Persona Developer's Parent Company Files For Bankruptcy

Karloff

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Persona Developer's Parent Company Files For Bankruptcy



Allegations of fraud have been made against Index Holdings.

Index Holdings, the company that owns Atlus, creator of Persona, Catherine and Shin Megami Tensei among many other titles, has filed for civil rehabilitation - a form of bankruptcy - following allegations of fraud and bad debt. Ochiai Yoshimi, director of Index Holdings since 2007, and Masami Ochiai, Chairman of the Board, have both announced their intention to resign. It is likely that, as a result of this filing, Atlus will be sold on, but this has yet to be formally determined.

Index has been accused of 'window dressing', or exaggerating sales figures to create a false sense of security among investors. A translated CNet report [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fjapan.cnet.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness%2F35033951%2F] also indicates that the failure of the Incubator Bank of Japan, a business networking institution, hit Index hard. At time of writing, Index is approximately $244 million in debt.

The window dressing allegations were first reported by Crunchyroll [http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/06/12-1/atlus-parent-company-index-corporation-under-fraud-investigation] earlier this month. At that time, Japanese business analyst Ichiro Yamamoto said he suspected someone had carried out the fraud in order to push the stock price upwards, making a financial killing, rather than bumping the figures to create an illusion of success. That investigation is still ongoing.

Source: Toshiba [http://start.toshiba.com/news/read/category/Technology/article/cvg-skies_darken_above_atlus_as_parent_compa-ncrd]


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MatsVS

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Nov 9, 2009
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I think this is the part where you, the journalists, tell us what this could mean for some of our favourite franchises. :(
 

Fappy

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MatsVS said:
I think this is the part where you, the journalists, tell us what this could mean for some of our favourite franchises. :(
It would just be speculation at this rate. I'd prefer they stick to facts.

OT: I hope whatever transition Atlus has to make they don't lose any of their people D:
 

J Tyran

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Judging by the games they make nothing of value will be lost, I was tricked into trying one of them once. They had "Catherine" on PS+ for ages advertised as an RPG, I thought "you know what as its free I will give it a go, maybe I will change my mind about JRPGs if I try a newer one", what a mistake that was. A 10GB download later and what did I get?

Some sort of weird softcore porn girlfriend simulator.

Way to confirm my bias about a genre Index Holdings.
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Feb 7, 2008
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Reading up on this... it's hard to predict what the effects of this will be. The best we can hope for is that Atlus's management is relatively separate from the management that helped cause the collapse of the company, and that Atlus is sold to another company that essentially wants Atlus for Atlus and isn't interested in changing anything.

The possibility that nothing will change is definitely present, Atlus has changed hands before... though the Atlus us Western Gamers know has been under the Index Holdings banner...

I guess it's too early to tell.
 

Furioso

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Ohhhhhhhh please let this turn out ok for Atlus. If there is any justice in the world a good company will pick them up. (If they go up for sale.)
 

Furioso

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J Tyran said:
Judging by the games they make nothing of value will be lost, I was tricked into trying one of them once. They had "Catherine" on PS+ for ages advertised as an RPG, I thought "you know what as its free I will give it a go, maybe I will change my mind about JRPGs if I try a newer one", what a mistake that was. A 10GB download later and what did I get?

Some sort of weird softcore porn girlfriend simulator.

Way to confirm my bias about a genre Index Holdings.
I wouldn't judge an entire game company on one puzzle game being mislabled as a JRPG on the shitty PSN store.
 

IllumInaTIma

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Feb 6, 2012
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This would be a perfect opportunity for Sony to fuel up their PR train even more. Swoop in, buy Atlus, and make their games exclusive to PlayStation. Boom! Everyone wins. Okay, almost everyone. But it is still better than letting that amazing company die!
 

Tony2077

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J Tyran said:
Judging by the games they make nothing of value will be lost, I was tricked into trying one of them once. They had "Catherine" on PS+ for ages advertised as an RPG, I thought "you know what as its free I will give it a go, maybe I will change my mind about JRPGs if I try a newer one", what a mistake that was. A 10GB download later and what did I get?

Some sort of weird softcore porn girlfriend simulator.

Way to confirm my bias about a genre Index Holdings.
try one the the real jrpgs they've made or published before you judge them
 

Andy Shandy

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Jun 7, 2010
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Time for a power grab from one of the big three perhaps?

Nintendo perhaps since the main Shin Megami Tensei games are there, amongst stuff like Trauma Centre.

Sony, who have possibly Atlus' biggest hitter with the Persona series.

or Microsoft, in an M Night Shamalayan-esque plot twist, so they might actually have some sort of fanbase in Japan.

Personally, I hope for the latter, because the outcry has the potential to be amazing XD

Of course this doesn't rule out the likes of Squeenix's publishing hand buying them either.
 

teqrevisited

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I couldn't bear to see them go. I've bearly gotten into their games and then this happens. Such unbearlievably bad luck. And the prospect of never getting my paws on Persona 5 just makes me grizzly.
[sub]Sorry. You used Teddie as the article's image.[/sub]

Seriously now, though, I really hope the developers are allowed to continue their work unhampered.
 

MatsVS

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Nov 9, 2009
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Fappy said:
It would just be speculation at this rate. I'd prefer they stick to facts.
Finding out how this form of bankruptcy affects a company and its holdings would hardly be speculation.
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Feb 7, 2008
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Andy Shandy said:
Time for a power grab from one of the big three perhaps?

