By March 2010, Japan's Namco Bandai estimated that net income was going to be ¥8.5 billion ($93 million) in the black. That figure has changed from profit to loss — a big loss at that.
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The company now estimates that it will be posting ¥31 billion ($342 million) loss this March.
To counteract these losses, Namco Bandai has announced it will undergo a restructuring. By the end of the 2010 fiscal year, Namco Bandai is planning to reduce its 7,000 person workforce by 630 staffers.
The decline in earnings is blamed on poor performance of key titles.
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DISCUSSION
I'm so sorry for the laid off people. They're probably not even the ones taking the bad decisions. Still, BAMCO had it coming. They've made some pretty big mistakes and had some pretty bad luck too. Along with SEGA (which is slowly redeeming itself in my eyes) they have probably one of the worst IP management in the industry and lack a truly global vision.
Case in point:
A) The Tales series. While I call these games "Stales", I have to admit they have a small, yet fiercely loyal fanbase that's not being catered to. Wake up, BAMCO. Tales will NEVER be Final Fantasy (heck, I don't even know if FF is still the same juggernaut it was before)! Yet that's not a bad thing. Several titles are released across diverse platforms (many which basically only require text translation) yearly. That's a powerful opportunity to brand the name and captivate a segment of the market. If they released more of those game (following the Atlus or NISA model), the Tales name would become ever present through the year, and when the time comes to release the big, HD title, you have more of a chance to sell better. I still think that selling off to MS was one of the worst decisions for the franchise. That's not your market!
B) Tekken 6. It's not a bad game...but it's a game that belong back in 2007. It can't stand out in a world were superior games are readily available. They made a huge mistake delaying it so much, and releasing a bad port on the "lead" console. Again, I don't think succumbing to MS paid off.
C) They have one of the richest pantheons of old school games, waiting of r revivial. Klonoa, Pac Man, Valkyrie, Mappy....they're crying for a PSN HD remake!
BAMCO really need to get their act together if they expect to survive this generation.