Overview
Atlus is a developer based in Tokyo. They are best known for the RPG franchise Shin Megami Tensei. The very first game in the Megami Tensei franchise was on the Famicom and published by Namco. After the release of Megami Tensei II, also on the Famicom, members such as Cozy Okada and Kazuma Kaneko formed Atlus, with their first release Shin Megami Tensei for the Super Famicom. They were bought by Takara in 2003 which would be their owners until 2006 when Index Holdings bought Atlus.
Despite the buy outs Atlus would stay an independent company until 2010, when Index Holdings completely took over control of Atlus. This caused unrest with the company's fans, however Shinichi Suzuki, CEO of Atlus stated that, "Atlus will continue to provide the finest quality game experiences possible."
In 2013, it became apparent that Index was in severe financial debt, and had doctored their accounting in an effort to hide this fact. As a result, the company was forced into sale. On September 18, 2013, it was announced that Sega Sammy Holdings purchased Index Corporation, Atlus, and all of Atlus's intellectual properties. Atlus now exists as a subsidiary of Sega.
The official mascot of Atlus is Jack Frost from the Shin Megami Tensei franchise.
Beyond video games, Atlus is best known as the co-inventor, along with Sega, of the purikura arcade booth, or photo sticker booth, which is hugely popular in Asia, especially among female audiences.
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