RIP Atlus

[Jin]

Terrible news, everyone. Atlus Games is no more. After something like a 90% loss of profits in 2009, Atlus' parent company, Index Holdings, has dissolved Atlus as an independent entity.

The official press release indicates that the Atlus brand will continue, but in what capacity is unclear, at present. The developer has a number of projects in progress, and it is unlikely that those would be shelved in the short term.

Gamasutra contacted Atlus for comment and spoke with manager of PR and sales Aram Jabbari, who says we can look forward to an official release soon, but that Atlus cannot comment on how this may affect publishing or foreign divisions at this time.

Katsura Hashino, director on Atlus' recently announced 360/PS3 action/horror game Catherine, mentioned the change on the title's official dev blog, adding that his team "will endeavor to continue to work for a long time" and that "of course, it's not just the Persona team, it's also other teams working on titles" that will continue their work.

Source

So while it seems that everything currently in development will continue, it's uncertain what will happen in the future. It seems likely that the Shin Megami Tensei series will continue, but in what capacity is unknown. More importantly, I find it unlikely that what was formerly Atlus will continue being the champion publisher of those oddball Japanese titles that no one else has the stones to publish. In the future, will they take the same risk they did when they brought Demons Souls to the US/Canada? It seems unlikely. The Atlus that remains simply won't be the same Atlus we all know and love; I don't expect it to retain that quirky charm. It's a sad day for the bizarre, my friends.

RIP Atlus.

[Rydia Lover]

well that sucks, there goes any hope of shinmegami tensei and number II being released in the us.

[loner-kid]

huh, i'd heard about this but i didn't know they'd had a 90% loss in profits. As far as i was aware from the sources i read it was more of a buisness move to provide an increased budget similar to when ea bought bioware. Still, the main series will continue to be produced they're a deffinate money maker due to their popularity so we wont have to worry about that. Shame about less of the risky oddball games though, they were always fun.

[Jin]

As far as i was aware from the sources i read it was more of a buisness move to provide an increased budget similar to when ea bought bioware

Of course it was a business move. It is anytime a parent company absorbs a subsidiary. It's not the same as EA buying Bioware though. Bioware is still its own entity, EA just owns it. This gives Bioware a certain degree of autonomy. Atlus has been directly absorbed and as such no longer exists as a company, though Index Holdings claims the brand will live on. This is closer to what EA did to Pandemic late last year.

[loner-kid]

point, my source didn't really go into too much detail so i doubt my interpretation was particuarly accurate. Still only time will tell what this means in the long term

[Jin]

Indeed. It's certainly possible that this will have no affect whatsoever on things. I find that unlikely however, as the old ways were obviously bleeding the company dry of profits and, generally speaking, you don't absorb a subsidiary for nothing.

Here's to hoping that more than just Atlus' name lives on.

[Rocky]

yay for quirky yet overrated games being shut down?


I'm over it.

[Jin]

How exactly are they overrated? They sell crappily and get modest to decent reviews, generally speaking.

[Rydia Lover]

he doesnt like smt, he thinks they are boring

[Jin]

This shouldn't be about one's opinions of Atlus' games, particularly not about the SMT series as it will definitely continue. This is about something bigger than that. Atlus was one of the last companies that actively took risks on original and oddball titles (Sony being another, though nowhere near as often). Look at the games coming this fall. How many of the big titles are original IPs? 2 or 3? Other than that, we're left with a never ending sea of sequels. There's a problem here: it's becoming extremely risky, if not financially nonviable to release a new IP. Atlus' poor financial performance is a reflection of that. Some titles like Borderlands make it through (mostly due to excellent marketing), but the majority of new IPs are simply not profitable anymore. This is a major issue and Atlus' dissolution should not just be written off as something not to worry about because their games aren't your cup of tea. Everything's connected in this industry.

[Rocky]

This shouldn't be about one's opinions of Atlus' games, particularly not about the SMT series as it will definitely continue. This is about something bigger than that. Atlus was one of the last companies that actively took risks on original and oddball titles (Sony being another, though nowhere near as often). Look at the games coming this fall. How many of the big titles are original IPs? 2 or 3? Other than that, we're left with a never ending sea of sequels. There's a problem here: it's becoming extremely risky, if not financially nonviable to release a new IP. Atlus' poor financial performance is a reflection of that. Some titles like Borderlands make it through (mostly due to excellent marketing), but the majority of new IPs are simply not profitable anymore. This is a major issue and Atlus' dissolution should not just be written off as something not to worry about because their games aren't your cup of tea. Everything's connected in this industry.

