Bandai

Company History
Bandai Japan, one of Japan's leading producers of various media and retail merchandise, including video games, toys, TV series, and the like, is the publication company and driving force behind the .hack Universe. Established in 1950, Bandai has grown into the 3rd largest producer of toys in the world. Though once its own independent company, a recent merger with video game developer Namco has left it in the hands of Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc.

.hack and Beyond
Bandai regularly releases new products to extend .hack to its limits, making it a multimedia experience that spans endless platforms of entertainment; including novels, manga, anime series, OVAs, and video games. The company continues to develop new products, both in and outside of the .hack series.

Bandai America
Bandai America is responsible for the American domestication and licensing of the .hack franchise. Famous in specific for series such as Power Rangers (Super Sentai), Bandai America is one of the largest importers of Japanese consumer entertainment products in the United States. BA has shown great diligence in assuring American fans of a steady flow of .hack products. However, they do take a certain level of artistic license in their translations, such as Sora's apparent fondness of "1337-speak," and some level of censorship, including Skeith's Red Wand image.

Manga Department
In early 2006, Bandai opened a manga department. Currently, they have released Eureka Seven, Samurai Champloo, Tomb Raider, Code Geass, and Witchblade.