After filing for bankruptcy in June, Atlus’ parent company, Index, has since begun pawning their assets , which includes Atlus itself. The RPG giant has received approximately 20 bids from competing companies, with the final tally already reaching into the $200 million mark. Among the many Eastern contenders, however, stateside gamers can find a familiar name: SEGA.
In the wake of their recent exclusivity partnership with Nintendo, it seems that SEGA has set their mark on Atlus’ franchises. Where SEGA’s bid weighs in has yet to be fully disclosed, nor do we know the current leader. However, Index is expected to be sold before September’s conclusion—possibly by the end of August.
Given the nature of Atlus, namely its Japan-based structure and release pattern, SEGA’s movement isn’t too surprising. And, for fans of Atlus’ many series, most notably the Shin Megami Tensei arcs (yes, that includes Persona ), it’s a pretty good one. With EA, Activision, Ubisoft, and others playing gaming monopoly, it’d be good to see a familiar company pick up Index’s legacy. SEGA has demonstrated its RPG savvy in the current generation with releases like Resonance of Fate and Valkyria Chronicles , as well as their localization capacity.
Better still, they’ve distributed for Atlus in the past, so there are clearly far worse foster parents on the roster. The last thing we need is for NIS America to pick up SMT and rule JRPGs with an iron fist.
Source: Joystiq