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Namco Bandai reorganizes, cuts workforce by 10%

Tekken 6 publisher plans to eliminate 630 jobs as nine-month earnings slip 10 percent to $3.13 billion; full-year loss forecast balloons to $343 million.

Namco Bandai continues to struggle to break out of its downward earnings trajectory. For the nine-month period ending December 31, the publisher reported that sales had slipped to ¥282.8 billion ($3.13 billion), down 10.4 percent from the year-ago period. Having pulled in a ¥9 billion ($99.6 million) profit during the period last year, Namco Bandai posted an ¥11.7 billion ($129 million) net loss for the nine-month period.

Tekken 6 couldn't shoulder all of Namco Bandai's losses.

Tekken 6 couldn't shoulder all of Namco Bandai's losses.

As a result of its worsening financial position, Namco Bandai has announced its "Restart Plan" initiative, a ranging reorganization plan focused on "transforming into a speedy group" as well as bolstering its financial position. As part of the plan, Namco Bandai said it would be eliminating about 630 positions--or 10 percent of its workforce--over the next 12 months through solicitation for early retirement.

The publisher said the move should save ¥3.5 billion ($38.7 million) by the end of its next fiscal year. However, that savings won't be reflected in its current-year results, as Namco Bandai today also lowered its earnings forecast for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2010. Saying it has faced "an uphill battle" thus far this year, the publisher now expects to pull in ¥380 billion ($4.2 billion) during the 12-month period, down from previous projections of ¥400 billion ($4.4 billion).

Namco Bandai also said that it anticipates reporting "extraordinary losses" for its full fiscal year. Having previously predicted a net income of ¥8.5 billion ($94 million), the publisher now expects to post a sizable ¥31 billion ($343 million) net loss.

Namco Bandai attributed the dramatic reversal to a number of factors. Save for Tekken 6, which the publisher announced shipped 2.5 million units initially, Namco Bandai said home software sales "fell below projections given weak market conditions for most of major home game software." Though the publisher didn't provide global sales figures for the fighter, Namco Bandai did say Tekken 6 sold 400,000 units in Japan and Asia.

Other reasons for the shortfall included "sluggish results" from its Visual and Music Content and Amusement Facility businesses as well as losses incurred as part of its headcount-reducing retirement plan.

Along with cutting its workforce, Namco Bandai said that the Restart Plan involves streamlining its operations across its Toys and Hobby, Amusement Facility, and Content groups. For Toys and Hobby, the Japanese company plans to expand its product portfolio, specifically by bringing to market products aimed at young girls and preschoolers. Conversely, the publisher plans to close 10 of its weakest-performing amusement facilities by the end of its next fiscal year.

Namco Bandai also said that it will bifurcate its Content group into Production Group and Publisher Function segments. The Production Group, which focuses on content creation for the game maker, will now emphasize "the respective strengths of multiple smaller organizations rather than being consolidated into a single organization."

As for the Publisher Function, Namco Bandai said it will be "bolstering quality control in Japan to improve development quality at the Worldwide Studio." The Japanese company also said that it would be making a bid to enter the live entertainment business through the creation of Namco Bandai Live Co. The segment will be backed with ¥10 million ($111,000) and will focus on the planning and production of events and live performances.

83 Comments

  • RitsukoEX

    Posted Apr 4, 2010 8:01 am GMT

    @Quietpower09
    thats funny!!! they already did THAT!!!!

  • Quietpower09

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 11:54 am GMT

    Develop a Tales game for the PS3 or Wii, and then your company will be just fine, Namco.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 9:11 am GMT

    Namco would never go under would they. They would just merge with another company if things got really bad.

  • brownboyd

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 3:32 pm GMT

    i have never been fan of tekken series.. played few tekken games and didnt like them... the last soul series game i enjoyed was soul calibur 2.. sc 3 and 4 were so bad... soul calibur games need to end... the storyline just sucks... same bunch of ppl who keeping looking for these swords again and again plus these swords never seem to die too...

    these guys need to develop some new game... just releasing the same games again and again with some changes is tiring and feels dragged... bring something new ...

  • TanakaPrime

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 2:30 pm GMT

    In all honesty I don't think many folks are confident about NamBan anymore. Tekken was rushed and few of their titles make it to the US in pristine condition. Soul Calibur is still strong but it may only be a matter of time before 3D (lazy) fighters will be replaced by 2D (juggernaut) fighters a la SFIV and the surprising Tatsunoko. NamBan and RPGs are not gluing like they used to AND the economy is bad... Not good news at all

  • thingta42

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 11:57 am GMT

    Tales of Vesperia 2 or the Enchanced versions for both 360/PS3 for EU/USA ohh and dont forget Soul Calibur 5 please Namco!

