AM Press: NeoGeo Battle Coliseum at AOU 2005

April 15, 2005 issue
Last updated on April 11, 2005

Special news

The federal district court accepted Immersion's lawsuit and ordered SCE to pay compensation.

In conjunction with the integration of its AM business, Sega Corporation implemented major organizational reforms.

Overseas

President Iger will be appointed CEO of the Walt Disney Company in the United States.

Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas has received permission to open on April 28th.

Domestic

Nippon System became a subsidiary of Via Holdings.

Shigeru Ikari has been promoted to the new president of Atlas.

News digest of April 15, 2005 issue

The photo is a continuation of AOU Expo 05. Above is an introduction to Taito's “Harikiri Online Professional Baseball.” The photo below shows the player trying out the game software “Neo Geo Battle Coliseum” developed by SNK Playmore for Atomiswave.

Main news from 10 years ago

A discussion at the AOU included the fact that if an entertainment business located in a restricted area is unable to operate due to a major earthquake, etc., its license will be revoked and it will not be possible to reapply. Capcom USA moved to Chicago and absorbed Gamestar. American company Acclaim has agreed to acquire Lasertron. China's AIC has seized a large number of fake Sega Mega Drive consoles and game software in Beijing. (April 15, 1995 issue)

Main news from 20 years ago

Science Expo Tsukuba 85 has opened, and its attached amusement park, Hoshimaru Land, has also opened. A charity dinner was held in memory of Mikhail Kogan to accompany the ASI in Chicago, USA. With the enforcement of the new Entertainment Business Act, Fukui Prefecture amended the Youth Ordinance that stipulated a notification system for game halls. Meisho Special Industries held a party to commemorate its 30th anniversary. (April 15, 1985 issue)

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[News Digest]

1. In a case in which Immersion, a U.S. company with numerous patents related to haptic technology, was suing Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) for patent infringement, a federal district court in San Francisco ruled on March 24 that SCE had infringed Immersion's patents. In addition to ordering SCE to pay $90.7 million in damages, the court also issued an order permanently banning the manufacture and sale of PlayStation, DualShock consoles, and 47 game software titles in the United States. This is based on a September 2004 jury verdict that approved Immersion's claims, and the federal district court had previously ordered SCE to report sales volumes. SCE has immediately filed an appeal with the Federal Court of Appeals, which will suspend implementation of the injunction pending the outcome of the appeal, which is a negative development for SCE.

2. On March 31st, SEGA SAMMY Holdings announced that the group's amusement-related businesses will be integrated into SEGA Corporation as of April 1st, and Sega Corporation will undergo major structural reforms and personnel changes. The development, sales, and game center operations of commercial equipment will be concentrated in the AM Headquarters, and the development and sales of home game software will be concentrated in the CS Headquarters, creating a three-headquarters system: the AM Headquarters, the CS Headquarters, and the Corporate Headquarters. The AM Headquarters includes the AM Research and Development Headquarters (AM Related Development Headquarters, AM Product Development Headquarters, AM Software Development Headquarters), AM Equipment Business Department, AM Overseas Business Department, and Entertainment Facilities Business Department (Facility Development Headquarters, Four business divisions were established: the Ration Management Division), the Product Management Division, the Production Management Division, and the Sales Development Division.The CS Management Division added the Network Strategy Division, the Consumer Division, the GE Development Division, and the NE Development Division.

3. On March 24th, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) approved the casino operation by Wynn Las Vegas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wynn Resorts, ensuring that the Wynn Resorts Casino Hotel will open on April 28 as scheduled. The casino hotel, which is being built on the site of the former Desert Inn on the north side of Las Vegas Boulevard, will have 50 stories, 2,712 guest rooms, and a casino floor with 137 tables and 1,960 slot machines. According to the announcement, the total cost will be approximately 280 billion yen. Aruze, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Aruze USA, owns 24.8% of the shares in Wynn Resorts, making it one of its major shareholders. For this reason, NGC investigators came to Japan in August and September 2004 to investigate Aruze.

4. It was decided on March 13 that Michael Eisner, who has wielded power as CEO of the Walt Disney Company in the United States for about 21 years, will retire on September 30 of this year, and that Robert Iger, President and COO, will be promoted to his successor as CEO. Mr. Eisner, who had stepped down as chairman and became only the CEO after being criticized by Roy Disney and others at the shareholders' meeting in March last year to take responsibility for the slump in stock prices, decided to step down and entrust the CEO role to Mr. Iger, who he trusted the most. Mr. Iger joined ABC Television in 1974, was involved in program production, and became president in 1993. When the Walt Disney Company acquired ABC Television in 1996, he joined the management team and became president and COO from January 2000. Born in New York. 54 years old.

5. Nippon System recently announced that it has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Via Holdings as of April 1 through a stock exchange. Akatsuki BP, whose largest shareholder and chairman is Norio Yokogawa, the youngest of the four Yokogawa brothers who founded Skylark, has been transferred to a holding company called Via Holdings.The company now owns five companies, including the printing business Akatsuki Printing, the restaurant industry companies Ogiya Corporation, Bochi Bochi, and FuDream, and the newly added amusement-related business Nippon System. Due to the group reorganization, Mr. Norio Yokogawa became chairman and president of Via Holdings, and Nippon System Chairman Sakae Murakami was appointed to concurrently serve as senior managing director of the holding company.

6. Atlas announced top management changes on March 30th, and with President Nobuyuki Okude taking over as Takara president on April 1st, Shigeru Ikari, director and general manager of the SC business, was promoted to president. Mr. Okude will remain a director of Atlas. Mr. Igari, who will become the new president, graduated from Fukushima Prefectural Tomioka High School in 1979 and joined the Self-Defense Forces. After 1986, he worked for Kasumi and Red Blaster Japan, and then joined Atlas in 1995. Since December 2002, he has been the general manager of the SC business division, and since June 2004 he has been a director. Born in Fukushima Prefecture. 44 years old. Additionally, on March 25, SNK Playmore announced the appointment of Chairman Eikichi Kawasaki, who was not previously a director, as a director, and the appointment of Zenyasu Okada, who previously served as the National Police Agency's Chugoku District Director-General and as an advisor to UFJ Trust Bank, as a part-time auditor. The appointment was made to strengthen the management team, and the appointment was made at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on February 25th, but as the company is privately held, the announcement was made a month later.

7. Aeon Fantasy announced its financial results for the fiscal year ending February 2005 on April 6th, with sales increasing 23.3% from the previous year to 28,866 million yen, ordinary income increasing 28.8% to 3,034 million yen, and net income increasing 29.9% to 1,650 million yen, showing significant increases in sales and profits. Aeon Group's company that operates game halls in shopping centers (called “indoor playgrounds” by the company) has opened 21 directly managed stores and closed two franchise stores over the past year, leaving the company with 192 directly managed stores (including the closed Ojiya store) and 14 franchise stores at the end of the fiscal year. Of the directly managed stores, 53 have obtained permission to operate entertainment businesses. The company plans to open 25 new stores in fiscal 2005, and hopes to increase the number to 400 stores in the long term. For the fiscal year ending February 2006, sales are expected to be 33.2 billion yen, ordinary profit 3.65 billion yen, and net profit 2 billion yen.

◎ Since 1974, the industry magazine "Game Machine" has been reporting industry news on commercial amusement machines, including TV game machines, amusement facilities, etc. twice a month, but the print publication was discontinued at the end of June 2002.