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Mages (SciAdv developer (Steins Gate)) entering insolvency

AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,816
Just seen this on my twitter feed


View: https://twitter.com/DistantValhalla/status/1607381759871557635?s=20&t=ePm3IymMwEkMVdBat_8EZw

English Tweet author seems pretty legit, he's head of localisation at PQube

Original source in Japanese
gamebiz.jp

MAGES.、22年9月期決算は経常損失5億5600万円と赤字幅拡大　債務超過　『アリスギアCS』や『ANONYMOUS;CODE』を発売 | gamebiz

コロプラ<3668>子会社のMAGES.の2022年9月期の決算は、売上高42億2500万円(前の期比7.1%減)、経常損失5億5600万円(同1億5200万円)、最終損失6億1300万円(同3億0700万円)と減収・赤字幅拡大となった。債務超過となっている。・売上高:42億2500万円(同7.1%減)・経常損失:5億5600万円(同1億5200万円)・最終損失:6億1300万円(同3億0700…
gamebiz.jp gamebiz.jp

Lock if old.
 
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BassForever

BassForever

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 25, 2017
29,958
CT
Mages also did the Famicom Detective Club remake games right? Rip end of an era sad to see them go.
 
Kalor

Kalor

Resettlement Advisor
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Oct 25, 2017
19,632
Wonder what impact this has on future SciAdv titles. If Mages didn't continue going forward, I'm not sure how the rights sit in relation to Chiyomaru Studio and who owns what.
 
Gavalanche

Gavalanche

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 21, 2021
17,580
Oh no :( What does this mean? Steins gate is one of the greatest games ever made.
 
gdt

gdt

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,519
I've always wanted to try out some of those other games....Chaos Child etc
 
Tolby

Tolby

Member
Sep 24, 2019
692
Eastern Europe
Thanks Shizuka.
So A;C might be the last one.

I thought they were well off after their breakout success with Steins;Gate, this is so surprising.
 
Korigama

Korigama

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,565
Given how poorly Anonymous;Code sold during its launch in Japan (slightly over 10K on Famitsu charts across Switch and PS4 combined), along with how long that game had been in development (EDIT: started back in had been facing delays since 2016), this isn't very surprising.
 
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Fukuzatsu

Fukuzatsu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,323
I guess I'm not *that* surprised? Their output has always felt a bit inconsistent; Steins Gate of course was a relative hit, but when you start looking at other offerings like Alice Gear Aegis CS I can't help but think it a. looks incredibly derivative and b. looks like they turned Otomedius into a 3v3 action game and released it in an alternate timeline on a Vita Pro.

Now I'll bear in mind, I'm not the target audience for that, but when half of the real estate on your main webpage is dedicated to voice actor credits and where to buy clear files with different girls on them, and the only actual game video or screenshot is an external YouTube video, I don't get the impression you're all that confident in your game.
 
BassForever

BassForever

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Oct 25, 2017
29,958
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Considering Mages also had losses in 2021 I have to wonder what else is going on behind the scenes. Have they just had a string of investments that haven't paid off like the Famicom Detective Club Remakes and the Quintuplets games? Or did they take out some bad loans and are just getting killed on the interest? Would love to get more detailed information.
 
StraySheep

StraySheep

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,299
Can someone explain this in simple terms to those who are at all not familiar with the dev/publisher history? Have played a few of the Science Adventure games and know the series by that name, but that's about it. Is this the end for the dev team or will they get bought out?

Good to see that apparently Anonymous Code is OK?
 
ChaosSlayer

ChaosSlayer

Member
Jul 16, 2021
816
So, after reading the article (through Machine based translation), nothing points toward the company entering insolvency! Yes, its operating results are worse, and yes it's over-indebted, but nothing points toward Colopl shutting the brand YET based on my quick research
I checked their website, other reliable Japanese publications, and their Investor Relations portal! There's no official news about MAGES. insolvency yet!
 
Gavalanche

Gavalanche

Prophet of Regret
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Oct 21, 2021
17,580
If I was rich, I would love to buy companies like this and tell them to just continue what they are doing. They are a small team, I doubt they cost much to kep running. Alas, I am not rich.
 