    Ohh and while we are on the subject Namco can you please get around to dubbing Tales of Vesperia First strike? Its because of silly stuff like this you guys are loosing profit each year.

  • HBC14

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 11:13 am GMT

    Will this change mean the end for Tekken? I hope not

  • Threesixtyci

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 11:02 am GMT

    I hope they fired the guys who decided to remove all the blood from Xenosaga Ep3.....

  • Daxo90

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 9:09 am GMT

    They should stop making exclusives and releasing ToV for Ps3 in japan but not the west is quite stupid imo

  • nate1222

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 7:28 am GMT

    This is sad. While I've never been a big Tekken fan, I've always loved the Soul Blade/Soul Calibur series. Ever since Soul Blade (PS1). I honestly hope Namco pulls through.

  • green_dominator

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 6:57 am GMT

    They may as well stop doing anything arcade as hard as it is to say that, Arcade saw it's golden Age in the 80's and 90's....
    Now that the Xbox 360 and PS3 can create images better or on par with an arcade machine, Arcade is done but also I think if they focus more on console development and no lackluster titles they might actually get through their slump....
    I wasn't even aware they did music games.....If I was them I'd just leave that to EA and Activision.....at least not import those games here......

  • biokrysty

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 5:50 am GMT

    they should do game for PC to

  • idosofacility

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 4:20 am GMT

    I would sugest a Namco Bandai Tecmo Koei merge.. LOL
    since they are all most all the same.. Tekken Warriors anyone? XDD
    at least they would sink together...

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 1:53 am GMT

    Do developers actually make a profit anymore?

  • kmykL_optiOn

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 12:21 am GMT

    Gimme vesperia for my ps3, even though I have the 360 version. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would get it for the extra content; plus, there should be ppl who never got it for the 360 (or a 360, for that matter) because they've been anticipating a ps3 version for so long...

  • luckjon

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 11:14 pm GMT

    Multiplayer Ace Combat 7 for all systems and be able to play against all of them at once. Have PS3 vs 360 wars, maybe even against PC. AC 7 is all they need to lift out of the red.

  • mf1986

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 10:47 pm GMT

    it is getting really competitive! and beside tekken6 they didnt have anything catchy

  • DEATH775

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 9:55 pm GMT

    Don't worry Square Enix won't loose anything, they are one of the best company out there.

  • drangel_jam

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 9:53 pm GMT

    The reason why in my eyes Tekken 6 was a faillure is because they put so much emphasis on the beat'em all mode (to unlock so many things), and that modes blows. They should keep it in a 2D plane a la Tekken 3 or something. Still, everything about that mode is just plain awful. The final boss is annoying because all I had to do is be patient enough, until I find the one or two moves/combos that worked best against the boss, and then it was a process of repetition and dumb AI. Never got into the online, but I will probably go back and play it online, because the core versus gameplay is very much Tekken. So it's still fun, even the though the game feel old as if it should be release two years ago or somehting.

  • SolanOcard

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 9:19 pm GMT

    Tecmo Koei, Namco Bandai... I hope Square Enix isn't have problems too, or I will lose all faith in mergers.

    not to mention Activision Blizzard.

  • mayankahuja

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 9:08 pm GMT

    hmm

  • shadowysea07

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 8:34 pm GMT

    @SDBusDriver1979 uh what are you talking about? they as far as i know are not making any games currently. the last title they released was for the wii Graces and before that 2 psp titles RM2 and ToVS and a ps3 title vesperia. they haven't announced the next game as of yet. unless your talking about that game uh keroro? they don't have anything to do with the game except lending their characters for cameos.

  • Solidsnake13_2

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 7:45 pm GMT

    Honestly to Namco Bandai, all they got to do is make the next home console Ace Combat, we apprecite the next Ace Combat we are hearing about on PSP, but our last one was in 2007. C'mon now give us a new Ace Combat in a new decade. It's 2010 now!

  • Guzthon

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 7:28 pm GMT

    Oh no. This hurts for everyone (from the employees through the video game players/fans). I hope that the workers find another job.
    "It hurts and sad".

  • vectorman88

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 7:13 pm GMT

    Ace Combat 6 and 7 on the PS3. theres your economic solution.

  • JDWolfie

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 7:08 pm GMT

    Well, maybe they can file for unemployment and after a few months when Namco Bandai has saved some money and be able to pay its employees, maybe they can get their job back. I guess you can hope.

  • tony2077ca

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 7:06 pm GMT

    i wish them luck and i also wish they'd make more decent games for systems i have

  • SDBusDriver1979

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 6:48 pm GMT

    I don't see it getting any better in the future when they are wasting two of their best studios on projects that are not going to make money. Ace Combat team just finished Sky Crawlers which didn't push any numbers and now pointlessly making another Ace Combat for the PSP. The Tales studio is now making another Tales game for the DS. While I do not have a problem with that but the first one they did for the DS wasn't release outside of Japan and I doubt the next one will either. It makes me sad.

