Bandai Visual USA to be liquidated

Date: 2008 June 04 19:44

Posted by Eeeper

Bandai Namco Holdings has announced the liquidation of the American division of their Bandai Visual releasing arm effective July 1st 2008.

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Bandai Namco Holdings has announced the liquidation of Bandai Visual USA and the merger of that company with their existing US video label Bandai Entertainment. The merger will occur on July 1st and liquidation paperwork will completed by September of this year. The Japanese conglomerate had launched the BV USA company in January 2005 as a releasing agent and licenser of premier or collector editions of titles they had rights over, priced inline with similar Japanese DVD and next-gen titles releases. Unfortunately an inability to grasp consumer expectations and changing shifts in the anime industry, meant that they failed to gain a proper foothold within the market. Some online retailers have reported that Bandai Entertainment has started meetings on the merger and how to proceed. It is unknown how BV USA's liquidation will affect the current licenses it holds and how Bandai Entertainment USA will deal with these.

Early indications show that the Honneamise label started by Bandai Visual will continue but releases under that name will be restricted to Japan only.