So you're saying because I am not impressed with one of the top 3 highest selling rpg series of all time (and most likely their moneymaking series) along with it being their flagship series, that shouldn't affect my judgement on a company?

Companies will still end up releasing those oddball titles that you want, sure they may be delayed a bit until people want something different for a change of pace, but I'm sure you will get those games eventually. Other than that, I fail to see the correlation with them making new IPs to the rest of the industry, unless I'm missing something here?

and for the record, I said nocturne is boring, because it literally is. grind grind grind level up increase parameters fuse new monsters grind grind rinse repeat is pretty boring to me and the followers get all uppity in defending their series when I say so, it's kind of sad, and not only that, it's pretty much the exact same game that SMT1 and 2 was to the T, plotline and everything. I did like P3 and P4 though, they introduced something new to the rpg genre that made the game fun and the games itselves were entertaining and not a bore to play through.

[Furore]

I will certainly miss them if the game releases are effected. They were pretty much the only company that brought niche titles to Australia regularly. It's thanks to them I got some of my faves like ShinMegaTen, 3D Dot Game Heroes and Steambot Chronicles.

[Jin]

So you're saying because I am not impressed with one of the top 3 highest selling rpg series of all time (and most likely their moneymaking series) along with it being their flagship series, that shouldn't affect my judgement on a company?

No, that's not what I'm saying at all and I've no idea how you interpreted it that way. I'm saying that your opinion of the company should not be relevant in the face of the big picture issues that its dissolution illustrates. I don't particularly like the SMT series myself, but as both the article and I stated, this dissolution likely won't affect that series much because, as you said, it's making money. The issue at hand is that new, different and experimental IPs, the kind of games that Atlus is famous for taking risks on, are becoming less and less profitable.

Companies will still end up releasing those oddball titles that you want, sure they may be delayed a bit until people want something different for a change of pace, but I'm sure you will get those games eventually. Other than that, I fail to see the correlation with them making new IPs to the rest of the industry, unless I'm missing something here?

If you think the ratio of new IPs to total games released this console generation is not hugely lower than previous generations, then yes, you are missing something.

[Rocky]

No, that's not what I'm saying at all and I've no idea how you interpreted it that way. I'm saying that your opinion of the company should not be relevant in the face of the big picture issues that its dissolution illustrates. I don't particularly like the SMT series myself, but as both the article and I stated, this dissolution likely won't affect that series much because, as you said, it's making money. The issue at hand is that new, different and experimental IPs, the kind of games that Atlus is famous for taking risks on, are becoming less and less profitable.


If you think the ratio of new IPs to total games released this console generation is not hugely lower than previous generations, then yes, you are missing something.

I must of misintrepreted what you meant from your first sentence, because you made it sound like I should overlook that series and look at the company as a whole instead. That's what I get for Sasquatching that first sentence I guess? lol.

as for your second paragraph, maybe the market audience isn't ready for those kinds of games yet? I know that plenty of IPs have had great gameplay and are overall solid games, but in order for them to be marketable, they need to be sold through advertisment, which is something I hardly see out of any Atlus game to be honest. I really think the company is stuck in a "We promote our games through their gameplay, you should give them a try" mentality rather than sparking an audience's interest through previews and such. Persona 5 is in the works as we speak and I have yet to see a single preview and trailer for it. I don't think it's the production of IPs that is killing Atlus, moreso the lack of support they are giving IPs. That's the way I see it anyways.

[SuperSabin]

I'm kinda glad Atlus is no more, their RPGs are disappointing to be honest. I think the only game I enjoyed from them are the Snowboard Kids games for 64. With that said, i'll go and divide by zero.

[Jin]

as for your second paragraph, maybe the market audience isn't ready for those kinds of games yet? I know that plenty of IPs have had great gameplay and are overall solid games, but in order for them to be marketable, they need to be sold through advertisment, which is something I hardly see out of any Atlus game to be honest. I really think the company is stuck in a "We promote our games through their gameplay, you should give them a try" mentality rather than sparking an audience's interest through previews and such. Persona 5 is in the works as we speak and I have yet to see a single preview and trailer for it. I don't think it's the production of IPs that is killing Atlus, moreso the lack of support they are giving IPs. That's the way I see it anyways.

Most of the games I'm referring to aren't produced by Atlus, just published, but the lack of advertising leads to another issue. Can small to mid range publishers survive any longer? With the increased costs of production and, as you rightly mentioned, marketing/advertising, is it going to be possible for publishers not on the level of an EA or Activision to compete? Marketing is incredibly expensive and when you're selling a niche product, it's difficult to justify putting the kind of money behind it.