Embracer buys Tatsujin aka Torplan back catalog

[Rastan78]

In any case, it does seem like the typical Disney/Activision/EA "buy a ton of companies just to get the IPs and then fire all of the employees because fuck them, only the greedy-ass CEO/board of directors/shareholders matter" thing. Surprised it took this long, though.

I was thinking the exact same thing. Not only are they hoarding the IPs they prevent smaller studios from growing into competitors in the future.

[cfx]

I certainly didn't know or remember all they've bought so looked for info. Here's a list from Wikipedia; don't know if it's 100% accurate:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_m ... acer_Group

[Lemnear]

Why a colossus like Embracer is interested in Toaplan catalog ? Are SHMUPS a big business ?

[Sumez]

The reckoning is coming for Embracer Group:
https://embracer.com/releases/open-lett ... g-program/

Also:
https://embracer.com/releases/embracer- ... 6-million/

Oh wow surely no one saw that one coming.

[cfx]

More:
https://embracer.com/releases/embracer- ... 0-million/

Article:
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/92896/em ... index.html

I guess they were really counting on that $2 billion influx of cash that didn't happen to support their buying sprees.

I am not familiar with this website so do not know if this article has any credence to it:
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/saudi- ... acer-group

[hamfighterx]

I am not familiar with this website so do not know if this article has any credence to it:
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/saudi- ... acer-group

Axios is a legit news site. The author of that piece, Stephen Totilo, is also a trustworthy journalist (former Editor-in-Chief of Kotaku, New York Time contributor). Probably reputable reporting.

[SeafoamGaming]

I swear to god if they shut down bitwave or Tatsujin over this... i'm gonna be royally pissed. Moreso that they even entertained the idea of partnering with Savvy. Had to cut off buying SNK games once they got bought by the death general, and I really wouldn't have wanted to do the same to toaplan stuff. (even if it would have been less direct than in SNK's case).

[Udderdude]

This whole "Buy up literally everything and then pray for funding/success" thing is really, really stupid.

[Yoshi]

The author of that piece, Stephen Totilo, is also a trustworthy journalist (former Editor-in-Chief of Kotaku, New York Time contributor).

Those examples undermine the statement to a truly impressive degree.

I'm curious if said "trustworthy journalist" would describe a Tencent acquisition as "controversial".

[mycophobia]

I'm curious if said "trustworthy journalist" would describe a Tencent acquisition as "controversial".

Zuh?

[Manualmartin]

Tatsujin will be at Tokyo Game Show, more news there.

[FunktionJCB]

Tatsujin will be at Tokyo Game Show, more news there.

Can you share a hint if we will finally see something new (and not just re-releases)?

I love the various re-releases that keep happening, and it's awesome to have easy, pick-up and play access to some previously hard to find (at least through legit channels) arcade titles, and with QOL features on top of everything, and I keep buying them (bought the latest Bitwave bundle as soon as they were up).
But, nothing beats having an actual "new" game to look forward to.

[Bassa-Bassa]

It was confimed weeks ago that the brand new game by Tatsujin will be finally presented there.

[SeafoamGaming]

It was confimed weeks ago that the brand new game by Tatsujin will be finally presented there.

A slap fight sequel? Please be that…

[Sumez]

Considering an actual Slap Fight sequel was recently cancelled that seems like the least likely scenario.

[jehu]

I've been operating on the uncritical assumption that it'll be Tatsujin III. Might make the delay of M2's Tatsujin collection and its impending announcement more legible.

Wishful thinking as always, but we'll see.

[cfx]

Perhaps too far OT but as it's about Embracer I wanted to mention it--they have closed Volition: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/volition ... 51936-hkgT

[Sumez]

Nah, it's on-topic, I think it's pretty useful to keep in mind what sort of company we're dealing with.

[Udderdude]

The sweet embrace of death .. (too soon?)

[FunktionJCB]

Perhaps too far OT but as it's about Embracer I wanted to mention it--they have closed Volition: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/volition ... 51936-hkgT

Sad to see them go.

I know many thought of Volition as the Saint's Row studios, since it seems it was all they made recently, but for me they were always the Descent and Freespace studios (and also stuff like Red Faction, Summoner, or even a rather fun game based on The Punisher).

