Last year, Japanese publisher Bandai Namco announced it was scrapping its logo, the same one it had used since the two companies once separated. merged since 2006.
“Our current logo expresses the merger of Bandai and Namco that was created when the two companies were integrated,” a statement was released in September 2021 explaining why for 16 years one of the world’s largest video game publishers had a logo that was essentially two colored blobs stuck together.
The new logo reveal was less cooperative, “[reflecting] our new purpose” as one company. It replaced the blobs with a Nintendo-esque border, and the sunset color scheme was replaced with black and pink.
It was not well received, which is perhaps why we are only now see the logo appear on company products now, more than six months later, including some changes. The pink border has been replaced by a red one:
Which in some ways is a clearer reminder of Namco’s old days, and in others it looks like a road sign. Which in turn makes me think of:
But whatever! I still love him, despite the amount of shit he gets from people. IIt’s a marked improvement over the old logo, which was horribly dated and looked more like something you’d see in a model train store (which, given Bandai’s history in the scene, was maybe the goal!), or like the logo of a 2000children TV show.
The new one is clearer, easier to scan (traffic signs are designed that way for a reason!) and I especially like the little “bubble” hook in the corner, which breaks things up. Here’s how Bandai Namco explains this little quirk:
The bubble motif of the new logo, “Fukidashi” in Japanese, expresses the brand’s potential to connect with people around the world and inspire them with incredible ideas. The speech bubble also represents the manga culture of Japan which has become so popular everywhere. The logo represents our determination to communicate with fans around the world, connect with our fans, and create entertainment unique to Bandai Namco. Magenta used as a pattern color not only represents diversity, but also creates a bright and fun impression and is easy to reproduce.
Like I said, despite the old announcement, it’s only just starting to roll out now, so anyone who picks up, say, a late copy of Ring of Elden will see the new logo instead of the old one:
One last thing before you go: if the company’s official offer doesn’t suit you, maybe this amateur take, which leans more on the past, is:
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