OtakuCoder

OtakuCoder

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,390
UK
BassForever said:
Considering Mages also had losses in 2021 I have to wonder what else is going on behind the scenes. Have they just had a string of investments that haven't paid off like the Famicom Detective Club Remakes and the Quintuplets games? Or did they take out some bad loans and are just getting killed on the interest? Would love to get more detailed information.
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Well, FDC and Quintuplets are both owned by other companies so those were probably work-for-hire cases. They likely both did okay in Japan but even if they were smash hits i can't imagine Mages would have seen much (if any) of that revenue.
 
L Thammy

L Thammy

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Oct 25, 2017
50,111
ChaosSlayer said:
So, after reading the article (through Machine based translation), nothing points toward the company entering insolvency! Yes, its operating results are worse, and yes it's over-indebted, but nothing points toward Colopl shutting the brand YET based on my quick research
I checked their website, other reliable Japanese publications, and their Investor Relations portal! There's no official news about MAGES. insolvency yet!
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I'm not up on business jargon, but I believe

Jisho.org: Japanese Dictionary

jisho.org jisho.org

is the word that we're getting insolvency from here. From the article:

債務超過となっている。
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Helix

Helix

Mayor of Clown Town
Member
Jun 8, 2019
23,823
I guess that new Steins:??? game is dead....

bruh wtf

I need a more reliable report on this but I can see this happening because Mages ain't exactly putting out huge sellers (even though many of them deserve as much)
 
brain_

brain_

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May 13, 2021
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MO
I was so so excited when they announced the Summer Time Rendering VN too :(
 
Ashes of Dreams

Ashes of Dreams

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May 22, 2020
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I liked Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate when they first came out but the Science Adventure series has been kind of a mess since then. I can't say I'm surprised.
 
Buttonbasher

Buttonbasher

Member
Dec 4, 2017
4,062
Ashes of Dreams said:
I liked Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate when they first came out but the Science Adventure series has been kind of a mess since then. I can't say I'm surprised.
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I'm right at the end of Robotics;Notes at the moment, and it's become one of my favorites out of the whole series. That game deserves a look from folks, even if the premise seems weird up front. That's also giving me more confidence in Anonymous;Code (a game I feel similarly ambivalent about at the moment).
 
PachaelD

PachaelD

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Oct 25, 2017
1,509
ChaosSlayer said:
So, after reading the article (through Machine based translation), nothing points toward the company entering insolvency! Yes, its operating results are worse, and yes it's over-indebted, but nothing points toward Colopl shutting the brand YET based on my quick research
I checked their website, other reliable Japanese publications, and their Investor Relations portal! There's no official news about MAGES. insolvency yet!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That was my impression reading colopl's 4Q report which would definitely include the MAGES financials and slide 24 seems to indicate that they will continue to keep the company afloat to generate new IP under the colopl group.

L Thammy said:
I'm not up on business jargon, but I believe

Jisho.org: Japanese Dictionary

jisho.org jisho.org

is the word that we're getting insolvency from here. From the article:
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Hmmmm, I mean the term is right, "Balance sheet insolvency involves having negative net assets—where liabilities exceed assets". But I don't think this means doom for MAGES, it could just mean that they'll have budget cuts (or a capital injection from colopl to settle the liabilities and provide ongoing concern for the next few years) as opposed to outright liquidation.
 
Korigama

Korigama

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Oct 25, 2017
20,565
Ashes of Dreams said:
I liked Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate when they first came out but the Science Adventure series has been kind of a mess since then. I can't say I'm surprised.
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These are also my preferences, though accounting for things I felt the anime for S;G did better alongside the ones done better in the original VN was what led me to finally feel more positively about S;G collectively after my initial disappointment with the latter. No opinion on Robotics;Notes one way or the other just yet, but I try not to discuss Chaos;Child because I tend to just end up ranting about just how much I hated it.
 
Hrodulf

Hrodulf

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Oct 25, 2017
5,322
Ashes of Dreams said:
I liked Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate when they first came out but the Science Adventure series has been kind of a mess since then. I can't say I'm surprised.
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Yeah... the quality of their titles hasn't really kept up over the years, and even the attempts to milk the Steins;Gate setting/characters have been incredibly mediocre.
 