And speaking of Descent, and because I can't say this enough, Matt Toschlog and Mike Kulas, founders of Volition, made an awesome sequel/spiritual successor to Descent a few years back, that sadly many didn't give a chance, in part due to the lack of the Descent IP/brand awareness.
The game is pretty much a revival of the series done right, only lacking the name:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/448850/Overload/

[Warp_Rattler]

I think it's pretty useful to keep in mind what sort of company we're dealing with.

I've pretty much abandoned eX-Twitter as a platform but have been too lazy to actually uninstall the app from my phone, and the goddamned thing just keeps spamming me with all of these partially-relevant promoted tweets (eX-es?) in a desperate attempt to get me to re-engage in some form. One thing that it seemed to think would really catch my attention a few weeks back was the nail-biting drama of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision, and so I kept getting notifications about the latest galaxy-brain takes on the topic from a few of these Content Influencer Guys (or whatever the hell their shtick is). I know that uncritical fandom screws your brain in pretty incredible ways, but I was still taken aback at just how much these people were falling all over themselves rooting for this merger to go through, and dogpiling on any regulatory bodies (or other users in general) who dared to suggest that maybe acquisitions at this size were possibly not entirely a Good Thing.

Beyond reaffirming the wisdom of my decision to just walk away from (eX)Twitter for good, the thing that floored me the most was just how fervently these people were supporting the merger and apparently believed in their soul of souls or whatever that this would be an unequivocally great thing for gaming. And... that's just not how media consolidation works. At best a studio/property/whatever will be recognized for the cash cow that it is and milked dry through whatever ghoulish, debased cash grabs the parent company thinks will resonate with the fanbase. At worst, it will just be neglected until the next round of cuts when it is unceremoniously given the axe because ParentCo has no idea what to do with it. And somewhere in the horrible middle, it will be hollowed out for its IP rights in whatever ways they can be capitalized on most cheaply. The philosophy has always been throwing shit at the wall--vacuum up as many cheap properties as they can, let the subsidiaries run on their own while ParentCo exploits whatever floats most easily to the top. And when profits dip in a few years, shed everything that's not showing endless growth to keep the shareholders happy.

It's no reflection on the quality of Tatsujin's properties, but I'd be really surprised if they survive another three years under Embracer, because Tatsujin is not the sort of company that lends itself to the mass popularity demanded by the logic of consolidation and conglomeration, no matter how much Embracer's PR pushes the whole "aw shucks, we're 'gamers' just like all of you and we love these companies so much!" image.

[hamfighterx]

Perhaps too far OT but as it's about Embracer I wanted to mention it--they have closed Volition: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/volition ... 51936-hkgT

They aren't done, also reports today that they've laid off people at Gearbox.
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ ... lose-modal

[BIL]

Perhaps too far OT but as it's about Embracer I wanted to mention it--they have closed Volition: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/volition ... 51936-hkgT

They aren't done, also reports today that they've laid off people at Gearbox.
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/ ... lose-modal

Well-spotted, both of you.

Nah, it's on-topic, I think it's pretty useful to keep in mind what sort of company we're dealing with.

Yep. :/

[Sumez]

It's no reflection on the quality of Tatsujin's properties, but I'd be really surprised if they survive another three years under Embracer, because Tatsujin is not the sort of company that lends itself to the mass popularity demanded by the logic of consolidation and conglomeration, no matter how much Embracer's PR pushes the whole "aw shucks, we're 'gamers' just like all of you and we love these companies so much!" image.

At least, as long as Tatsujin is just one person and exists solely to manage licenses, there's not much to cut in the first place.

[Steven]

There are at least 5 people working at Tatsujin as far as I know. 4 of them are from Toaplan and the other guy is apparently from Seibu Kaihatsu.

[Sumez]

Are they working on Tatsujin 3?

[Steven]

I think so. Here's Iwabuchi, Uemura, and a picture of a thing: https://youtu.be/hP4o-WESxDo?feature=shared&t=88

[Sumez]

Well, hopefully they are cheaper to employ than Volition

[Steven]

It will probably be a good idea to buy the new game. We'll find out what it is in a few weeks, probably on the 21st.

BTW if anyone is going to Tokyo Game Show, Namiki Manabu will be there at the Tatsujin booth on the 23rd and the owner of Mikado will be there on the 24th. Joe will also be there on the 24th to talk about the documentary.

*cries because he has work on the 23rd even though it's a holiday and it's too late to get out of it*

[bcass]

I think so. Here's Iwabuchi, Uemura, and a picture of a thing: https://youtu.be/hP4o-WESxDo?feature=shared&t=88

That's a ship from this artwork: