Product Code Database
Kabushikigaisha Atorasu is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, Arcade game manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the Megami Tensei, Persona, Etrian Odyssey, and Trauma Center series. Its corporate mascot is Jack Frost, a snowman-like character from their Megami Tensei series. The company is also known for their Print Club arcade machines, which are selfie photo sticker booths in East Asia.
Atlus was established in April 1986 and spent its early years as a video game developer for other companies. It became a video game publisher of its own in 1989 and existed until it was merged into Index Corporation in October 2010. The Atlus name continued as a brand used by Index Corporation for video game publishing until it filed for bankruptcy in June 2013. This company was then acquired by Sega via its new subsidiary Sega Dream Corporation which renamed itself Index Corporation in November 2013. In April 2014, the non-video game assets and the Index name were spun off as a separate subsidiary of Sega, leaving the company with its video game division to be officially renamed Atlus.
A North American branch of the company, originally Atlus USA and now Atlus West, was founded in 1991 in order to focus on publishing and localizing games for North America. A European branch, handled via the London-based Sega Europe, was founded in 2017.
Atlus started in the amusement arcade industry in the 1990s by manufacturing its first arcade video game, BlaZeon, in 1992. In 1995, Atlus launched Print Club (purikura) at arcades in partnership with Sega. It is a photo sticker booth that produces selfie photos. It was conceived by Atlus employee Sasaki Miho in 1994; her bosses at Atlus were initially reluctant about the idea, before later deciding to go ahead with it. Atlus and Sega introduced Purikura in February 1995, initially at game arcades, before expanding to other popular culture locations such as fast food shops, train stations, karaoke establishments and bowling alleys. Purikura became a popular form of entertainment among youths across East Asia, laying the foundations for modern selfie culture. It also introduced a large female demographic to the company's previously male-dominated arcade customer base. By 1996, it accounted for 70% of the company's revenue. By 1997, about 47,000 Purikura machines had been sold, earning Sega an estimated () or annually from Purikura sales that year. Various other similar purikura machines appeared from other manufacturers, with Sega controlling about half of the market in 1997. Print Club went on to generate over in sales for Atlus and Sega.
Atlus entered the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1997, listing on the JASDAQ. In its goal to further increase its presence in the amusement industry, Atlus acquired the manufacturer Irem from Yubis Corporation in 1999. In 2000, Atlus formed a joint venture with Kadokawa Shoten to distribute and sell games. Atlus suffered from deficit financial results in both 1999 and 2000. To address the issue, Atlus established a management reform plan in 2001. In its restructuring efforts, Atlus sold two subsidiaries (one of them being Apies) to their respective employees as part of a management buyout.
In October 2001, Atlus acquired Career Soft, and became the sole publisher of the Growlanser series: a real-time strategy role-playing game from the creators of the Langrisser series. In 2004, after the release of Growlanser IV, the majority of Career Soft's staff was merged into the main development team of Atlus where they worked on the games. As a developer brand, Career Soft was eventually dissolved.
In October 2003, Japanese toy company Takara acquired Atlus. 沿革：株式会社アトラス IR情報・会社情報 Takara's video game business was also transferred over to Atlus. On 21 November 2006, Index Holdings announced the acquisition of Atlus, effective on 30 October 2006, and purchased 7.7 million shares (54.93 percent; 77,000 votes, or 54.96 percent of the voting rights) on 20 November 2006. Atlus became an Index Holdings subsidiary on 29 November 2006.
In March 2009, Atlus and Sting Entertainment announced a publishing partnership making Atlus the only publisher of Sting-developed games in Japan. On 17 September 2009, Index Holdings announced the separation of Atlus' amusement facility and related business into a subsidiary, New Entertainment Waves, 株式会社NEWS 訂正臨時報告書 2010年10月08日 - 投資関係をなんとなくわかった気になる effective on 1 December. One hundred seventy-two shares of the subsidiary's stock were also transferred to Chushoukigyou Leisure on 1 December.
