posted a message that indicated his team was unaffected by the change.
Also unclear is the fate of Atlus' publishing duties outside of Japan. Atlus was responsible for bringing last year's sleeper hit Demons' Souls to the West when nobody else would touch it, and many gamers would probably be very sad indeed to see the company vanish forever - particularly when there hadn't been any indications that Atlus had ever been in major trouble financially.
We've reached out to Atlus USA for an official comment on the matter.
(Via GamePro [http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/216301/atlus-co-dissovled/])
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Japanese RPG developer/publisher Atlus has been "dissolved" by its parent company, though precisely what this means is uncertain.
According to a report from 1UP [http://www.1up.com/news/atlus-disolved-parent-company], Index Holdings - the parent company of Persona maker Atlus - ended Atlus' existence as an independent entity earlier Monday, August 30th. Index had apparently been making business decisions for the publishing house for some time, and with this move seems to be internalizing Atlus' development team.
While this may sound big and scary on paper, particularly for Atlus' rather devoted fan base, it's unclear just how much is changing on the development end. According to a press statement, the Atlus brand will continue to exist regardless of the state of Atlus the corporate entity, and Katsura Hashino, director of Atlus' recently-announced Catherine [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102879-Persona-Creators-Announce-Adult-Oriented-Catherine-for-PS3-360], posted a message that indicated his team was unaffected by the change.
Also unclear is the fate of Atlus' publishing duties outside of Japan. Atlus was responsible for bringing last year's sleeper hit Demons' Souls to the West when nobody else would touch it, and many gamers would probably be very sad indeed to see the company vanish forever - particularly when there hadn't been any indications that Atlus had ever been in major trouble financially.
We've reached out to Atlus USA for an official comment on the matter.
(Via GamePro [http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/216301/atlus-co-dissovled/])
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