Medabots developer Delta Arts has officially shut down as of last month.
The Japanese studio confirmed the news over on their official website, stating they’ve closed their doors at the end of April, 2016. Their latest game within the series was Medabots 9.
Delta Arts was responsible for all of the mainline (numbered) Medabots games, excluding the most recent game, Medabots: Girls Mission.
Token
May 3, 2016 at 11:31 amRIP…but this picture looks really good!
dogmentation
May 3, 2016 at 11:37 amThis is how the game market works.
You release increasingly bad games that don’t make enough money, you get shut down.
You release increasingly good games that don’t make enough money, you get shut down.
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 11:42 amGoddammit… I fucking love Medabots…
Chocolate ISISCream
May 3, 2016 at 11:46 amToo many fucking faggots in Japan would rather play pachinko/social/mobile blue ocean casual shovelware dogshit. 2019 looks grim for gaming tbh.
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 11:50 amThe Japanese millennial generation is like that, they just fucking love their stupid pachinko machines and shitty mobile games while cashing in loads of real money for micro-transactions.
InkBrush
May 3, 2016 at 11:57 amHow come the innocent have the shut down while scummy developers like Comcept gets tot stay up?
Iwanttoplaymedabots
May 3, 2016 at 12:34 pmMaybe this would not happen if the games were released outside of japan
deadeye
May 3, 2016 at 12:42 pmI dunno, I’ve played a couple of these Medabots games, and they’re the exact sort of games I expect to find in shovelware bins in game stores.
You are right that most people in Japan prefer mobile games (although people in the west generally prefer mobile games as well, but whatever), but I don’t think this is a case of good games not getting the recognition they deserve. They’re mediocre RPGs at best.
Although even in that regard, it doesn’t seem fair. I’d rather take a Medabots RPG over more shitty Neptunia games. I blame shitty otakus that only buy shit with fanservice. I bet the new Girls Mission is gonna sell well.
Chk991
May 3, 2016 at 12:46 pm>Delta Arts was responsible for all of the mainline (numbered) Medabots games,
This is actually incorrect, they are responsible for the mainline games after and including Medarot DS.
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 12:48 pmThe best Medabots games were the ones published by Natsume for the GBA, especially Medabots AX: Rokusho/Metabee ver.
Minuteworld92
May 3, 2016 at 12:48 pmdamn, I’ve only known about the anime. I had no idea this was a long going franchise…
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 12:50 pmYeah, it’s been an ongoing franchise since 1997 in Japan.
Chocolate ISISCream
May 3, 2016 at 1:18 pmI was more generalizing than strictly targeting Medabots, but anyway.
Medabots over Nep?
Dewey Defeats Truman
May 3, 2016 at 1:43 pmI find it incredibly depressing that Medabots had to resort to “let’s just plaster waifus everywhere” like it is now.
Lepito
May 3, 2016 at 1:50 pmBlaming neptunia for being one of the sole survivors in a dead market in Japan lol
deadeye
May 3, 2016 at 1:56 pmMedabots belong in the bargain bin.
Neps belong in a dumpster fire.
Nagato
May 3, 2016 at 2:26 pmI hate to say this, as I enjoyed the GBA RPG and the other games looked pretty good as well, but: Good riddance.
This dead end is simply the inevitable result of not pushing to have your games localized for the Western market, and ported to every viable platform for it to be on there.
Guin
May 3, 2016 at 2:28 pmLet’s be real. How big is the Medabots overseas fandom?
Guin
May 3, 2016 at 2:31 pmI’d rather Nepnep because at least the meta humor can be funny. Medabots is just a straight up kids franchise using chibified Virtua On bots.
Guin
May 3, 2016 at 2:32 pmPachinko is for old people. Try going into a parlor and you’d think it’s part of a geriatric ward. Also, a tobacco lounge if you’re into that.
Guin
May 3, 2016 at 2:32 pmHah! If only it was that black and white.
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 2:34 pmActually no, Pachinko is played by both old and young nowadays. Just why do you think Nintendo added their Pachinko-like “Miitomo Drop” mini-game to the app?
Guin
May 3, 2016 at 2:36 pmHow young are we talking about? Maybe college ages yes, but the actual pachinko machines are restricted to 18+ iirc.
And an app =/= real pachinko. I can say little kids are now into blackjack because they have mobile apps for it available for everyone.
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 2:38 pmObviously 18+ due to the restrictions. I consider “young” until at least 35. Also have you even seen Miitomo drop? It’s pachinko but with a Mii instead of a ball.
