But what does the mixing of such mega entertainment Asian giants have in store for the new resulting brand identity and the conjoined infrastructure?

Sega - ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ (1991 today)
Sammy - Stylized 'S' (2004 today)
Of the two corporations SEGA represents a highly recognizable international brand, the mutant hedgehog especially created as a company mascot (for a company based in a country without the animal). Sammy has stuck with a brand logo that offers a corporate representation rather than a mascot or identity. The adoption of the SEGA brand (SEGA Sammy Holdings) an example of wrapping the organization in the more successful flag; in an OOH leisure sector stance the merger of satellite international offices has been completed, and time spent evaluating the overlap.

Namco - ‘Pac-Man’ (1980 today)
Bandai Group / Banpresto - The ‘Mask’ Icon (1994 today)
From the gate the new Namco Bandai holding identity has been established. The recent Tokyo games show saw the combined brand identity on full display even though complete ratification was scheduled for October. The mascot for Namco represents the gold standard in recognition value, the merchandised symbol of an amusement and mainstream developer. An interesting example of this brand identity is the use in the competing Nintendo property Mario Kart. Statements from various sources have spoken of no change, and Bandai having no interest in amusement, though they have acquired the Asakusa Hanayashiki amusement park in 2004 to diversify amusement business. The company motto currently represents ‘Dreams, Fun and Inspiration’, we will see in 2006 if this will change, but the first elements of this change have recently been witnessed (see IAAPA coverage).

Taito - ‘Bubblun’ (1986 today)
Square-Enix - ‘Chocobo’ (1994 today)
With an acquisition still wet on the paper, the possibility of brand integration is a future aspiration. The hope that Taito will be the dominant mascot with its vast back catalogue of amusement gold is a feature in the merger. The need for a strong presence in the market, but also a diverse holding means that the GM business brings new areas of scope for Square, as well as the Square’s proven software publishing resource can now redevelop the mobile and console product opportunities. How far the Bubblun character from the Bubble Bobble series will continue to grace the conjoined product range is yet unknown.

Konami - Changed from the twin Wave (2003) for the Red Brand logo
Capcom - ‘Captain Commando’ (1991 to 1995) ‘MegaMan’ (1987 today)
The proposed natural progression of the merger madness sweeping the entertainment scene in Japan has fallen at the door of Konami and Capcom. Both prominent developers, with varying scales of amusement investment; however on brand identity Capcom wins hands down, though Konami has a successful library of products and has expanded its presence from fitness to gaming; however the brand for Konami is represented by the new 2003 Red Banner; not a characters from their past glories, but just the name. Like wise Capcom has a strong selection of characters, and has changed their mascot twice, while their business though successful has suffered from a changing amusement scene. The motto for Konami is currently ‘Creativity and development’, with a merger would it be Capcom whose mascot will support it?

Breaking Stinger News - With the last but one month of 2005 gone, SEGA Sammy Holding decided to show their latest amusement titles for release with their SEGA Private Show 2005 Autumn for distributors and operators.

This event is usually a gathering of seasonal release opportunities, but this year SEGA also wanted to push the ’coming soon’ element of their product development. The big screen videos were pushing out the latest images for the coming 2006 season. The big show was ‘AfterBurner Climax’ (LindBergh), with a rolling presentation of game FMV and in-game action. The same high-level presentation was also given to what is seen as the big push for SEGA’s 06 release schedule with ‘Virtua Fighter 5’ (LindBergh) - showing the new characters, and increased graphical presentation.

The new thinking in cabinet design to support the LindBergh architecture was on display at the event, with the appearance of a completed version of ‘SEGA Professional Tennis: Power Smash 3’ (LindBergh), the new deluxe HD flatscreen display version of the single-player cabinets (unlikely for international placement). The networked terminals supported the high-resolution for the large flatscreen, but also an IC Card slot, though perceived as more suited to the Asian deluxe venue scene.

Previewed at JAMMA in an 80 per cent completed build, a near completed version was on show at the Autumn event of ‘PSY-PHI’ (LindBergh); with its unique touch-screen combat action showing the new development thinking that Yu Suzuki has been tasked to generate. The game’s details were revealed in recent interviews with the SEGA supremo, with the revelation that the game was previously scheduled for the CHIHIRO (Xbox based hardware), but with the suspension of XB support for PS3 and XB360, was converted to the PC based LindBergh. The interview also went on to state that the game’s unusual name is based on classic science fiction writing (psy = special human powers, and phi (the Greek for 'F') = Future).

Of all of the games on show on the new LindBergh, ‘House of the Dead 4’ was not shown -- seeming to point to the fact that SEGA are fielding the system into the market than previewing - though this has yet to be seen. One new game on the platform was a big surprise. ‘Ami-Gyo’ (LindBergh) embraces the new thinking behind medal games in Japan, aiming for the adult market. The game also embraces a factor in all LindBergh systems using the latest HD Flatscreen display. In this case the screen is mounted flat and offers a six-player experience. Using tokens, the player loads his hopper and in this undersea experience firing their virtual coins at the various sea life arenas, using a rotary controller. This is a major development in the sector, and was supported by a board game licensed 'Monopoly the Medal' conventional token game system.

Cabinets on the floor included A-Wave’s latest and biggest release, the completed version of ‘Metal Slug 6’ (A-Wave), which could prove a make or break title for the future of a platform that has its doubters.

A rumor previously reported by the Stinger may have more truth than thought at the time. This possibility became all too obvious a few weeks ago when it was revealed that ‘SEGA Rally 3’ -- far from being unsubstantiated gossip -- was actually a game being considered for amusement adaptation for 2006. A number of web news services tried to loose their past memory on the Stinger revelation of the concept, but their poor memory proved even harder to hide when it was revealed in an Asian news feature that ‘Soul Calibur 3’ was now being hinted for an arcade release by project producer Hiroshi Yamaguchi. In various interviews the idea of a Soul Calibur arcade release for 2006 was floated - stating that while the product did not yet have an arcade version planned, it was however revealed that managers had received numerous operator questions on why the game had bypassed amusement and that they felt they needed this product to support the Virtua Fighter launch for 2006.

A sign of the changing consumer times, the penetration into the consumer scene with the Soul Calibur 3 release was not as strong as amusement hall interest in having the arcade version of the game available. An explosion in amusement revenue now making SEGA think twice about a flawed policy of the old guard before the Sammy merger to focus on console releases for their prominent brand. Now in the changed environment of SEGA / Sammy Holding SEGA Rally and Soul Calibur are being dusted off as just AM #4 R&D experiments and moved towards production - the times they are a changing!