formation of a new company would remedy this. Namco Bandai's video game operations were transferred to a new subsidiary, Namco Bandai Studios Inc., on April 2, 2012. Located in Shinagawa, Tokyo, the company was headed by company veteran Hajime Nakatani and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Games. Its parent company stated that Studios would allow for faster development times, tighter cohesion with aligning production teams, and more creative freedom and developer skills for its employees. Namco Bandai's consecutive financial increases in its year-over-year profits also contributed to its establishment. Studios inherited 1,000 employees from Namco Bandai Games and all 80 staff members from the former Namco Tales Studio, which ceased operations a year earlier. It would focus on the development of new intellectual properties and follow-ups to established franchises, such as Tekken, Pac-Man, and Ace Combat. The two companies would work in conjunction with one another as a keiretsu, where Namco Bandai Studios would develop and plan games and Namco Bandai Games would handle marketing, publishing, and distribution. Namco Bandai Studios opened two international divisions on March 1, 2013: Namco Bandai Studios Singapore Pte. Ltd. in Media Circle, Singapore, and Namco Bandai Studios Vancouver Inc. in Vancouver, Canada. The Singapore division was assigned as Namco Bandai's head video game development branch in Asia, and to establish working relationships with fellow developers in the region. The Vancouver division was to design online network games and provide content for North America and Europe, while simultaneously focusing on contributing to the country's growing game industry. Namco Bandai Studios Singapore employed several staff members from the Singapore division of Lucasarts, who had previously worked on the cancelled Star Wars 1313. Its Japanese division established a working relationship with Nintendo with Wii Sports Club, a high-definition remaster of the original Wii Sports (2006) for the Wii U; several Nintendo games to follow were developed by Bandai Namco Studios, including Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014), Pokkén Tournament (2015), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) and New Pokémon Snap (2021). On April 1, 2014, Namco Bandai Studios was renamed Bandai Namco Studios Inc., following an effort by its parent company to unify the Bandai Namco brand across its international divisions. The company began development on virtual reality arcade games the same month, which were designed for Bandai Namco Entertainment's VR Zone chain of video arcades. In 2016, Bandai Namco Studios