Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. is a Japanese company that creates and publishes video games. It is part of a larger group called Bandai Namco Holdings. The company was started in 2006 as Namco Bandai Games Inc. It took over the video game business from Namco and Bandai. In 2012, the company that makes games was separated into a new company called Namco Bandai Studios, which is now known as Bandai Namco Studios.
Bandai Namco Entertainment owns many popular video game series, such as Pac-Man, Tekken, Soulcalibur, Tales, Ace Combat, Taiko no Tatsujin, The Idolmaster, Ridge Racer, Dark Souls, .hack, and Little Nightmares. Pac-Man is the official symbol of the company. The company also has rights to several Japanese media series, including Shonen Jump, Gundam, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Sword Art Online, and the Ultra Series.
History
On January 4, 2006, Namco Hometek and Bandai Games, which were the North American divisions of their parent companies, merged to form Namco Bandai Games America Inc. This new company took over Namco’s American branches, which were located in the former offices of Namco Hometek, and completed the merger of Namco and Bandai in North America. On January 11, Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. announced that the Japanese video game divisions of Namco and Bandai would merge to create Namco Bandai Games Inc. in March 2006. This merger combined the home console, arcade, and mobile game businesses into one company. Both companies stated that Japan’s lower birth rates and technological changes were reasons for the merger, as they wanted to better connect with younger audiences. Until March 31, 2006, the companies operated separately under Bandai Namco Holdings. On April 1, 2006, their video game operations were merged to form Namco Bandai Games. On October 30, the European divisions of Namco and Bandai also merged to create Namco Bandai Games Europe S.A.S.
In November 2007, Namco Bandai Games announced it would absorb Banpresto, which it had purchased in 2006. The company would take over Banpresto’s video game software and amusement equipment businesses and integrate them into Namco Bandai Games. Starting in April 2008, Namco Bandai Games also took over Banpresto’s prize business, such as UFO catchers, and placed it under a new company named Banpresto. In August 2008, it was announced that Bandai Networks, Namco Bandai’s mobile phone business, would be merged into Namco Bandai Games on April 1, 2009.
In September 2008, Namco Bandai Games Europe partnered with Infogrames Entertainment SA to form Distribution Partners S.A.S. This partnership combined Atari’s distribution network outside North America and Japan into one company, giving Namco Bandai and Infogrames exclusive rights to distribute their video games in Europe, Asia, South America, Oceania, and Africa. The venture allowed Namco Bandai Games to gain a distribution network for the PAL region and gave it a 34% stake in Distribution Partners, as well as stakes in Atari Europe and its subsidiaries. On December 4, 2008, Namco Bandai Games America announced the creation of a new publishing label called "Surge," which focused on publishing mature games for Western audiences. The first game released under this label was Afro Samurai. Other games like Dead to Rights: Retribution and Splatterhouse were published under the Namco label instead.
In March 2009, Namco Bandai Games Europe announced it would buy Atari’s share in Distribution Partners for €37 million and combine it with its own operations. This followed Atari’s decision to leave the PAL distribution market to focus on online games. In May 2009, Atari Europe’s assets were merged into Namco Bandai Games, and its sales and marketing staff were transferred to Distribution Partners. Namco Bandai Games planned to buy the remaining 66% of Atari Europe between 2012 and 2013. The merger was completed on July 7, and Distribution Partners was renamed Namco Bandai Partners. This included Atari’s distribution operations outside North America and Japan, such as 100% ownership of Atari Australia Pty Ltd., Atari Asia Holdings Pty. Ltd., and Atari UK Ltd. Atari signed a five-year deal with Namco Bandai Partners to exclusively distribute its games in those regions. This merger allowed Namco Bandai Games to operate in over 50 countries with 17 offices.
In 2010, Namco Bandai Games was listed in the Guinness World Records for releasing the most TV commercials for a single product, a Nintendo DS game called Solatorobo: Red the Hunter. The company created 100 versions of the ad to match the game’s 100 chapters.
In early 2011, Namco Networks was merged into Namco Bandai Games America, combining the company’s American console, handheld, and mobile game development operations.
On April 2, 2012, Namco Bandai Games separated its development operations into a new company called Namco Bandai Studios. This change was made to improve development speed and better coordinate different teams. The new company had about 1,000 employees who were already part of Namco Bandai.
In March 2013, Namco Bandai Games created two new studios: Namco Bandai Studios Singapore, which focuses on game development for the Asia-Pacific region, and Namco Bandai Studios Vancouver, which works on online social games for North America and Europe. The Vancouver studio is part of the Center for Digital Media (CDM). In July 2013, it was announced that Namco Bandai Partners’ operations would be merged into Namco Bandai Games Europe to combine distribution and publishing into one entity.
In January 2014, Namco Bandai Games and its development division, Namco Bandai Studios, were renamed Bandai Namco Games and Bandai Namco Studios, respectively. This change unified the brand globally to increase its value and appeal. The full company name was changed to Bandai Namco Entertainment on April 1, 2015.
In February 2014, Bandai Namco Holdings announced that it would stop publishing games under the separate Namco, Bandai, and Banpresto labels, starting in April. From then on, all games would be published under the Bandai Namco Games label.
On April 1, 2018, the amusement machine business of Bandai Namco Entertainment was transferred to its sister company, Bandai Namco Amusement.
On July 31, 2019, Bandai Namco Entertainment strengthened its mobile operations by establishing a mobile game development studio in Barcelona, Spain, named Bandai Namco Mobile. This studio focused on creating and marketing mobile games outside Asia. The studio opened in 2020, with Bandai Namco Europe and America’s president and CEO, Naoki Katashima, leading the mobile division.
At the end of January 2020, Bandai Namco Entertainment, which had formed a joint venture called BXD with Drecom in May 2017, announced it would buy the remaining 49% of BXD from Drecom.
In September 2020, Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe and Oceania acquired the Canadian game developer Reflector Entertainment
Corporate structure
Bandai Namco Entertainment was first based in Shinagawa, Tokyo. In February 2016, the company moved its main office to Minato-ku, Tokyo. The North American division is located in Irvine, California, and is called Bandai Namco Entertainment America. The European division is located in Lyon, France, and is called Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe. Additional divisions have been set up in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Bandai Namco Entertainment is the main division within the Bandai Namco Group's "Content Strategic Business Unit" (Content SBU). It is also the primary video game branch of Bandai Namco Holdings.