To compete with rapidly advancing computer graphics technology in the U.S., Namco Ltd., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Polygon Pictures Inc. announced Feb. 12 that they will jointly establish a company to produce digital contents for graphics-based films and entertainment software.
Dream Pictures Studio Inc., the new joint venture firm, will be set up with capitalization of 200 million yen. It will aim to create a studio fully capable of producing digital contents, said Toshifumi Kawahara, president of the new company and head of Polygon Pictures Inc.
The company first plans to make a computer graphics-based film by fall 1999 to market worldwide. "Computer graphics are used in almost half of the top American movies," Kawahara said. "We want to create a studio that can compete with leading U.S. production companies in Hollywood."
Masaya Nakamura, chairman of the new company and also chairman of Namco, said the firm will do business with any company, including such potential competitors as Sega Enterprises Ltd. and Bandai Co., which recently announced plans to merge into a multimedia entertainment conglomerate.