Namco and Bandai are merging.
Interestingly Nintendo owns considerably amounts of both companies.
For the unfamiliar (all two of you), Bandai is Japan's largest manufacturer of toys with alternate focuses on games, apparel, candy, models, vending machines, and household goods. Namco is a similarly-built company with a focus of videogame software and amusement equipment.
One of the comments in the first article almost made me laugh out loud.
Doesn't Nintendo own about 25% of Bandai and about 17% of Namco? I wonder what this merger does with those shares.. if they combine them.. does that mean that Nintendo owns about +40% of this new company?
Wow. It's true what they say about our American education system.
I suppose Nintendo wants to ensure it dosen't stumble like Sega. Owning the game companies, while not owning so much as to get their own thumbs in the way, may be the plan. It's a rough, 4X kind of industry, especially now with Microsoft trying to stake out a claim.
Tasoth wrote:It's 42%, which is well within the range of +40%. Note the pluse before the 40 meaning 40 or above.
Umm... no. 25% of one thing and 17% of another does not give 42% when they're added together. If both values were 100 then you would have 25+17 = 42 of 200, not of 100. So the answer would be 21% if both companies have the same amount of shares, which seems unlikely.
Nintendo will own between 17-25% of the new company, not 42%.
Tasoth wrote:It's 42%, which is well within the range of +40%. Note the pluse before the 40 meaning 40 or above.
WOW. I was right about that American education system.
Assuming the two companies have equal size Nintendo would own 21%. NOT 42%. Basic percentages here.
Company A has 100 shares, you own 25 shares. Company B has 100 shares, you own 17. Company A and company B merge. You have 42 shares...out of 200. 21%.
And its very doubtful the two companies' shares are of equal worth or that they are the exact same size.
I suppose Nintendo wants to ensure it dosen't stumble like Sega. Owning the game companies, while not owning so much as to get their own thumbs in the way, may be the plan. It's a rough, 4X kind of industry, especially now with Microsoft trying to stake out a claim.
They're not owning anything, just maybe 1/4 to 1/5 of the company. Probably enough to prevent MS from buying the company, and enough to ensure they make port games to GameCube if not make exclusives.
They're not owning anything, just maybe 1/4 to 1/5 of the company. Probably enough to prevent MS from buying the company, and enough to ensure they make port games to GameCube if not make exclusives.
(Re-reads article) Hmmm. Well, enough influence to ensure they can't get scooped or locked out of titles, and get prominant display on the shelves of the second largest toy and video business group in Japan. That concerted influence surely must carry into executive schmoozing as well, but not enough for Nintendo's heavy hand to muck things up much.
