Namco Buyout of D3 a Done Deal

Last month, we reported the news that Namco Bandai had plans to acquire D3 Publisher, and now it’s all but a done deal. Early this morning, D3 and Namco Bandai announced that the two companies have reached agreements which will give Namco Bandai a 95 percent stake in D3, with plans in place for the remaining 5 percent to be picked up in the immediate future. The total cost so far to Namco Bandai for the acquisition of the Puzzle Quest: Galactrix publisher? Just over $12.5 million.

Aside from the obvious benefits of picking up more than a handful of unique titles, such as Puzzle Quest, Dead Head Fred, and Onechanbara, Namco Bandai will also benefit from the acquisition of a bigger piece of the Naruto franchise’s pie in the states. Something just as important to Namco Bandai, though, might be the included acquisition of Vicious Cycle and its cross-platform Vicious Engine technology, which can be used in game development on nearly every platform under the sun, from the PS3 and 360 to the DS and PSP.

While there are still a few i’s left to dot and t’s left to cross, it looks like everything will continue to move forward with all companies involved in the acquisition, and no changes are expected in the development cycles of any games currently in the works from either D3 or Namco Bandai.

Eidos Ripe for Warner Takeover?

It’s no secret these days that video game publisher Eidos is struggling. We’ve already reported on potential buyout talks more than once. Recently, we even reported that Warner Bros. had taken the opportunity to bulk up on its stake in the troubled publisher, increasing its Eidos holdings to a total of about 20 percent. Now, it’s beginning to look more and more like Warner could be positioning itself to take a more active role in the day to day operations at Eidos.

The first sign pointing to a potential Warner takeover of Eidos is actually built on a foundation made of LEGO. Back in 2007, Warner first set things in motion to acquire Traveller’s Tales, the developer behind the hit LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Batman games. Earlier this week, while addressing investors at a conference in Arizona, Warner’s Chief Financial Officer John Martin called the acquisition “wildly successful”.

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