Namco Networks

Namco Networks was the mobile-games division of Namco in North America. Based in San Jose, California, it developed and published games for mobile phones across North America, Europe, and Asia, with a catalogue that relied heavily on mobile adaptations of established Namco arcade and home-console properties. Its best-known early release was a mobile version of Pac-Man, issued as part of a group of nine Namco titles prepared for the iPod. The company also worked on licensed properties outside the traditional Namco portfolio, including Scene It? Movies, a mobile title notable for incorporating downloadable or streaming video content for phones. The division’s roots reached back to 2003, when Namco America began operating a mobile-gaming arm connected to its arcade business. Following the strategic combination of Namco and Bandai, the operation was established as Namco Networks on January 1, 2006, serving as the mobile-phone games division for the reorganized group. In its early years, the business depended substantially on external developers. In mid-2004, before the formal Namco Networks structure was fully established, the operation reportedly had only four full-time employees and contracted much of its development work to outside studios. By 2007, it had built a larger internal development and marketing organization, grown to more than 100 employees, and supplemented that staff with a sizeable contracted quality-assurance workforce. Namco Networks operated during a transitional period in mobile entertainment. Its products were designed for the fragmented handset and carrier market, where games were commonly distributed through mobile operators and had to be adapted to numerous devices. This made recognizable intellectual property valuable, since familiar names such as Pac-Man could help a game stand out despite technical and distribution constraints. The company’s output included ports of older Namco games as well as new mobile releases and licensed adaptations. The Scene It? Movies project was particularly notable because video streaming and downloadable video were still unusual features in North American mobile games at the time. The introduction and rapid adoption of the iPhone changed the commercial environment. The market began shifting away from carrier-controlled distribution toward app stores, changing how mobile games were discovered, sold, and updated. According to the available reference account, this change worked to Namco Networks’ disadvantage. In November 2010, the company eliminated 90 positions and said that more development work would be transferred to its counterpart in Japan, identified as the Bandai Namco Games division formerly known as Bandai Networks. Namco Networks ceased to exist as a separate operating entity in 2011, when it was merged with Namco Hometek, Namco’s older home-console division. The combined organization became Bandai Namco Games America and later, in 2015, Bandai Namco Entertainment America. Namco Networks therefore survives primarily as a historical corporate and publishing identity within the development of Bandai Namco’s mobile-games business, rather than as an active standalone brand.

Namco Networks developed from Namco America’s mobile-gaming activity. That activity began in 2003 as a mobile arm associated with Namco’s arcade business. Before the business became a substantial internal organization, it operated with a very small permanent staff and outsourced much of its game development to specialist mobile studios. The operation was subsequently reorganized in the context of the strategic combination of Namco and Bandai, and Namco Networks was established on January 1, 2006, as the group’s mobile-phone games division in North America. The company’s business model centered on publishing and developing games for mobile handsets in North America, Europe, and Asia. Much of its catalogue consisted of ports of older Namco arcade and console games, allowing the company to reuse recognizable intellectual property on devices with limited hardware and highly fragmented operating environments. Pac-Man was among its earliest and most visible releases. A mobile port was included in a batch of nine Namco games released for the iPod, extending the character’s reach beyond conventional game consoles and arcade machines. Namco Networks also pursued licensed properties and technology experiments. Its licensed adaptation of Scene It? Movies incorporated downloadable or streaming video content, a feature that was unusual among North American mobile games at the time. The project demonstrated the company’s effort to use mobile handsets for more than simple sprite-based arcade conversions, although the carrier-driven mobile market imposed substantial technical and commercial limitations. By 2007, Namco Networks had expanded from its earlier outsourced model into a much larger internal development and marketing organization. Its staff had grown to more than 100 employees, supported by a significant contracted quality-assurance workforce. This expansion reflected the importance that publishers placed on mobile games before the smartphone app-store model became dominant. The arrival of the iPhone and the rapid growth of app-store distribution changed the economics and structure of mobile publishing. Games increasingly moved away from carrier-controlled storefronts and toward direct digital distribution, creating new opportunities for some developers but undermining parts of the established handset business. The available account identifies this transition as damaging to Namco Networks. In November 2010, the company cut 90 jobs and said that more development would be shifted to the Japanese side of the organization, referring to the Bandai Namco Games division that had previously been known as Bandai Networks. In 2011, Namco Networks was merged with Namco Hometek, the group’s older home-console division. The merged operation became Bandai Namco Games America. In 2015, that successor company was renamed Bandai Namco Entertainment America. Namco Networks consequently became a historical division rather than an active independent company, representing Namco’s North American mobile-games strategy during the period immediately before and during the industry’s transition to smartphone app stores.

• 2015

  The successor adopts the Bandai Namco Entertainment name

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  Bandai Namco Games America, the successor organization, becomes Bandai Namco Entertainment America.

• 2011

  Namco Networks merges into Bandai Namco Games America

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  The company is merged with Namco Hometek, forming Bandai Namco Games America.

• 2010

  Workforce reduction during the mobile-distribution transition

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  Namco Networks cuts 90 positions and announces that more development work will move to its Japanese counterpart.

• 2007

  Internal development and marketing expand

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  The company builds its own development and marketing organization, grows beyond 100 employees, and maintains a large contracted quality-assurance workforce.

• 2006

  Namco Networks is established

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  Namco Networks is formed on January 1 as Namco’s mobile-phone games division following the broader Namco-Bandai strategic reorganization.

• 2004

  The mobile operation remains largely outsourced

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  The operation has four full-time employees and relies on contracted developers for much of its game production.

• 2003

  Namco begins a mobile-gaming operation

  [1]Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org

  Namco America’s mobile-gaming arm begins operating in connection with the company’s arcade business.

A North American mobile-games publisher and developer focused on adapting recognizable Namco properties and selected licensed entertainment brands for the fragmented handset market.

• Mobile game port

  Pac-Man

  A mobile-phone adaptation of Namco’s classic arcade game and one of Namco Networks’ earliest prominent releases. The title was also included in a group of nine Namco games prepared for the iPod, illustrating the company’s effort to extend its arcade catalogue to emerging portable digital devices.

• Licensed mobile game

  Scene It? Movies

  A mobile adaptation of the movie-trivia property Scene It?. The Namco Networks version was notable for using downloadable or streaming video content on mobile phones, an uncommon capability in North American mobile games during the period in which it was released.

• 2011

  Merger with Namco HometekM&A

  Background

  Namco reorganized its American operations across mobile and home-console activities.

  Action taken

  Namco Networks was merged with Namco Hometek to form Bandai Namco Games America.

  Aftermath

  The successor was later renamed Bandai Namco Entertainment America in 2015.

  Source

• 2010

  Shift development work toward JapanStrategy

  Background

  The mobile-games market was changing as smartphone adoption and app stores weakened the earlier carrier-led distribution model. The available account describes this transition as unfavorable to Namco Networks.

  Action taken

  The company eliminated 90 positions and stated that a larger portion of its work would be transferred to its Japanese counterpart.

  Aftermath

  Namco Networks was subsequently merged with Namco Hometek in 2011 and no longer operated as a separate entity.

  Source

1. 1Namco Networksen.wikipedia.org