JCTXS
May 3, 2016 at 2:38 pmHeresy!
Iwanttoplaymedabots
May 3, 2016 at 3:01 pmI think its pretty big but nobody really talks about it because there has been nothing new for years, at least for us.
And even if it is not that big, games Yo Kai Watch and LBX are getting a lot of time on the Nintendo directs, I don’t see why they cant try with Medabots.
JonathanisPrimus
May 3, 2016 at 3:09 pmYep, the company currently known as Natsume-Atari developed Medarot 1-5 (alongside a few spinoffs/remakes).
alterku
May 3, 2016 at 3:11 pmI kinda wanted to play that last game with waifus in it.
Smug
May 3, 2016 at 3:13 pmYou could say the same about the western audience too and the whole MOBA/AAA/mobile shit
Guin
May 3, 2016 at 3:21 pmI’m sure it’s one of Nintendo’s sleazy attempts to go around the gambling issue.
Dark Link
May 3, 2016 at 4:05 pmProbably, because that Miitomo Drop mini-game is rage-inducing and money-draining.
Truck
May 3, 2016 at 6:06 pmUnless you’re Platinum Games.
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 7:01 pmThat’s cuz they didn’t care to localize any of them except like… 1 or 2 of the 9+ games.
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 7:02 pmIt was big when the show was still airing. I remember loving the Medabots toys because you could swap their parts around.
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 7:03 pmSo who made Girls Mission? This article doesn’t bother to mention.
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 7:04 pmChinese investor funds.
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 7:06 pmJapan actually gets more “video games” than we do, compared to all the “cinematic experience” shit Western devs have been fixated on.
Also we in the West as “Smug” there said, are no better– just take a glance at most-viewed streams on Twitch right now. Hundreds of thousands of people JUST watching Dota2 and League.
deadeye
May 3, 2016 at 7:24 pmI’m bored of meta humor, honestly.
There’s nothing wrong with making games for kids. Pokemon is made for kids but still manages to be pretty successful and (sort of) interesting.
Casey
May 3, 2016 at 8:00 pmMaybe if they released a game out in the west they would have made some money.
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 8:06 pmReally? I think the new game looks adorable. If you don’t find any waifus you personally like, there are lots of other games and genres with no waifubait at all…
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 8:07 pmJust to be clear, that “meta humor” wasn’t in the original Nep JP scripts. That shit was all added by localizers and it’s pure cancer. Yeah I just LOVE Gamergate references in my Nepnep!
Troy Tarling
May 3, 2016 at 8:11 pmThe popularity of pachislot in Japan is more a result of gambling being totally illegal. Hence these ‘game corners’ with pachi and etc, are the closest form of ‘legal gambling’ they have.
The head of Konami, incidentally, has ties to the Yakuza (organized japanese crime) and has been a vocal supporter of legalizing gambling in Japan…
scemar
May 3, 2016 at 10:41 pmI’d say they’d need a western release and a steam release on top of that to actually have any decent chance to make some money.
And give them a few sales and hope there’s enough people that get interested in that niche.
Guin
May 4, 2016 at 9:43 amI don’t care about that. Instead, I focus on the concepts and premise of Neptunia. Let’s not blanket the meta with stupid rewrites now.
Krimhelm
May 4, 2016 at 12:48 pmOr, or OORR.
The Medabots game have been dogshit. LBX is a better Medabots game than Medabots.
Krimhelm
May 4, 2016 at 12:49 pmThat requires leaving the basement and doing actual research.
Krimhelm
May 4, 2016 at 12:50 pmMedabots has been doing bad since FOREVER, let’s blame phones.
Troy Tarling
May 4, 2016 at 1:21 pm“Let’s not blanket the meta with stupid rewrites now.”
I don’t even know what this means.
I’m telling you the english script has no resemblance to the original, and the localizers in fact go out of their way in several places to insult the demographic that buys the Nep games in the first place, like the aforementioned #GG “”joke””
Guin
May 4, 2016 at 1:41 pmI was talking about the scripts, which you can just get around with patches. The game itself is fine in my book and I can into moon so I care even less about dem maymays in the gaijin versions.
DynastyStar
May 4, 2016 at 8:39 pmThere was still Medabots games coming out?
Guin
May 5, 2016 at 8:24 amThe only reason why I’m still in the Pokemon wagon is to check out the new cute trainers and gym leaders.