Hudson ‘to close US studio’

Hudson Entertainment, the American arm of the Japan’s Hudson Soft, is thought will close down in a matter of days.

Morgan Haro, a brand manager at the California-based company, said “it was revealed today that all of Hudson’s previously planned projects have been cancelled and that our office will be closing its doors at the end of February”.

“There apparently won’t be any need for the talents within the San Mateo offices of Hudson Entertainment,” he added.

Haro claimed that Hudson’s Tokyo-based studio has not been affected by the move, and will “likely be focusing on social games” in the future.

Hudson has yet to release an official statement on the matter. Late in January Konami acquired the entirety of the Hudson group.

Haro has been working at the company since 2006. In a blog post, he said he still holds the group in high regard.

“But like every company, Hudson Entertainment wasn’t perfect,” he added.

“As the industry continues to march towards the drum of Western game development, Hudson became for me, a symbol of why Japan has fallen behind when it comes to bringing world-wide hits to gamers.

“The act of producing and developing a game in Japan, and then bringing that game over to the US to compete in an increasingly competitive market is more and more, and incredibly tough proposition.”