After the merger of Japanese game development companies Koei (Dynasty Warriors) and Tecmo (Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive) was approved by shareholders late January this year, the deal is now complete, and a new joint holding company, Koei Tecmo Holdings, has been formed.

In Japan, April 1st marks the beginning of the new financial year, so this date was chosen as the day the holding company would become official. The company has also revealed its new corporate logo.

Looks good.

The merger is said to be worth $207 million, with expected revenues to reach $727 million, with profits of $166.2 million, by the end of the fiscal year 2012.

After it was revealed last year that Koei (Dynasty Warriors) and Tecmo (Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive) were to merge into one holding company, the deal has been subject to the approval of each company’s shareholders.

It was announced yesterday that the merger has now been given the go-ahead, as the shareholders have indeed approved of the deal. There was a bit of dissention among the ranks though, as one of the shareholders, Effissimo Capital, are unconvinced as to the benefits of the merger.

Effissimo, who holds an 18 percent stake in Tecmo, making it the second largest shareholder of the company, say that they have not received sufficient explanation detailing the advantages of merging with Koei, and are expected to sell their stock in opposition to the merger.

Regardless of their opposition, the merger will go ahead as planned and the new Tecmo-Koei holding company will be official as of April 1st this year. The company is expected to be worth $207 million, while sales revenues are expected to reach $727 million on profits of $166.2 million by the fiscal year ending March 2012.

The merger between Koei (Dynasty Warriors) and Tecmo (Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive), announced earlier this year, has had some further light shed on the exact terms of the agreement.

The holy (or unholy) union between the two highly regarded Japanese developers will be worth $207 million and will result in the formation of a holding company, with official operation of this company beginning in April 2009.

Performance expectations are pretty high, with expected sales revenues to reach $727 million, on profits of $166.2 million by the end of the fiscal year March 2012. This can be compared to current figures for Koei and Tecmo, with operating profits at $88.3 million and sales of $427.9 million for both companies combined.

The merger, news of which came after Square Enix made a move for Tecmo, aims to give both companies a much needed boost in corporate value, against a slowly deteriorating Japanese development industry.

Koei has announced that Fatal Inertia EX will arrive on the PlayStation Network on the 15th of July.

Fatal Inertia EX is a futuristic racer that is set across seven different environments and over 50 different race courses.

The game features a full single player campaign as well as head-to-head online racing for up to eight players.

For more information head over to our previous coverage.

Koei has revealed its line-up of games for the rest of 2008. It includes both new titles and returning franchises on various formats.

“2008 has already seen a number of very successful releases from KOEI including Dynasty Warriors 6 on PS3 and 360. We’re keen to continue this successful trend and add a number of fresh new titles to our catalogue,” commented Naoki Katashima, Executive Vice President KOEI Europe and US.

“Once again we will be catering for a variety of gamers, from horse racing fans to RPG enthusiasts, and our ultimate aim is to provide enjoyment and entertainment across all formats. With so many releases still to come it’s going to be a busy year ahead and even further into 2009 for KOEI.”

2008 KOEI Release Schedule

• Soul Nomad (PS2) - June 20
• Samurai Warriors 2 (PC) – June 27
• Opoona (Wii) - September
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI (PC) – September 8
• Warriors Orochi 2 (PS2 & Xbox 360) - September 19
• G1 Jockey 4 2008 (PS3) – September 26
• G1 Jockey Wii 2008 (Wii) - September 26
• Dynasty Warriors 6 (PC) – October
• Prey The Stars (DS) - October

Koei has announced that the latest installment in the G1 Jockey series will incorporate the Wii Balance Board. G1 Jockey Wii 2008 is scheduled to be released across Europe and the UK this September.

Players will be able to “assume a jockey crouch,” clear fences and steer their horse by using the Wii Balance Board or the Wii Remote. The game includes a career mode where players will start as a rookie and work their way to racing star as well as the opportunity to breed your own horses and develop them into thoroughbred winners.

“With G1 jockey we have always strived to recreate the full horse racing experience in the most realistic and enjoyable way possible. The Nintendo Wii and now the Wii Balance Board have enabled us to continue our desire to bring every facet of this fascinating sport into the homes of passionate horse racing fans and gamers who want to enjoy a sporting experience like no other,” Naoki Katashima, Executive Vice President KOEI Europe and US.

Koei has announced that Fatal Inertia EX for the PS3 has gone gold and will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Store on the 19th of June.

A free demo of the futuristic racer, which includes an online multiplayer mode, will also be available on the PlayStation Network on the 19th of June.

Fatal Inertia EX includes Proving Grounds where pilots can train on the game’s eight new tracks. The game features improved handling and higher speed thanks to a re-tuned flight model as well as new weather effects, scenery enhancements, leaderboards, rumble and motion-sensing support and an overhauled garage for racecraft customisation.

The game includes 59 courses set in seven environments including rainforests, glacier fields and canyons. Players will be able to participate in split-screen two player races and a new Master Level as well as online races for up to eight players.

Game Watch have posted a whole bunch of new screenshots which were released at Nintendo conference today in Japan.

Included among them is some shots of Kirby Superstar DS, which may or may not be a straight remake of the SNES game. Also particularly exciting are shots of the newly announced Fire Emblem DS which looks to be a remake of an early Fire Emblem game from the NES/SNES era. Square Enix’s games are looking beautiful as always (except for the DS Kingdom Hearts with the odd name). Anyhow, this is one amazing batch of games - check them out if you love gaming.

Why do I single out Kirby you may ask? Kirby is awesome, that’s why.

Here are the names of the games shown on that page in English and in order so you at least know what you’re looking at:

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