  • Thrallia

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 6:43 pm GMT

    seriously...no one reads before commenting anymore. they aren't firing people, they are giving them early retirement. Totally different.

  • Fusion_Master

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 6:32 pm GMT

    all i can say for the people who are gonna lose their jobs is that this isnt the end. like any industry, people are always after what is new and innovative. maybe some of them could band together and come up with some new ideas on their own and get picked up as a studio by an even larger organisation. all it takes is one great idea.

  • Gelugon_baat

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:47 pm GMT

    Ouch. If there is anything that Namco Bandai should cut, it's its contracts with lousy developers like Koei. I still have not forgiven it for the sacrilege that is Gundam Warriors.

  • -Fromage-

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:33 pm GMT

    Too bad. I thought Tekken did pretty well.

  • karatosu

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:30 pm GMT

    That sucks. For a while there, all I had on my PSP were games by Namco Bandai. The imported a lot of cool RPGs, including Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology.

  • yonaswii08

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:29 pm GMT

    Jinzo9988 you are dumb i do not think you understand the world... DRAGON BALL Z = money alot of money not as much as the bigger titles but good enough to make more and more games.. Why do you think there is so many dbz games? not because they do not sell it's because that franchise makes money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man if you were working for namco and you said get rid of dbz you would be the first person they fire.

  • jinzo9988

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:17 pm GMT

    Namco Bandai doesn't have any heavy hitters anymore. Soul Calibur and Tekken were so late 90s. I love Ace Combat but that's not exactly a mainstream winner. And for the love of all that is holy, drop Dragon Ball Z already and use the resources somewhere else. Dragon Ball Z may actually be more of a dead horse than Dynasty Warriors is.

  • Xentarim

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:06 pm GMT

    So... they're NOT blaming PC piracy for this?

    *yes, I know this post might not go well with some, but I'm trying to make a sarcastic point*

  • Alex_09

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:51 pm GMT

    Damn. They did a really good job with Mark of Chaos a few years back it's a shame to see them slipping.

  • Tauu

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:37 pm GMT

    Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm is an amazing game. I hope this doesn't delay getting a sequel to the US.

  • Cruse34

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:25 pm GMT

    Its too bad they are having trouble for the industies sake but they don't really make many good games

  • spyroiskool

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:19 pm GMT

    Maybe if they put tekken 3 on the playstation store for ps1 classics they could make tons of money and wouldnt have to fire people!!

  • SuperShroom333

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:09 pm GMT

    They deserve it for not putting out Vesperia PS3, Radiant Mythology 2, and Tales of Hearts. Remaking all those other games and not giving them NA localizations was stupid as well.

  • holenjd

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:55 pm GMT

    I want Xenosaga back, wahahah!

  • Krystyan68

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:55 pm GMT

    I couldn't give a toss for Namco's title's, but this is sad news for the industry.

  • lamprey263

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:53 pm GMT

    Namco Bandai needs to make more of their RPGs and they need to make them multiplatform to help with sales, I appreciate the attention they've given to the Xbox 360 but it doesn't help them to limit themselves, I'd also say the same for Katamari Forever and how that should have gone to the Xbox 360 instead of remaining exclusive to the PS3.

    Also, Namco Bandai publishes a lot of anime in the US and elsewhere, it'd really helped if they helped change the market for anime in North America. I see it slowly changing but they need to help it get along. It seems most anime series are around 13 or 26 episodes a season, and a 26 episode season release on 7 volumes selling for $20 or $30 a disc, meaning it could cost sometimes upward of $200 for an entire anime season on DVD. Though, I've noticed slowly anime publishers are slowly moving toward box sets, sometimes selling for under $100, or sometimes much lower like around $30 - $40. I've seen the entire Cowboy Bebop selling for $30 for the entire season at retail, as well as $35 Stand Alone Complex seasons 1 & 2.

    And lastly, Namco Bandai has access to anime IPs that would make great games. Though, I think they should remain just publishers, they should hire outside studios to work on these IPs because whenever they attempt it themselves it usually ends in utter failure, like their attempt at the Ghost in the Shell game or the Afro Samurai game.

  • SLjimbolian

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:42 pm GMT

    @mykel77 You actually bring up a good point. Just looking at Namco Bandai's titles like Soul Calibur, Tekken, the Tales games, and Katamari, there hasn't been much of a major change in the series.

  • thisranks

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:37 pm GMT

    Eventually they were going to suffer for not porting certain games to NA, like ToV for example.

    Thank god it'll be NISA localizing Ar tonelico 3 or we would never see that, either.

    I got what i consider their best 3 games, anyways. The Xenosaga series.

  • mykel77

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:37 pm GMT

    tekken would have sold better if it had actually Evolved!

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