There are rumors that Sega Sammy Holdings now owns the rights to Guilty Gear, the flashy fighting franchise from developer Arc System Works. Game site Gamasutra tries to find out if they are true.
Background: Sammy, which bought SEGA in 2004, has published Guilty Gear tiles like Guilty Gear X, Guilty Gear Isuka and Guilty Gear XX Slash. (However, Arc System Works self-published Gear XX Accent Core and the recent Guilty Gear 2: Overture).
Here's the exchange between Gamasutra and GG designer Daisuke Ishiwatari:
Gamasutra: This is a tough question, I don't know if you can answer it, but there have been some rumors on the net about Guilty Gear and Sega getting the rights, which is why [Arc System Works' Dynasty Warriors-style action title] Guilty Gear 2: Overture didn't feature too many older characters — and stuff that I don't really understand. Though you might not be able to provide any answers...
Ishiwatari: Right, I might not be able to provide answers there.
Gamasutra: You know, rumors... on the Internet...
Ishiwatari: Yeah, I can't really talk about it much... except to say that they're basically true. (laughs)
So that basically seems like a confirmation from Ishiwatari himself. Be sure to read the whole Gamasutra piece. It's meaty.
Dodging, Striking, Winning: The Arc System Works Interview [Gamasutra via Go Nintendo via Sega Nerds]