Monday, September 05, 2005
Game software industry consolidation
Japan's mobile game software companies are global superpowers. They are all historically grown and linked to other industry sectors, such as characters, arcade games, pachinko (pinball parlor) machines etc.
While the market for traditional home video gamesoftware is rapidly shrinking, a landslide shift is underway to network games, online games and mobile games.
These changes bring consolidation. Some recent mergers are:
Bandai acquires Namco
SEGA (game arcades) and Sammy (pachinko) merge
Takara and TOMY merge
Role playing game leader Square-Enix (itself a merger of Square and Enix) acquires the larger TAITO
The Square-Enix deal is particularly interesting because it underlines the Japanese preference for role playing games.
While the market for traditional home video gamesoftware is rapidly shrinking, a landslide shift is underway to network games, online games and mobile games.
These changes bring consolidation. Some recent mergers are:
Bandai acquires Namco
SEGA (game arcades) and Sammy (pachinko) merge
Takara and TOMY merge
Role playing game leader Square-Enix (itself a merger of Square and Enix) acquires the larger TAITO
The Square-Enix deal is particularly interesting because it underlines the Japanese preference for role playing games.
