USA market: Ricoh cameras now under the Pentax umbrella

In perhaps another sign of further integration of the Pentax and Ricoh product line-ups, Pentax USA has issued a press release announcing that Ricoh USA cameras will now be under the umbrella of Pentax USA. The only cameras that will remain with classic Ricoh are the industrial-strength rugged bodies in the Caplio G-series (not to be confused with consumer waterproof/elementproof cameras like the Optio WG-series, Panasonic FT/TS-series, Olympus Tough, etc).

The combined Pentax + Ricoh has a record-breaking number of separate systems - during the digital era:
+ 645 medium format including new 645D
+ K-mount (DSLR and mirrorless)
+ GXR by Ricoh
+ Pentax Q

The forward-looking questions remain: what does the future hold for the GXR system? What about the digital-classic GR-D series, and what about the mass-market P&S cameras (Pentax Optios and Ricoh Caplios)? One plus of the GXR system (the closest thing to a modular stills system in three-figures (compared to the five-figures of medium format and digital cinema)) is that through the use of GXR mount modules, they can bridge GXR bodies with K-lenses.