News

Namco to close down mobile branch?

Gaming giant reviewing its position in mobile market, job losses expected

Namco to close down mobile branch?
Reports are creeping out regarding the European mobile arm of gaming giant Namco Bandai being in review by its parent company, with the possibility of closure and job losses.

It was back in March that an interview with then new MD Barry O'Neil saw the company ramping up its European efforts.

According to Mobile-Ent.biz, the publisher has been making significant cuts in its mobile gaming operation and it received an official response from the company regarding its situation.

“NBNE can confirm that it is in the process of reviewing its operations, and may be appointing a distribution partner to manage part of its mobile operations going forwards," the statement reads.

"An announcement will be made in the coming weeks about this. There may be some job losses as a result, but we are working hard to ensure that these are minimised.”

No details were given on who this distribution partner might be, or how the partnership would operate, though some rumours point toward EA Mobile, which already has a similar deal with Japanese games company Taito.

The beginning of 2009 saw a many mobile game companies operations such as THQ Wireless and Vivendi Mobile succumb to market conditions. Yet it appeared things had stabilised somewhat, with Namco Bandai enduring apparent success in the handheld and mobile markets.

The company's American office is aggressively looking at the iPhone business however, as our recent interview with general manager Jonathan Kromrey sets out.

Yes. Spanner's his real name. And, yes, he's heard that joke before.