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BANDAI SPIRITS Co., Ltd. (President Hiroshi Sakakibara) announced the launch of a new brand and its logo on March 4 at Bellesalle Mita Garden in Minato Ward, Tokyo. What will be handled by the new brand are analog table games. At the time of the brand’s launch, we will release a Pokémon dice battle game and a Gundam miniature game. Through two types of table games, we aim to establish recognition as a brand that delivers ways to play from the experience of real events. Makoto Takahashi, General Manager of the Hobby Division at BANDAI SPIRITS, explained their initiatives with the new brand as follows: ‘We focused on the enthusiasm for face-to-face games such as card games and decided to start a new business combining them with plastic models. Our goal is to have people continue to enjoy them for a long time. We will deliver a play environment, including experiential events and communities.
The ‘Plakoro’ to be released in July (the starter kit’s initial price is 500 yen including tax, regular price is 990 yen including tax. The expansion box is 385 yen including tax) is a Pokémon dice battle game. It was born in 1997, at the same time as the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The table game will make a comeback with improvements such as reducing the time to finish a match to less than half of what it used to be. To play, roll a Pokémon-shaped die and a die showing different types of energy simultaneously, compare the results with the information on the card to determine your score, add points based on the Pokémon’s orientation, and compete with your opponent for the highest score. Events will be held at commercial facilities such as Aeon. At that event, we will let people know that this game can be played immediately after opening the box. And it is a plan to attract the main target, children, and fathers who have had the experience of playing.
On the other hand, ‘Gundam Assemble,’which targets adults including those overseas, will have its Japanese and English versions released simultaneously in October (the starter set is 3,850 yen including tax, the expansion set with 3 units is 3,300 yen including tax, and the one with 12 units is 9,900 yen including tax). It is a miniature game composed of four elements: creating, painting, collecting, and playing. There is a process set where you make a miniature plastic model that can be assembled without glue, paint it, collect three or more of them, and participate in a game. The way to play is to use dice and cards to advance miniature Gunpla and compete against your opponent. The rules are almost the same as other miniature games, such as Warhammer, which originated in the UK. The difference is that it eliminates the effort of measuring distance and allows matches to be decided in a short time. They say that the rules will be made universal because they are planning events on a global scale. The key point BANDAI focuses on in this game is the posing of miniature Gunpla. Assuming that players will show each other their creations, They are mindful of dynamic designs that naturally lead to dialogue and community building. Within one year of the release, more than 30 types of miniature Gunpla will be introduced and opportunities for experiences will be provided, aiming to create enthusiasts on a global scale.
The new logo was prepared to deliver the joy of creating and the excitement of playing through two types of board games. The design extracts the ‘B’ from BANDAI and the ‘H’ from Hobby, encloses them with a plastic model runner, and tilts them in a V shape. They used Bandai Spirits’ logo blue for the ‘B’ and the red that the parent company Bandai uses in its logo for the ‘H’, showing their seriousness. Also, in the two types of board games, luck from rolling dice, strategy, and decision-making are emphasized as what determines the outcome. Under the new logo, BANDAI SPIRITS will take on new businesses while appealing to excitement and thrill.
