xzero4812 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Sad information i just came across, but news is that Index corp., the company that bought Atlus back in 2006, is facing fraud charges as well as filing for bankruptcy. Atlus as been a sort of a savior to gamers by localizing some of the most interesting rpgs and other titles from japan. I would hate to see them go Japan's NHK is reporting that Index Corporation, parent company of video game developer Atlus, has had its corporate offices raided as well as the residency of the company chairman on Wednesday after an initial investigation by the Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission concluded that company staff had committed fraudulent business transactions between it and various companies to maintain the illusion of stability for the conglomerate itself, by inflating video and mobile game sales numbers to levels far above their actual quantity sold in a business practice called "window dressing", or round-trip transactions. The practice of round-trip transactions was made illegal in Japan in recent years and was previously common between related Japanese conglomerates in the past to maintain the appearance of profitability between companies. The extent of the fraud investigation is also rumored to coalesce around ex-Nexon Japan head Yamato Fumiaki through his hedge fund, Shingo Akigusa of Index, the Incubator Bank of Japan and the NIS Group, according to Japanese business analyst Ichiro Yamamoto, who had previously attempted to contact representatives from Index for first-hand commentary on the situation, but has not received a response. Further, he speculates that someone involved had utilized the round-tripping to personally benefit by manipulating the stock price upward in order to benefit financially, rather than benefitting the company, which carries its own set of heavy criminal penalties if discovered by investigators. In recent months, Index Corporation has also come under increasing scrutiny regarding the actual state of the company, as it was revealed in April that the conglomerate was in debt after its second quarter 2013 earnings report revealed that it lost $27 million on earnings of $58 million, with an adjusted total of $14 million in debt for the period ending this August and the company also reported earnings of $190 million from console and smartphone game sales last year, though that amount is under scrutiny from the Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission as the crux for the raids, owing to the discovery of fictitious transactions in its accounting and the belief by investigators that the figure was overly inflated. Currently, there is no word on any arrests made as a result of the initial investigation and raids, but the investigation is ongoing with the full cooperation of Index Corporation executives according to a new statement released by the company earlier today. It doesn't look good for anyone involved in the accounting scandal, as the "window dressing" may lead to potentially more illegal actvity that has yet to be discovered by investigators. Index Corporation has also confirmed in the new statement that it had formed an internal fact-finding committee last month to investigate the extent of the the fraudulent activity, but has not commented further on the investigation since. http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/06/12-1/atlus-parent-company-index-corporation-under-fraud-investigation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullstomp Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Wow that sucks! I'm a huge Atlus fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzero4812 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 same here my 3ds would be dead if it wasnt for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamepartnersTV Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I don't want this company to disappear! I love their Persona games! Hoping for the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigabehemoth Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I hope sony steps up to the plate and maybe buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzero4812 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 I hope sony steps up to the plate and maybe buy them. i hope someone buys them and keep the localized games flowing into the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigabehemoth Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 i hope someone buys them and keep the localized games flowing into the US I think about better country would be UK lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzero4812 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 I think about better country would be UK lol. right well just any body to share all the japanese goodnes around the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigabehemoth Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 right well just any body to share all the japanese goodnes around the world Haha back on topic. I do think Atlus will be brought nintendo, microsoft, sony or sega. But in reality a japanese company like NIS will probably buy them. The localization thing is not Atlus or our fault. I heard that Index has had weird dealings in the past but that was only a rumor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzero4812 Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 well it seems to be out in the the open and according to other info ive heard they may be tied to other illegal activies as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Weight Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series may be in trouble now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzero4812 Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 New update that Sega has officially acquired index Corp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Hopefully Sega treats 'em good and still allows their games to be localized here. Parker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xzero4812 Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 Hopefully Sega treats 'em good and still allows their games to be localized here. Parker I hope so 2 but we will have to see what happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEMON Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I'm very happy Sega got them, maybe over here in Europe now we won't have to wait so long for the game to be released here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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