Bandai
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| Established | July 5, 1950 | ||
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| Address | 1-4-8, Komagata, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 111-8081, Japan | ||
| Website | Bandai Co., Ltd. | ||
Bandai Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational developer, manufacturer and distributor of toys, trading card games, general merchandise and, formerly, video game hardware and software. It produces toys and merchandise based on both its own intellectual properties and other licensed properties, under a variety of brand names.
Since 2005, Bandai has operated as a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings, Inc. (株式会社バンダイナムコホールディングス Kabushiki-gaisha Bandai Namuko Hōrudinguzu), a holding company which was created when Bandai merged with video game company Namco.[1] Bandai operates its toy business worldwide through various sister companies and regional headquarters held by Bandai Namco.
In collaboration with WiZ, Bandai created the Digimon franchise, and is the principal manufacturer and distributor of toys, card games, LCD games, and other merchandise for the franchise within Japan. Its regional sister companies, like Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America and Bandai Namco Asia, also act as the principal marketers of Digimon merchandise in their respective regions.
History[edit]
Independent company (1950-2005)[edit]
Bandai Namco subsidiary (2005-present)[edit]
Products[edit]
Toys[edit]
Trading Card Games[edit]
- See also: Carddass on Wikipedia
| Digimon trading card games from Bandai | |
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Video Games[edit]
Before the Bandai Namco merger, Bandai was a publisher of video games in its own right, and was the parent company of some video game development studios of its own, such as Bec. Following the merger, Bandai's video game operations were merged with Namco's to establish Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Bandai Namco Games), which likewise acts as publisher and owner of developers.[1]
Bandai also had a history of producing and marketing video game hardware of its own before the merger. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it produced the WonderSwan family of handheld game consoles.
| Selected Digimon video games published by Bandai (1998-2005) | ||
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Structure[edit]
Bandai Namco Holdings groups its subsidiaries into three units. All of the following subsidiaries are grouped into the Entertainment Unit.[2]
Toys and Hobby Business[edit]
The Entertainment Group's Toys and Hobby Business encompasses subsidiaries that are in the businesses of toys and merchandising.[2]
Bandai[edit]
Bandai Co., Ltd. currently acts as the "Business Management Company" of the Toys and Hobby Business group.[2] In its present form, it develops, manufactures and distributes toys, card games and other merchandise which are targeted at children, including continuing to do so for the Digimon franchise.
Bandai Spirits[edit]
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| Bandai Spirits Official website | |
Bandai Spirits Co., Ltd. (株式会社ＢＡＮＤＡＩ ＳＰＩＲＩＴＳ Kabushiki-gaisha BANDAI SPIRITS) is a sister company to Bandai within the Toys and Hobby Business group. It was established on February 15, 2018, and soon after assumed control of all of Bandai's divisions for adult merchandising, as well as Banpresto's amusement machine prize business.[3]
Unlike Bandai, Bandai Spirits produces and markets merchandise that is targeted specifically at adult collectors, such as sophisticated toys, model kits, display pieces and other hobbyist items. It also produces prizes for amusement machines, and operates the Premium Bandai online storefront.[4]
| Digimon products from Bandai Spirits | |
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PLEX[edit]
- Main article: PLEX
PLEX Co., Ltd. is a Japanese toy company which provides planning, design and development services for toys. It has been a subsidiary of Bandai/Bandai Namco Holdings since 1985 as a result of Bandai's acquisition of its parent company Popy, with which it was later merged in 2007. Bandai Namco subsequently merged it with WiZ in 2019,[5] and it is currently part of the Toys and Hobby Business group.[2]
PLEX currently has a dedicated Digimon team in its Planning and Design department,[6] and contributes to Digimon character design and product development.
Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America[edit]
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| Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America Official website | |
Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America Inc.—known as Bandai America Inc. until a 2022 merger with Bandai Namco Collectibles LLC—is an American subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings in the Toy and Hobby Business group.[2] It conducts Bandai Namco's toy production, sales, marketing and distribution operations in the United States, including collectibles aimed at adult audiences.[7]
Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America is the master licensee for toys, video games and card games for the Digimon franchise in the United States. Over the years, its Digimon product line has included both Bandai's Japanese items and variants thereof, and unique items which it developed and manufactured itself.
