A pretty huge development just happened in the gaming industry that you might have missed. Although the parent company of Atlus USA, Index Holdings, was acquired by SEGA (Sega Sammy Holdings) back in 2013, it was not until just now that SEGA took complete control of its North American operations. Now, normally most people (including myself) would be critical of a corporate takeover – it is often bad for us consumers, as the new owners close down divisions, fire “redundant” staff, and phase out less-profitable (but still beloved) properties … Lionhead Studios anyone? But the SEGA-Atlus deal is one rare case in which the average gamer should be cheering. Why? Here are 5 reasons that this deal is a good one for gamers.

5 – Atlus Helps SEGA With Localization

Atlus brings to SEGA a huge expertise in the field of localizing Japanese games for the North American market. They have been bringing Japanese titles to English-speaking, North American gamers for years, most notably with the Persona series and Demons Souls, but also others as well. Atlus’s localization team is well-regarded for the care and skill with which they translate Japanese titles, keeping the quirky (you might say, “Japanese”) aspects of the original that gamers will want, while still adapting the game for North American cultural tastes. This expertise has already brought positive results for gamers, allowing 23 game properties, including the Yakuza series, to be more-quickly localized in North America since SEGA acquired Atlus. So bottom line, if you love Yakuza, this has already been a good deal.

4 – SEGA Brings More Publishing Power for Atlus

This is basically the flip side of the first point. While Atlus helps SEGA localize their properties, Atlus can take advantage of SEGA’s strength as a Publisher in North America. That means we, as gamers, get to play more of Atlus’s Japanese titles sooner. That means maybe we in the West will get more Shin Megami Tensei, Etrian Odyssey and other properties that come out in Japan before North America. This synergy has already been a boon for Atlus, with the company’s CEO Naoto Hiraoka saying enthusiastically that “between Atlus’ ability to localize and release Japanese video game products efficiently and the strength of Sega of America’s reputation as a leading publisher in the industry, the situation could not be more symbiotic for both companies.”

3 – SEGA Has the Right Attitude

The Microsoft/Lionhead Studios example, while being more complicated than just Microsoft being a “bad guy,” does raise concerns that smaller studios can suffer or even die when taken over by a larger rival. But the SEGA-Atlus deal is more like a marriage; this is not a predatory, Gordon Gekko-like swallowing up of a little company by another firm just looking to exploit its resources. SEGA has been great about allowing Atlus to thrive and do its thing without meddling and without chopping it up for profit. For example, it allows Atlus to act autonomously, and keep developing the games it has before. That means the Atlus games we love are in no danger from “cost cutting” campaigns by SEGA, and the past year has shown that we haven’t yet seen any adverse affects for Atlus or SEGA due to the deal.

Click on thru to PAGE 2 to read our Top 2 reasons!



