Coin-op amusements news | BANDAI NAMCO pulls out of US amusements operation

Japanese giant BANDAI NAMCO has pulled out of the North American amusement operating industry, it was announced this morning, although it will continue to sell games.

In a statement from BANDAI NAMCO Holdings, the group’s entertainment business, including the operation of amusement venues plus the development and sale of arcade games, has been impacted heavily by the closure of locations in the pandemic.

“As the company expects that this difficult market environment will continue into the future, it is reporting extraordinary losses of approximately ¥13bn (€101.1m) as business structural reform costs in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31. It is taking measure to reduce fixed costs and streamline operations.”

The statement from the company went on to report that it is “conducting selection and concentration into business development that utilises IP along with the resources of each business in the group, with the aim of rebuilding a strong business foundation under a unified framework for each of the group’s businesses.”

The statement concludes: “After careful examination of the amusement facilities business in North America, the company decided to transfer the business and withdraw from the business, as it expects that the difficult business environment would continue into the future and achieving co-operation between each business is difficult at present. The group will still continue to engage in the business of selling arcade games in North America.”

The group’s US offshoot, Namco USA, is located in Wood Dale, Illinois. It has 34 directly owned stores, one large outlet and 760 revenue-sharing locations in three companies. It has not named the three companies it will transfer the venues to, nor the price. Namco USA will merge with BANDAI NAMCO Amusement America, which conducts the sale of games, from March 31.

Pictured: The Namco games room in the Mall of America.