Nintendo perhaps since the main Shin Megami Tensei games are there, amongst stuff like Trauma Centre.

Sony, who have possibly Atlus' biggest hitter with the Persona series.

or Microsoft, in an M Night Shamalayan-esque plot twist, so they might actually have some sort of fanbase in Japan.

Personally, I hope for the latter, because the outcry has the potential to be amazing XD

Of course this doesn't rule out the likes of Squeenix's publishing hand buying them either.
It doesn't necessarily have to be another Gaming Company... Index had a Movie Studio, Anime Studio, Amusement Park Companies and other Game Companies under its banner... so Atlus could technically be picked up by some other Japanese Media Conglomerate we've never heard of.
 

Andy Shandy

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Jun 7, 2010
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PedroSteckecilo said:
Andy Shandy said:
Time for a power grab from one of the big three perhaps?

Nintendo perhaps since the main Shin Megami Tensei games are there, amongst stuff like Trauma Centre.

Sony, who have possibly Atlus' biggest hitter with the Persona series.

or Microsoft, in an M Night Shamalayan-esque plot twist, so they might actually have some sort of fanbase in Japan.

Personally, I hope for the latter, because the outcry has the potential to be amazing XD

Of course this doesn't rule out the likes of Squeenix's publishing hand buying them either.
It doesn't necessarily have to be another Gaming Company... Index had a Movie Studio, Anime Studio, Amusement Park Companies and other Game Companies under its banner... so Atlus could technically be picked up by some other Japanese Media Conglomerate we've never heard of.
Well, this is true of course. At the moment, it is all speculation.
 

Roxas1359

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Aug 8, 2009
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Hopefully Atlus won't be too greatly effected by this because I quite enjoy their games.
If they were to get bought then I like the places where the certain IPs would go on the list that Andy Shandy made. But let's just hope that Atlus can continue making the games that a lot of us love.
 

klaynexas3

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Dec 30, 2009
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J Tyran said:
Judging by the games they make nothing of value will be lost, I was tricked into trying one of them once. They had "Catherine" on PS+ for ages advertised as an RPG, I thought "you know what as its free I will give it a go, maybe I will change my mind about JRPGs if I try a newer one", what a mistake that was. A 10GB download later and what did I get?

Some sort of weird softcore porn girlfriend simulator.

Way to confirm my bias about a genre Index Holdings.
Yeah, that was the most far off game Atlus has made, and it's not even really a JRPG, it's just a puzzle game that explores relationships in a way only Japan knows how. If you actually want to judge the worth of their JRPGs, try any in the Megaten series. Nocturne is about deciding the fate of the world after it has been destroyed and you've been transformed into a demon. You go around collecting demons almost like Pokemon, except to acquire demons you either have to basically bribe them to be on your team, or create them by fusing other demons that you have together. Oh, and the plot is actually good, another difference from Pokemon. And no, it's not another "power of friendship" type plot, it's the morally grey "decide whether the world lives or dies, and how it does either of those things" type plot. There is no evil or good ending, it's all about personal choice.

OT: Just as long as Atlus stays afloat, I can't say I care all that much was happens to Index Holdings. Hopefully they are bought up by a Japanese company though, not an American one.
 

KOMega

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Aug 30, 2010
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Oh no! What will happen to Atlus?!
What will happen to Madhouse?!

I hope they won't be too affected.

Andy Shandy said:
Time for a power grab from one of the big three perhaps?

Nintendo perhaps since the main Shin Megami Tensei games are there, amongst stuff like Trauma Centre.

Sony, who have possibly Atlus' biggest hitter with the Persona series.

or Microsoft, in an M Night Shamalayan-esque plot twist, so they might actually have some sort of fanbase in Japan.

Personally, I hope for the latter, because the outcry has the potential to be amazing XD

Of course this doesn't rule out the likes of Squeenix's publishing hand buying them either.
I kinda hope not, at least by the big three. They have a habit of not sharing with each other, and I kinda like the Atlus games being put all over.

J Tyran said:
Judging by the games they make nothing of value will be lost, I was tricked into trying one of them once. They had "Catherine" on PS+ for ages advertised as an RPG, I thought "you know what as its free I will give it a go, maybe I will change my mind about JRPGs if I try a newer one", what a mistake that was. A 10GB download later and what did I get?

Some sort of weird softcore porn girlfriend simulator.

Way to confirm my bias about a genre Index Holdings.
Ya, that's been really mislabeled. I hope you don't feel too betrayed that you won't try another title.
 

J Tyran

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Dec 15, 2011
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Tony2077 said:
J Tyran said:
Judging by the games they make nothing of value will be lost, I was tricked into trying one of them once. They had "Catherine" on PS+ for ages advertised as an RPG, I thought "you know what as its free I will give it a go, maybe I will change my mind about JRPGs if I try a newer one", what a mistake that was. A 10GB download later and what did I get?

Some sort of weird softcore porn girlfriend simulator.

Way to confirm my bias about a genre Index Holdings.
try one the the real jrpgs they've made or published before you judge them
If you went to a cinema and spent £12 on a ticket to watch a film and the film was the weirdest garbage you have ever seen would you in all honestly go and watch another one by that filmmaker and director etc again? Answer that honestly and not answer in defense of a genre or developer you like because that isn't what I asked. If you like this stuff you like it and I wont question that or mock you for liking it but I would rather avoid playing anything by them ever again.