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[callous]

Wow, this blows. Taito is historically one of my favourite developers. How sad to see the makers of so many of the biggest classics from all generations being taken over.

You don't need to go back very far to find good stuff from Taito, though. They made what is probably the best arcade racing game of the generation, Battle Gear 3. The game, inexplicably, didn't get a Western release despite being absolutely sublime. If you're at all interested in arcade racers, import this as a last show of respect. You won't regret it.

This is sad

 

[john tv]

It's interesting to see some of the reactions here. I feel quite the opposite -- Taito, in my mind, does nothing but put out quality-free garbage over and over and over, and has been that way for years. Sure, every now and then a decent game slips through the cracks, but for the most part, they've done nothing but fill the shelves with junk. So when I see a company like Square Enix, who I generally like very much and who seems to care about creating quality product, going out and purchasing a company like Taito, it makes me feel like they're soiling their image just by being associated with them.

But, oh well. What's done is done, right? Hopefully it'll work out well for both companies.

 

[etiolate]

Just don't hurt my bubble bobble.

 

[Kurosaki Ichigo]

Heh, I want an Slime Bubble Bobble~~

I suppose S-E needs support for mobile games...Taito can help them so, we'll see.

 

[radioheadrule83]

 

[Andrew2]

This is going to be a problem for both Namco and SEGA. When you think about it, Taito ranks 3rd when it comes down to amusement business and with SE influence, this could be nothing but an attempt for them to gain a foothold as SE pretty much is the only top-ranking publisher in Japan.

 

[duckroll]

This is a very interesting move on Square Enix's part. For people going "Fuck Square Enix", isn't that a little premature? This could end up working up really really well for everyone. Regardless of what anyone thinks about Taito making shooter ports for current-gen consoles, let's face it: Taito is cheap and has shit for quality control. At least Square Enix has shown that they're willing to delay games and send more money and time on things they feel don't meet QC standards. :lol

 

[djtiesto]

S-E needs to fund a new Power Blade game for Taito

(and yeah, ditto on the Lufia thing, if S-E can fund Neverland Company to make some quality sequels to Chaos Seed, Energy Breaker, and Lufia, this will be A Good Thing(TM))

 

[Troidal]

They can prolly make a theme park based on hot IPs like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Full Metal Alchemist. S-E trying to follow the footsteps of Sega and Namco I guess...

Speaking of which, has anyone visited the S-E show floor in Hatsudai that opened up the other weekend?

 

[Servizio]

...Lufia? O_O

Sweet mother of all that is holy and pure in the world, grant me a true sequel to Lufia II and I'll...

uh...

Stop wasting so much damn time on this forum?

 

[john tv]

They can prolly make a theme park based on hot IPs like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Full Metal Alchemist. S-E trying to follow the footsteps of Sega and Namco I guess...

Speaking of which, has anyone visited the S-E show floor in Hatsudai that opened up the other weekend?

No! What's there? And what time is it usually open?

 

[jarrod]

what does taito make anymore?

This generation their big console hit was Gakaruta Studio's Rakugaki Oukaku. They still produce a ton of other stuff though.... Battle Gear, Puzzle Bobble, Space Invaders, Energy Airforce, Densha de Go!, Bubble Bobble, Bujingai, Estopolis and others, plus licensing Falcom/NCS RPGs, Wizardry games and various Psyiko/Cave/Moss/Takumi/Alfa System/Triangle Service shooters for consoles.

taito only has the rights to the PS2 remakes of 3 - 5. falcom retains the rights to the series, but interestingly, digicube did the 1 & 2 remake for PS2, so they could theoretically sell a huge pack of 1-5 now... heh.

Taito also holds rights to Ys VI for mobiles... they could do a DS port rather effortlessly.

TypeX was also one of the few arcade hardware platforms that were still being supported, too. This is yet another thing I'd bet SE would let die off in a blink. I don't think any good will come of this at all.

TypeX is already in trouble anyway, developers are dropping it left and right and Taito's already splintering the market with TypeX+. After Atomiswave folding, all eyes are on Aurora for a decent Naomi replacement now.

 

[tetsuoxb]

The scary thing is, they could have bought Capcom for about the same amount too... so I guess it is amusement-related rather than anything else. They already have a pretty good keitai division of their own, I think, and I doubt they need the IP. Amusement is all I can think of as being a plus for them.

God for-fucking-bid. I doubt Capcom could be had for that price. What is their market capitalizaiton?

Edit: you are right. Capcom as a part of Squarenix would be a travesty. Talk about two corporate cultures set to clash into oblivion.

 

[jarrod]

The scary thing is, they could have bought Capcom for about the same amount too...

Capcom's the one who should be worried, they're a prime take over target now being the last large JP publisher not merged or protected. It's too bad Nintendo didn't bite on their investment offer... I wouldn't be surprised if MS tried to scoop them up at some point.