Turnabout Sisters

Turnabout Sisters

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,350
Seems like a Steins;Gate sequel is the best bet for some success for them but sounds like none of the spin-offs have been too successful. I haven't played them or watched SG0 because I've never heard anything good about them
 
Shizuka

Shizuka

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Oct 25, 2017
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Maya Fey said:
Seems like a Steins;Gate sequel is the best bet for some success for them but sounds like none of the spin-offs have been too successful. I haven't played them or watched SG0 because I've never heard anything good about them
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Chaos;Child is fantastic. I love them all, but Chaos;Child is on par with Steins;Gate.
 
Desma

Desma

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Oct 27, 2017
5,242
Maya Fey said:
Seems like a Steins;Gate sequel is the best bet for some success for them but sounds like none of the spin-offs have been too successful. I haven't played them or watched SG0 because I've never heard anything good about them
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They already did Steins;Gate Zero (Which is a sequel).

Don't think people liked that one much
 
Turnabout Sisters

Turnabout Sisters

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,350
Ah I've avoided discussion about the series under the assumption that I'd eventually play stuff other than S;G, so I genuinely thought S;G0 was a prequel lol
makes sense though
Either way I think my point is the same, Steins;God is what I'm guessing would theoretically save them financially but I don't think there's a lot of faith in that
 
Shizuka

Shizuka

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,142
One thing I'll say, it doesn't help that Anonymous;Code was announced in 2015 and came out only in 2022. That and how Mages handled Occultic;Nine left me worried for SciADV's future for a couple of years.
 
Katmeister

Katmeister

Banned
May 1, 2021
2,434
If they close down I'm not bothered, while I enjoy the three SciAdv games I read, it's hard to really call them games. Might as well just write a manga or a light novel at this point.
 
Buttonbasher

Buttonbasher

Member
Dec 4, 2017
4,062
Shizuka said:
One thing I'll say, it doesn't help that Anonymous;Code was announced in 2015 and came out only in 2022. That and how Mages handled Occultic;Nine left me worried for SciADV's future for a couple of years.
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I've been hoping they'll circle back to Occultic;Nine now that Anonymous;Code is out/coming out. O;N has been the black sheep for a while, but now it's one of the only mainline games without a modern re-release which feels like it would be a prime candidate to finish/fix. I imagine that would be an easier sell than making something entirely new.
 
Hero of Legend

Hero of Legend

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,620
Also worth noting that they never released that Switch port of Occultic;Nine they announced years ago.

www.gematsu.com

Occultic;Nine coming to Switch

After teasing the visual novel for additional hardware in December 2017, the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu reveals that 5pb.’s Occultic;Nine is coming to Switch. A release date was not announced.…
www.gematsu.com www.gematsu.com
 
deadfolk

deadfolk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,542
Buttonbasher said:
I'm right at the end of Robotics;Notes at the moment, and it's become one of my favorites out of the whole series. That game deserves a look from folks, even if the premise seems weird up front. That's also giving me more confidence in Anonymous;Code (a game I feel similarly ambivalent about at the moment).
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Interesting. R;N is by far my least favourite of the ones I've read so far.
 
Buttonbasher

Buttonbasher

Member
Dec 4, 2017
4,062
deadfolk said:
Interesting. R;N is by far my least favourite of the ones I've read so far.
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I think the optimistic characters all working together to create something they believe in is a big factor for me. The majority of the story is very pleasant, which was a nice change of pace. Also having the least garbage protagonist of the series was a huge plus (he's just passive/lazy rather than absolute trash until the back half like the rest of the series).
 
Korigama

Korigama

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,565
Buttonbasher said:
I think the optimistic characters all working together to create something they believe in is a big factor for me. The majority of the story is very pleasant, which was a nice change of pace. Also having the least garbage protagonist of the series was a huge plus (he's just passive/lazy rather than absolute trash until the back half like the rest of the series).
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That does sound promising after getting burned on Chaos;Child (I was so bitter about that game that I almost dropped Science Adventure entirely).
 
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