On 30 August 2010, Index Holdings announced its merger with Atlus, with Index Holdings being the surviving company, effective on 1 October. After the merger, Index Holdings would continue to operate the Atlus brand. Although fans were concerned about the company's future, CEO Shinichi Suzuki said that Atlus would continue to provide the "finest quality game experiences possible" and the merger "further strengthens the foundation of Atlus, both in Japan and here in the United States." On 9 November 2010 Index Holdings announced its renaming to Index Corporation, to be confirmed at the shareholders meeting on 25 November 2010 and effective on 1 December.
From 2010 to 2013, Atlus, as a company, ceased to exist and its name became a brand of Index Corporation for video games in Japan. However, Atlus USA remained active and was renamed Index Digital Media, serving as the North American subsidiary for Index Corporation. Much like in Japan, video games continued to be released in that region under the Atlus name during this period. In June 2013, it was reported that Index Corporation filed for civil rehabilitation proceedings, facing bankruptcy with debts of ¥24.5 billion. An Atlus USA spokesperson said that Index Digital Media and the Atlus brand were unaffected by the proceedings.
On 18 September 2013, it was reported that Sega won a bid to acquire the bankrupt Index for ¥14 billion. All Index operations, including the Atlus brand and Index Digital Media (Atlus USA), were transferred on 1 November 2013 to Sega Dream Corporation (a new subsidiary established on 5 September 2013). That day, Sega announced that it would change the name of Sega Dream Corporation to Index Corporation.
On 18 February 2014, Sega announced the separation of Index Corporation's contents and solution businesses into a new subsidiary, Index Corporation, renaming the old Index Corporation and its remaining digital game business division to Atlus effective 1 April 2014. The new Atlus would include the foreign subsidiary, Index Digital Media, which would revert its name back to Atlus USA at the establishment of the new Atlus. 連結子会社の分割（新設分割）及び商号変更に関するお知らせ
In April 2017, Sega Sammy Holdings announced a relocation of head office functions of the Sega Sammy Group and its major domestic subsidiaries located in the Tokyo metropolitan area to Shinagawa-ku by January 2018. Their stated reasoning was to promote cooperation among companies and creation of more active interaction of personnel, while pursuing efficient group management by consolidating scattered head office functions of the group. Atlus is one of the companies that has relocated in response to this.
A number of Megami Tensei games have not been released in North America. During the 1990s, Jack Bros. for Virtual Boy, for PlayStation and for the Game Boy Color were the first three games in the series to have a North American release. The 2004 release of was the first main-series video-game release in the U.S. Since then, the series has continued to be localized and released in the US, including games such as Persona 3, , and .
Atlus West has localized cult classic , created by Nippon Ichi Software. The company have also published the tactical role-playing game Tactics Ogre and Game Boy Advance remakes of the Kunio-kun and Double Dragon games for Million (a company composed of former Technōs Japan employees). Other notable titles include Snowboard Kids and Snowboard Kids 2 (for Nintendo 64) and Odin Sphere and the Trauma Center series. Atlus USA released , a role-playing video game for the Game Boy Advance previously released for the Wonderswan Color, in 2004 in collaboration with Sting and Bandai. In 2006 Atlus USA and Sting released Yggdra Union, a strategy role-playing game (RPG) for the Game Boy Advance. After Working Designs' publication of Growlanser Generations, they released in 2005 and Growlanser Wayfarer of Time in 2012.
The company established an online division, including the Atlus Online portal which is servicing and . On 31 March 2013, Index Digital Media's Atlus Online Division was purchased by Marvelous AQL and transferred to Xseed Games. 当社子会社によるIndex Digital Media, Inc.（米国）のオンラインゲーム事業取得に関するお知らせ Atlus USA has published games under the Marl Kingdom name, beginning with in 2000. On 18 February 2014 Sega announced that Index Digital Media would revert its name back to Atlus USA. In March 2016, Sega announced that all the future localized products from Atlus for North America will be published by Sega. Between 2019 and 2020, Atlus USA changed its public brand name to Atlus West.
|
|
