Monolith Soft
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese entertainment company that has created video games for the PlayStation 2
, Nintendo GameCube
, Wii
, Nintendo DS
, and cell phones
. The company was founded in 1999 by producer Hirohide Sugiura after he left Square Co.
and accepted an investment from Namco
. As of May 6, 2007, Nintendo
owns controlling interest in the company after Namco Bandai
sold 80% of its 96% stake in Monolith Soft to Nintendo. This went into effect May 1, 2007. It is now a first-party developer
for Nintendo.
The company announced on July 8, 2011 that they were opening up an additional studio in Kyoto, Japan.
Monolith Soft is usually associated with the Xenosaga
series, a series of role-playing games on PlayStation 2. Some of MLSI's staff are former employees of Square Co., who transferred to the new company after the creation of Chrono Cross
. They were previously involved with the creation of Xenogears
, from which the Xenosaga series is derived.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese entertainment company that has created video games for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, and cell phones
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. The company was founded in 1999 by producer Hirohide Sugiura after he left Square Co.
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
and accepted an investment from Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
. As of May 6, 2007, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
owns controlling interest in the company after Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai
, also known as the Bandai Namco Group, is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Namco and Bandai. It has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks. The new entity was founded on September 29, 2005...
sold 80% of its 96% stake in Monolith Soft to Nintendo. This went into effect May 1, 2007. It is now a first-party developer
First-party developer
A video game development party can be one of two parties: a first-party or third-party developer.- First-party developer :In the video game industry, a first-party developer is a developer that is part of a company that manufactures a video game console, and develops exclusively for it...
for Nintendo.
The company announced on July 8, 2011 that they were opening up an additional studio in Kyoto, Japan.
Monolith Soft is usually associated with the Xenosaga
Xenosaga
is a series of science fiction video games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco Bandai. Xenosaga's main story is in the form of a trilogy of PlayStation 2 video games. There have been three spin-off games and an anime adaptation. The Xenosaga series serves as a spiritual successor to...
series, a series of role-playing games on PlayStation 2. Some of MLSI's staff are former employees of Square Co., who transferred to the new company after the creation of Chrono Cross
Chrono Cross
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System...
. They were previously involved with the creation of Xenogears
Xenogears
is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
, from which the Xenosaga series is derived.
PlayStation 2
- Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur MachtXenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Machtis a console role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 and the first title in the Xenosaga series. Der Wille zur Macht, "The Will to Power", is a reference to Friedrich Nietzsche's posthumous collection of notes and unused aphorisms, which was intended to become his magnum opus...
(2002) - Xenosaga: Episode I: Reloaded (2003)
- Xenosaga Freaks (2004)
- Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und BöseXenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böseis an RPG for the PlayStation 2 and the second title in the Xenosaga series. Jenseits von Gut und Böse, literally "Beyond Good and Evil", is taken from a philosophical work by Friedrich Nietzsche of the same name...
(2004) - Namco × Capcom (2005)
- Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach ZarathustraXenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustrais an RPG for the PlayStation 2, and the third game in the primary Xenosaga trilogy. Also sprach Zarathustra, literally "Thus spoke Zarathustra", is also the title of Friedrich Nietzsche's most famous work, which introduced the concept of the Übermensch...
(2006)
Nintendo GameCube
- Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost OceanBaten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Oceanis a 2003 role-playing video game that was developed by tri-Crescendo and Monolith Soft and published by Namco in Japan, North America and Europe and by Nintendo Australia for Australia and New Zealand for the Nintendo GameCube. First released in Japan in 2003, it is the first game in the Baten...
(2003, co-developed by tri-CrescendoTri-CrescendoTri-Crescendo is a video game developer from Japan. It was founded in February 1999 by Hiroya Hatsushiba, who still runs the company. Hatsushiba, originally being a sound programmer, carried his experience into Tri-Crescendo; the company was initially responsible for the sound in all games by...
) - Baten Kaitos OriginsBaten Kaitos Originsis a 2006 role-playing video game first unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show by Namco and Monolith Soft. The official name was revealed at E3 2006 on May 10, 2006....
(2006, co-developed by tri-Crescendo)
Nintendo DS
- Xenosaga I & II (2006, co-developed by Tom Create)
- Soma BringerSoma Bringeris a video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on February 28, 2008, and while it has not been announced for any other region, there is a fan-translation into English that is complete with the exception of the in-game...
(2008) - Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier (2008)
- Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (2009)
- Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier EXCEED (2010)
Additional contractual work
- Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VIIDirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VIIis an action role-playing third-person shooter video game developed and published by Square Enix in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries, a multimedia collection set within the universe of the popular 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII...
(background graphics third-party contractor) (2006, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) - Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
(development cooperation) (2008, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
)