RUMOR: Nintendo to Acquire Atlus?

It’s tough times out there for many people.  Index Corporation, a Japanese multimedia company, has filed for bankruptcy and is selling off a few of their subsidiaries. One of these, perhaps the biggest, is the game company Atlus.  Atlus is a fairly well know developer of JRPGs, probably most known for their long running Shin Megami Tensei series.  Well, rumor has it that the most likely bidder for the company is none other than Nintendo.

Nintendo acquiring Atlus would make a great deal of sense. The two companies have been working together for some time, and Atlus’ next two big games, Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei X: Fire Emblem are going to be released on Nintendo systems, the 3DS and Wii U respectively.  It’s even been said that Nintendo has been treating Atlus like a first party studio since long before Index Corp’s bankruptcy was announced.

Now this could have a few effects on Atlus’ games.  For one, Atlus is known to jump around to various different platforms, never really sticking to just developing for one. One of the reasons they are beloved is that up until now, gamers have been able to receive some of the company’s greatness no matter what console they owned. Even PC has the sorta decent free to play Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine MMO. The second reason is that Atlus makes some DARK games.  Pictured above is a scene from Persona 3 in which the main character has to shoot himself in the head to unleash his powers.  This is a major mechanic in the game.  Nintendo has a bit of a reputation from shying away from dark and mature themes whenever possible, due to their stance that video games are toys rather than a higher form of entertainment. If they acquired Atlus, would they try to rein them in and dumb down the dark themes that make Atlus’ games as great as they are? If so, it would be a huge fall for an excellent gaming company.

What do you guys think? Would you like to see Nintendo acquire Atlus? Sound off in the comments below, and stay tuned to Gameskinny and the Team Timelords Facebook page for more updates on this potential acquisition.