Looking at all the JP mergers and buyouts this generation...

-Sony invests in Square.
-Konami buys Success, invests in Hudson/Takara/Genki/Sting.
-Enix invests in Game Arts.
-Sega buys Red Entertainment.
-Square buys Quest.
-Enix buys Square.
-Sammy buys Sega.
-Atlus buys Takara.
-Gung Ho Online invests in Game Arts.
-Nintendo invests in Bandai.
-Dwango buys Chunsoft.
-Tomy buys Atlus Takara.
-Bandai buys Namco.
-Square Enix buys Taito.

...anything I've missed?

 

[Troidal]

No! What's there? And what time is it usually open?

Square and Enix goodies on display

Check out the store here (with some pictures):
http://shop.port.ne.jp/sqen/sqen_showcase.php

 

[Vieo]

Here's a list of all the games they've made/published?

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/10632.html


Target Renegade!!

edit: Darius games are also among my favs.

 

[Troidal]

Here's a list of all the games they've made/published?

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/10632.html


Target Renegade!!

edit: Darius games are also among my favs.

Hrm, now that I think about it, the company releasing the Taito Classic Collection on PS2 is almost like releasing the "Best of" album before a rock band disbands or something...should have seen it coming...

 

[The End]

I demand a new Rayforce game!

 

[jarrod]

I demand a new Rayforce game!

The Darius/Ray team left Taito to form G.Rev iirc. Go play Border Down, Gradius V or Under Defeat instead.

 

[Unison]

They're offering \181000 a share, a 20% premium, with an eye towards gaining a controlling position of 67.00%, 247,900 shares. The main possible obstacle is Kyocera's 133,260 (36.02%) stake.

So that's a bit over $400 million then... Capcom being worth the same amount seems like a total steal, imo.

 

[The End]

The Darius/Ray team left Taito to form G.Rev iirc. Go play Border Down, Gradius V or Under Defeat instead.

That they did.

They've done the 3d engine for Ikaruga, which was then re-used for Border Down. After that they did Senko no Ronde, which is a neat cross between a shmup and a fighting game (think Virtual On). Now they're working on Under Defeat. I'm pretty sure they had nothing to do with Gradius V.

 

[jarrod]

I'm pretty sure they had nothing to do with Gradius V.

They've been credited with co-developing G5 with Treasure. I had no idea about Ikaruga though.

 

[The End]

They've been credited with co-developing G5 with Treasure. I had no idea about Ikaruga though.

Hmm. We learn something new every day.

 

[..pakbeka..]

Square-Enix-Taito?
Taito-Square-Enix?
Square-Taito-Enix?
Enix-Taito-Square?
Squeenixto?

 

[Ranger X]

I suppose it would have been mentionned earlier but is Taito the developer or Raiden 3 by any chance?

Anything to bring this game in America i guess.

 

[jarrod]

I suppose it would have been mentionned earlier but is Taito the developer or Raiden 3 by any chance?

Anything to bring this game in America i guess.

Moss developed Raiden III.

 

[Ulairi]

Doesn't Tatio do the Lufia games?

 

[jarrod]

Doesn't Tatio do the Lufia games?

No, but they own the IP.

Neverland developed Lufia 1-2 and the GBC game. Alterior Double developed Lufia GBA.

 

[DarienA]

Lufia... man there's a name I'd forgotten..... I know I played the first SNES one but I can't remember if I played the second one.... the second one was a prequel correct?

 

[jarrod]

Lufia II = best 16bit RPG ever made. Seriously. Find it!

 

[Acosta]

Type-X has no future, too expensive. It´s comfortable for developers and in the long term it could be profitable, but the biggest problem of studios developing shoot´em ups is the initial inversion as they usually are very small studios, and that is the main weak point of Type-X, most of them can´t afford it.

About the buyout (this is not going to be a merge, so nothing of Square Taito Enix) It´s a IP hunting movement and I doubt it´s focused on consoles afterall. I´m guessing, but given how active has been Square Enix in mobile terren, I think that it´s main interest. Taito IPs are more compatible for keitais than Square Enix´s ones and will give SE access to a huge library of shoot´em ups and simple action games that they can port from past or actualize them in new versions for that market.

 

[Jonnyram]

Square and Enix goodies on display

Check out the store here (with some pictures):
http://shop.port.ne.jp/sqen/sqen_showcase.php

Holy crap look at all those Slimes! My son shall have one for Christmas for sure

 

[Dragona Akehi]

Taito can kiss my ass for screwing over Neverland Co. on Lufia.

