TOKYO -- From its 1979 debut, Japan's storied "Gundam" franchise has grappled with the themes of overpopulation and environmental degradation alongside its battles of giant robots.
Now, Bandai Namco looks to use the series to bring together ideas and technology to tackle these problems in the real world while also boosting the value of its crown jewel intellectual property.
The company held its first Gundam Conference on June 15 to outline the state of, and plans for, a business that generated more than 10% of overall sales in fiscal 2020. It aims to boost "Gundam"-related sales by about 60% from that year to 150 billion yen by fiscal 2025.
Toward this end, Bandai Namco unveiled the groupwide Gundam Universal Century Development Action project, named after the franchise's main setting.
The initiative aims to leverage the "Gundam" universe as a framework for the company's sustainable development goals, helping the franchise further take root in society while also improving the world. The company also sees incorporating sustainability into the intellectual property as an important step to grow it abroad.
"We'll take action based on lessons from this fictional world," said Chief Gundam Officer Koji Fujiwara, who oversees the business.
The new program will use the famed giant-robot franchise to promote sustainability. (Photo courtesy of Sotsu/Sunrise) As part of this initiative, Bandai Namco will collect ideas and technology through the Gundam Open Innovation program. It will solicit proposals from potential partners, such as businesses and research organizations, and promote selected projects through the "Gundam" brand, providing materials and resources from the intellectual property.
The universe and characters of "Gundam" can provide a shared vocabulary for innovation, making it easier to overcome barriers to cooperation between different fields, the thinking goes.
The effort to build a moving full-scale Gundam robot -- which came to fruition in 2020 -- offers a successful example of such collaboration. Nine companies participated in the project, including architectural company Nomura and a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, driven by a shared enthusiasm for the idea of a "mobile suit" that can actually move.
"A lot of engineers like 'Gundam,'" said Akinori Ishii, the project's technical director. "We were able to learn many things from other experts in other areas."
Bandai Namco Holdings made Sotsu, which holds the rights to "Gundam" anime, a wholly owned subsidiary in 2019, to consolidate "Gundam"-related rights under one roof. Now the group is counting on the beloved four-decade-old intellectual property to be the standard-bearer for its contributions to society as well.