Bandai Namco Will Invest Heavily in Creating New IP; Announces New Strategy

Giuseppe Nelva February 9, 2018 2:16 AM EST

Bandai Namco announces a new mid-term plan with an extensive reorganization, changes at the top, and large investment in new IP.

Today Bandai Namco announced a new mid-term business plan titled: “CHANGE for the NEXT: Empower, Gain Momentum, and Accelerate Evolution“.

The plan involves rather extensive changes to the company’s business organization and goals, to be executed over the next three years.

The goal is to strengthen the previous “IP Axis” strategy to maximize the value of the publisher’s IP, and “provide the best products and services at the best possible times.” On top of that, the company aims to improve its penetration and expansion in the global markets and strengthen development in regions and businesses with high growth potential.

Starting in April 2018, the units formed by the publisher’s subsidiaries will be renamed from “SBU” (Strategic Business Units) to simply “Units,” and they will split into five from the previous three.

The Network Entertainment SBU (which includes video games) will be split into Network Entertainment Unit, which will continue to take care of video games and network content, and Real Entertainment Unit, which will take care of content for real-world facilities like the VR Zone in Tokyo.

On top of that, an IP Creation Unit will be spun-off from the Visual and Music Production SBU, and will focus on creating new IP.

Below you can check out a graph showcasing the new units and the strategy as a whole.

The IP Creation Unit will collaborate with all the other businesses of the publisher. The company will also invest heavily in enhancing its visual production and production technologies, on top of strengthening its collaboration with external partners who can provide advanced capabilities and tech.

Bandai Namco will also invest aggressively in the creation of new IP. On top of its usual investment, there will be a further 25 billion yen invested over the next three years in creating new IP, and taking on new businesses and new technologies.

According to the new strategy, the regional holding companies and the business companies in each unit will form in an “All Bandai Namco” concept. In Japan, they will pursue the top position in each market, while in North America and Europe the aim is to expand home video games and network content. A full-blown entry into the Chinese market will also be attempted.

Changes are also coming at the top, with current Chief Executive Officer Shukuo Ishikawa retiring to become an advisor starting in June. Leadership will be consolidated with current Chief Operating Officer Mitsuaki Taguchi becoming CEO.

On top of all the changes, Bandai Namco also announced its quarterly financial results for the period ending on December 31st, 2017. As you can see in the table below, both the company as a whole and the Network Entertainment SBU posted very positive figures, with massive improvements year-on-year.

Speaking of IP, in other Bandai Namco news, the company just successfully released Dragon Ball FighterZ, which debuted with 68,731 units sold in Japan. If you want to learn more, you can check out our review.