Now, the only way Square (not Enix) can redeem themselves for craptaculiciousness is to give Neverland some cash and

MAKE

ME

ESTPOLIS (LUFIA) III: RUINS CHASER


SCREW ALL THAT OTHER CRAP. I WANTS ME SOME LUFIA AND ESTPOLIS.

 

[genjiZERO]

As long as they another Landmaker I'll be happy. That game rocks but no one seems to have ever heard of it.

 

[chespace]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3143011

good ol' Bebpo wrote it up.

 

[aku:jiki]

As long as they another Landmaker I'll be happy.

The puzzle game? I've heard of it and when I first played it in MAME I loved it, then I got the PS1 port....

-Sega buys Red Entertainment.

Bujingai

This confuses me... When did that buyout happen? (Red actually made Bujingai.)

 

[Shouta]

MAKE ME LUFIA III: RUINS CHASERS NOW!

 

[japtor]

Type-X has no future, too expensive. It´s comfortable for developers and in the long term it could be profitable, but the biggest problem of studios developing shoot´em ups is the initial inversion as they usually are very small studios, and that is the main weak point of Type-X, most of them can´t afford it.

the arcade hardware itself is also expensive, and theres already a bunch of naomi kits out there, so theres less incentive for both developer and arcade operator. and then theres the occasional anecdotal story about the hard drive dying. im not sure if the drives are tied to the kits in any way or if theyre sold separately though.

 

[vireland]

as SE pretty much is the only top-ranking publisher in Japan.

Did Konami lose the throne?

 

[Legal Step]

Hey Vic do you still hate the DS?

 

[Varian]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3143011

good ol' Bebpo wrote it up.

What does this mean for gamers? Well, maybe if we're lucky we'll be able to play as Vaan and Ashe in the next Puzzle Bobble!

Why can't everybody be as positive as Bebpo?

I wouldn't mind a Bubble Bobble RPG myself.

 

[android]

600 million dollars????? Is that Yen or is Taito the new Rare?
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/22/news_6131658.html

 

[Dragona Akehi]

RAWR! LUFIA! RAWR!

 

[TheDiave]

How does Squenix have any money to throw around? They haven't released hardly anything since FFX-2 and Star Ocean 3.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

How does Squenix have any money to throw around? They haven't released hardly anything since FFX-2 and Star Ocean 3.

 

[TheDiave]

I was actually referring more to the American market than Japan, but good call. I forgot about DQVIII.

 

[Red Scarlet]

For shame.

 

[Andrew2]

Capcom's the one who should be worried, they're a prime take over target now being the last large JP publisher not merged or protected. It's too bad Nintendo didn't bite on their investment offer... I wouldn't be surprised if MS tried to scoop them up at some point.

Looking at all the JP mergers and buyouts this generation...

-Sony invests in Square.
-Konami buys Success, invests in Hudson/Takara/Genki/Sting.
-Enix invests in Game Arts.
-Sega buys Red Entertainment.
-Square buys Quest.
-Enix buys Square.
-Sammy buys Sega.
-Atlus buys Takara.
-Gung Ho Online invests in Game Arts.
-Nintendo invests in Bandai.
-Dwango buys Chunsoft.
-Tomy buys Atlus Takara.
-Bandai buys Namco.
-Square Enix buys Taito.

...anything I've missed?

Your missing some.

Sony, SEGA and Bandai invest in Dimps.
Sony and Namco establish Dream Pictures Studio

 

[Scott]

I was actually referring more to the American market than Japan, but good call. I forgot about DQVIII.

Why would the American market have an effect on this?

Anyway, since you asked, US releases since Star Ocean: 'Till the End of Time (September '04 to date):

• Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls (GBA) (Published by Nintendo)
• Final Fantasy VII: Snowboarding (Mobile)
• Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia (PC, PS2)
• Final Fantasy XI: The Vana'diel Collection (PC)
• Full Metal Alchemist & the Broken Angel (PS2)
• Full Metal Alchemist II: Curse of the Crimson Elixir (PS2)
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (GBA)
• Musashi: Mobile Samurai (Mobile)
• Musashi: Samurai Legend (PS2)

Final Fantasy X-2 predates Star Ocean by almost a year, but if you're still curious what came out in the period between those two, here you go (November '03 to September '04):

• ActRaiser (Mobile)
• Brave Shot (Mobile)
• Drakengard (PS2)
• Final Fantasy XI: Online (PS2) (Published by Sony)
• Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (GC) (Published by Nintendo)
• Front Mission IV (PS2)
• Sword of Mana (GBA) (Published by Nintendo)

I believe that's it.

 

[mosaic]

DS ports of Galactic Attack, RayStorm, and RayCrisis would be nice... hell, if the system can do Nanostray, it can do those (and bonus, they don't suck).

Or, hell, if Squenix wants to publish a 3 pack of those games for PS2, I sure wouldn't complain.