According to reports from Nikkei Japan Sega Sammy Holdings has won the recent auction of Index Holdings, home of developer and publisher Atlus, in a ¥14 billion ($140 million) deal.
The acquisition has been confirmed with the following press release by Sega:
“Notice is hereby given that Sega Dream Corporation, which was newly established as a wholly owned subsidiary by Sega Corporation (‘Sega’), a subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. (the ‘Company’), has concluded a business transfer agreement with Index Corporation (‘Index’) for the purpose of revitalization of the business. Under the agreement, Sega will take over the operations conducted by Index, the bankrupt company that applied to the Tokyo District Court for the commencement of civil rehabilitation proceedings effective from June 27, 2013.”
This acquisition has worried lots of people. Sega have been faltering lately and Atlus are one of the most liked developers out there. Persona 4 is one of the greatest games of all time and people are worried about the future of the series, especially with Sega’s previous track record. Hopefully this won’t have a negative affect on the Atlus team and they continue to do good work. All I want is an English version of Persona 5 on next-gen consoles. Is that too much to ask for?
I’m sure we will hear more about this as the story develops and hopefully Atlus speaks up and explains the situation further. Let me know in the comments what you think about the deal. Are you pleased that Sega now owns Atlus?