In particular, Bandai America historically marketed entirely different models of anime tie-in LCD toy Digivices than Bandai did in Japan (frequently, the same toys as Bandai Asia).
| Digimon products from Bandai America/Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America | |||
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Bandai Namco Asia[edit]
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| Bandai Namco Asia Web Current official website | |
| Bandai Asia Web Former official website Archived by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine | |
Bandai Namco Asia Co., Ltd.—known variously as Bandai (H.K.) Co., Ltd. and Bandai Asia Co. Ltd. prior to 2015—is a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings in the Toy & Hobby Business group.[2] It conducts Bandai Namco's toy production, sales and marketing operations in countries in Asia (other than Japan itself) and Oceania, as well as distribution via a network of local distributors.[7][8]
Bandai Namco Asia markets Digimon toys, video games and card games in Asia. Over the years, its Digimon product line has included both items from Bandai in Japan and Bandai Namco America, or variants thereof; and items which it developed and manufactured itself.
As Bandai Asia, it was primarily known internationally for the many unique LCD toy models, including both virtual pets and Digivice-style quest games, that it produced and marketed exclusively for Asia and Oceania from 1999 to the early 2010s. Their devices range from additional enhanced versions of devices marketed by Bandai America, to drastically altered variations on Japanese virtual pets, to tie-ins to the D-Cyber manhua, to entirely original devices with no basis in any other Digimon media and no counterparts at all in other regions' product lines.
In the early 2010s, Bandai Asia also maintained its own short-lived, Digimon Xros Wars-centric edition of the Digimon Reference Book on its merchandising website for that series.
Bandai Asia marketed Digimon merchandise in multiple languages, including English, although names and terminology in its English localizations often differed from Bandai Namco America's localizations for the Western world.
| Digimon products from Bandai Asia/Bandai Namco Asia | ||||
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Bandai Namco Korea[edit]
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| Bandai Namco Korea Current official website | |
| Bandai Korea Former official website Archived by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine | |
Bandai Namco Korea Co., Ltd. (㈜반다이남코코리아 Jusikhoesa bandai namko koria)—known as Bandai Korea Co., Ltd. ((주)반다이 코리아 Jusikhoesa bandai koria) until 2015—is a South Korean subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings in the Toy & Hobby Business group.[2] It conducts Bandai Namco's toy planning and sales operations in South Korea.[7]
Bandai Namco Korea markets Digimon toys, video games and card games in South Korea. Its Digimon product lines have historically largely been comprised of a mix of imported items from Bandai in Japan, Bandai America and Bandai Asia, including both Japanese and American/Asian LCD toy models. Among its original products for the franchise was an online service to conduct multiplayer for LCD toys over the internet via the Digimon Connector PC peripheral.[9]
| Digimon products from Bandai Korea/Bandai Namco Korea | ||
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Digital Business[edit]
The Entertainment Group's Digital Business encompasses subsidiaries that are in the business of video games.[2]
Bandai Namco Entertainment[edit]
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| Bandai Namco Entertainment Official website | |
- See also: Bandai Namco Entertainment on Wikipedia
Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (known as "Bandai Namco Games Inc." in Japan, and "Namco Bandai Games Inc." in English-speaking regions, until 2015) is a Japanese video game publisher and former developer, and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. It was established in 2006 following the merger of Bandai and Namco, by merging the two original companies' video game operations.[1] It publishes games developed by both its own subsidiary game developer studios, and third-party studios. It currently acts as the "Business Management Company" of the Digital Business group.[2]
Bandai Namco Entertainment has been the publisher of the majority of Digimon video games since its creation, both in Japan and in other countries through its various regional headquarters.
Additional Information[edit]
| References | Notes |
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External Links[edit]
- Bandai on Wikipedia
