Namco Bandai Targets Asian PC Gamers With New Division

Hoping to tap into the hearts (and wallets) of Asia's millions of online gaming fans, Namco Bandai has created a new division devoted specifically to PC gaming via the 'net.

Cleverly dubbed "Namco Bandai Online," the new division has been tasked with targeting Japan, as well as other Asian countries.

This may seem like a slightly myopic business plan, but the Asian online gaming market is quite vast. In 2006 alone the 10 biggest online game operators in the gargantuan landmass pulled down over $2 billion USD. That figure, as well as the size of the market, is expected to rise indefinitely.

Now the only question is whether Namco Bandai can leverage its gaming properties and development talent toward crafting games that are more than convenient excuses to charge lonely geeks for extra content.

Who am I kidding? They'll have an Id@lmaster MMO on store shelves by next Spring.