Gaijin Games
Encyclopedia
Gaijin Games is an independent video game development studio, best known for their BIT.TRIP
series of video games. The studio was founded in 2007 by Alex Neuse and is located in Santa Cruz, California
.
since 1997, but after the project he had been working on was cancelled, Neuse decided that he wanted greater creative freedom, which spurred him to create his own studio. However, the company was unable to acquire sufficient funds or support from a publisher, and all of its development endeavours were halted indefinitely when Neuse was offered the position of creative director at Santa Cruz Games
. While working there, he became friends with artist Mike Roush and programmer Chris Osborn. Neuse was involved in the development of several games tied in to licensed properties, but he became dissatisfied with the restrictions on his creativity. He found that Roush and Osborn shared his philosophies of game design, particularly his affinity for Atari 2600
software. Subsequently, the trio quit their jobs at Santa Cruz to start up Gaijin Games again.
Neuse had a variety of game ideas that he had sketched out in a notebook, which he pitched to Roush and Osborn. Eventually, they settled on their favourite six concepts and formed the idea of a series called '8-Bit: A series of six new classics in the 8-bit style for humans who enjoy fun'. Gaijin signed a publishing deal with Aksys Games, then ditched the previous title in favour of BIT.TRIP and began development on the first title. Danny Johnson joined Gaijin during the fifth game in the series, and after all six games in the series were completed, Osborn left Gaijin Games to join another independent studio known as Tracer. Between the fifth and sixth games, Gaijin collaborated with Different Cloth to bring an iPhone
/iPod Touch
game, lilt line, to the WiiWare
service.
Following the climax of the BIT.TRIP series, Gaijin Games announced that they are very interested in developing games for the Nintendo 3DS
and have since obtained development kits for the handheld device. Neuse has stated that their first 3DS title, which was later revealed to be a compilation of the six BIT.TRIP games called Bit.Trip Saga. The studio also absorbed the small-time developer Robotube - Roush explained this move as an effort to branch out into "more experimental, casual games."
Bit.Trip
Bit.Trip, officially spelled BIT.TRIP, is a series of six video games developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS, Arc System Works for WiiWare in Japan, and by Namco Networks America Inc for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad...
series of video games. The studio was founded in 2007 by Alex Neuse and is located in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
.
History
Gaijin Games initially emerged in 2004. The founder, Alex Neuse, had been employed at LucasArtsLucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
since 1997, but after the project he had been working on was cancelled, Neuse decided that he wanted greater creative freedom, which spurred him to create his own studio. However, the company was unable to acquire sufficient funds or support from a publisher, and all of its development endeavours were halted indefinitely when Neuse was offered the position of creative director at Santa Cruz Games
Santa Cruz Games
Santa Cruz Games is an independent video game developer founded in 2001 in Santa Cruz, California, USA.-Published games:* 2008: Tomb Raider: Underworld for Nintendo DS* 2007: Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash for DS...
. While working there, he became friends with artist Mike Roush and programmer Chris Osborn. Neuse was involved in the development of several games tied in to licensed properties, but he became dissatisfied with the restrictions on his creativity. He found that Roush and Osborn shared his philosophies of game design, particularly his affinity for Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
software. Subsequently, the trio quit their jobs at Santa Cruz to start up Gaijin Games again.
Neuse had a variety of game ideas that he had sketched out in a notebook, which he pitched to Roush and Osborn. Eventually, they settled on their favourite six concepts and formed the idea of a series called '8-Bit: A series of six new classics in the 8-bit style for humans who enjoy fun'. Gaijin signed a publishing deal with Aksys Games, then ditched the previous title in favour of BIT.TRIP and began development on the first title. Danny Johnson joined Gaijin during the fifth game in the series, and after all six games in the series were completed, Osborn left Gaijin Games to join another independent studio known as Tracer. Between the fifth and sixth games, Gaijin collaborated with Different Cloth to bring an iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
/iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
game, lilt line, to the WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
service.
Following the climax of the BIT.TRIP series, Gaijin Games announced that they are very interested in developing games for the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
and have since obtained development kits for the handheld device. Neuse has stated that their first 3DS title, which was later revealed to be a compilation of the six BIT.TRIP games called Bit.Trip Saga. The studio also absorbed the small-time developer Robotube - Roush explained this move as an effort to branch out into "more experimental, casual games."
Bit.Trip series
| Game Title | Release | Platform(s) | Bit.Trip Beat Bit.Trip Beat Bit.Trip Beat, marketed as BIT.TRIP BEAT, is an arcade-style music video game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys for the Wii's WiiWare download service. It was released in 2009 in North America, and released in Japan and PAL regions in the same year... | March 16, 2009 | WiiWare WiiWare WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section... , PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... /Mac Macintosh The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a... , iPhone IPhone The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007... /iPad IPad The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bit.Trip Core Bit.Trip Core Bit.Trip Core, marketed as BIT.TRIP CORE, is an arcade-style rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service... |
July 6, 2009 | WiiWare | |
| Bit.Trip Void Bit.Trip Void Bit.Trip Void, marketed as BIT.TRIP VOID, is an arcade-style bullet hell rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service. It was first released in Japan in 2009, and later in North America and PAL regions in 2009 and 2010, respectively... |
October 27, 2009 | WiiWare | |
| Bit.Trip Runner Bit.Trip Runner Bit.Trip Runner, marketed as BIT.TRIP RUNNER, is an arcade-style 'rhythm game' developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service... |
May 14, 2010 | WiiWare, PC/Mac | |
| Bit.Trip Fate Bit.Trip Fate Bit.Trip Fate, marketed as BIT.TRIP FATE, is an arcade-style scrolling shooter rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service.-Gameplay:... |
October 25, 2010 | WiiWare | |
| Bit.Trip Flux Bit.Trip Flux Bit.Trip Flux, marketed as BIT.TRIP FLUX, is an arcade-style rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service.-Gameplay:... |
February 25, 2011 | WiiWare | |
| Bit.Trip Saga Bit.Trip Saga Bit.Trip Saga is a retro-style music video game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It was released on September 13, 2011 in North America. It will be released in Europe by Rising Star Games during the first quarter of 2012... |
September 13, 2011 | Nintendo 3DS Nintendo 3DS The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software... |
Enhanced compilation of the six original Bit.Trip games |
| Bit.Trip Complete Bit.Trip Saga Bit.Trip Saga is a retro-style music video game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It was released on September 13, 2011 in North America. It will be released in Europe by Rising Star Games during the first quarter of 2012... |
September 13, 2011 | Nintendo Wii | Enhanced compilation of the original six Bit.Trip games |
| Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien | Early 2012 | PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers... |
A HD sequel to Runner |
Other
| Game Title | Release | Platform | WiiWare WiiWare WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section... | Published WiiWare version, developed by Different Cloth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloktonik | June 15, 2011 | iPad IPad The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and... |
Published iOS version, developed by Robotube Games |