Persona 4 Golden

SEGA has tossed a big pile of cash at the feet of troubled holding group Index Corporation, and purchased Persona developer Atlus in the process. The company’s been sniffing around the flagging firm for some time, but won an auction to buy the bankrupt company in a deal estimated at around ¥14 billion ($140 million). According to the house of Sonic the Hedgehog, the purchase was conducted by a new division founded on 5th September, named SEGA Dream Corporation. We’re actually not making this up.

The Japanese publisher believes that the purchase will allow it to “further facilitate revenue growth” in its games business by “exploiting acquired prominent intellectual properties" such as the aforementioned Persona, which it also intends to utilise in its Pachislot and Pachinko businesses. We suppose that that sort of makes sense, seeing as the firm makes a lot of money from its amusement machines. The company expects the deal to be wrapped up by 1st November.

While the organisation may have faded a little since its Dreamcast days, SEGA has been on a bit of spending spree recently. Earlier in the year it coughed up around $26.6 million on former THQ developer Relic, and the rights to the Company of Heroes brand along with it. Atlus’ best-known properties – outside of Persona – include Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey. It also published the recently released Dragon’s Crown.

[source nikkei.com, via eurogamer.net]