Sunday May 11 10:58 PM EDT
Bandai pulls out of Pippin Atmark production-paper
TOKYO, May 12 (Reuter) - Toy maker Bandai Co Ltd 7967.T has stopped
producing its "Pippin Atmark" multimedia terminal in
the face of disappointing sales, a business daily reported over the weekend.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Sunday that Bandai had decided to withdraw
from unprofitable businesses including Pippin
Atmark in preparation for the company's planned merger with Sega
Enterprises Ltd 7964.T in October.
The paper said sales of the multimedia terminal had not lived up to
expectations and that the company had ceased production of the
equipment.
Bandai was not immediately available for comment on Monday.
In January, Bandai said it had revised its earnings forecast for the year
to March 31, 1997 to a group current loss of two billion
yen from an earlier estimate of a 22 billion yen profit.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said the loss was largely due to operations
concerning the Pippin Atmark at one of its group
companies, Bandai Digital Entertainment Co Ltd.
Pippin Atmark, a technology based on a version of Apple Computer Inc
Macintosh operating system, operates a range of
entertainment, educational and business software when hooked up with a
television set.
Users of Pippin can also access the Internet and other personal computer
communications systems.
In January, Bandai and Sega announced they would merge on October 1 to
build what they said would be a "formidable force" in
the media entertainment business.
Bandai is currently profiting from the runaway success of its "Tamagotchi"
virtual pet toy, featuring an electronic bird.
The toy became an instant hit after its debut in November, with shipments
reaching about five million units.
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