Bandai has reaffirmed its commitment to the Mac-derived games and home entertainment system Pippin, despite reports in US newspapers last week suggesting Apple CEO Gil Amelio has been considering dumping the line. Bandai’s US subsidiary’s VP marketing and sales Steven McAllister claims the company has always known Apple would concentrate its resources on other platforms one day, and planned accordingly. Bandai in fact took over active Pippin development work from Apple last October, he adds. Under the brand name @World the Pippin will soon be the basis for an Internet/TV appliance to be sold through supermarkets, says Bandai, with a total of 20 CD-ROM titles available (13 are ready now) plus the option of an Internet access account. Bandai recently announced it would merge with fellow Japanese entertainment giant Sega in a $1.08bn merger set to complete in October (CI No 3,086).
