Sunsoft (company)
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese video game development company founded on April 16, 1971 as a division of Sun Corporation, itself a division of Sun Electronics, or in Japan (its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sunsoft of America, though games they published showed a logo that read only SUNSOFT).
, Ikki
and Kangaroo. In the latter half of the 1980s Sunsoft began developing original games and technology for the home video game console
market, with emphasis mostly on the NES
. Sunsoft had gone international at that time, and it had the publishing might to secure major licenses of the day (such as Batman
and The Addams Family
).
Outside Japan, the definite golden era for the company was the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES), on which their games were widely considered state of the art
in graphical and aural prowess. Sunsoft was slow to transition to 16-bit consoles, however, releasing several NES and Famicom titles that went unnoticed at launch, and have only been rediscovered by enthusiasts recently, such as: Ufouria (Hebereke
), Mr. Gimmick (Gimmick!
), and Journey to Silius
(Raf World). The games Sunsoft produced in the 16-bit era were no longer as polished or cutting-edge, the licenses were less prominent, and no new hit games appeared. Finally, in 1995, they heavily restructured in the face of bankruptcy, eventually resurfacing with a scant number of video games for the PlayStation
such as Monster Seed
and games for the Game Boy Color
. Additionally, a number of Sega
games, including Fantasy Zone
, Fantasy Zone II and After Burner
, have been ported for Nintendo
consoles by Sunsoft.
Prior to its re-emergence in the domestic USA, the last games released and published by this company state-side were Eternal Eyes, Blaster Master: Blasting Again
, Blaster Master: Enemy Below
and Power Quest. Citing several factors, like yet-another "next generation" console transition, and high overhead production costs, Sunsoft closed its offices in America and Europe, and initiated a re-organization. Today, Sunsoft has continued to operate out of its corporate headquarters in Japan, developing and publishing RPGs, pachinko
games and mahjong
games and mobile platform titles in partnership with other companies such as NTT DoCoMo
and Yahoo!
.
On September 14, 2006, Nintendo announced that the developer was a partner on the Wii
's Virtual Console
. Although this relationship with Nintendo took a few years to bear fruit, on December 4, 2009, Sunsoft announced that they were partnering with GaijinWorks to bring Blaster Master
to Virtual Console
that month for 500 Wii Points. Also as of December 10, 2009, the company has also acquired Telenet Japan
's entire game library. On February 6, 2010, Sunsoft announced the release of Blaster Master: Overdrive
for WiiWare, 2 days prior to its release. Afterwards, Sunsoft also published Aero the Acrobat, Aero the Acrobat 2 and Ufouria (also known as Hebereke) to WiiWare.
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 video game development company founded on April 16, 1971 as a division of Sun Corporation, itself a division of Sun Electronics, or in Japan (its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sunsoft of America, though games they published showed a logo that read only SUNSOFT).
History
Sunsoft's history in video games began in arcades with two arcade games released in 1978: Block Challenger and Block Perfect. They later had several arcade hits in the early 1980s such as ArabianArabian (arcade game)
is a platform arcade game created in by Sun Electronics and published by Atari Inc. The player assumes the role of an adventurous Arabian prince whose goal is to rescue the princess from her palace...
, Ikki
Ikki (video game)
is a Japanese arcade game originally released by Sunsoft in 1985. The game was released for the Famicom on November 28 of the same year, and is a multi-directional scrolling action game which contains some elements of a top-down shooter...
and Kangaroo. In the latter half of the 1980s Sunsoft began developing original games and technology for the home video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
market, with emphasis mostly on the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. Sunsoft had gone international at that time, and it had the publishing might to secure major licenses of the day (such as Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and The Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
).
Outside Japan, the definite golden era for the company was the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES), on which their games were widely considered state of the art
State of the art
The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also refers to the level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the latest methodologies employed.- Origin :The earliest use of the term...
in graphical and aural prowess. Sunsoft was slow to transition to 16-bit consoles, however, releasing several NES and Famicom titles that went unnoticed at launch, and have only been rediscovered by enthusiasts recently, such as: Ufouria (Hebereke
Hebereke
Ufouria: The Saga, known in Japan as , is a side scrolling action-adventure video game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan on September 20, 1991, in Europe on November 19, 1992 and in Australia in the same year...
), Mr. Gimmick (Gimmick!
Gimmick!
is a 1992 platform game developed by Authentic Entertainment and published by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was retitled Mr. Gimmick when it was released in Scandinavia.-Story:...
), and Journey to Silius
Journey to Silius
Journey to Silius, released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling action shooting game co-developed by Sunsoft and Tokai Engineering that was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in .-Plot:...
(Raf World). The games Sunsoft produced in the 16-bit era were no longer as polished or cutting-edge, the licenses were less prominent, and no new hit games appeared. Finally, in 1995, they heavily restructured in the face of bankruptcy, eventually resurfacing with a scant number of video games for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
such as Monster Seed
Monster Seed
Monster Seed is a strategy video game released for PlayStation in 1999, developed by NK System and published by SunSoft.-External links:*...
and games for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
. Additionally, a number of Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
games, including Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone
thumb|Fantasy Zone arcade PCB is a surreal arcade game released by Sega in 1986. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Sega Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights nonsensical invader enemies in the titular group of planets, full...
, Fantasy Zone II and After Burner
After Burner
is a 1987 Japanese flight simulator arcade game by Sega. It is one of the first games designed by Yu Suzuki. The player flew an F-14 using a specialized joystick , and the game spawned several sequels.-Gameplay:...
, have been ported for 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....
consoles by Sunsoft.
Prior to its re-emergence in the domestic USA, the last games released and published by this company state-side were Eternal Eyes, Blaster Master: Blasting Again
Blaster Master: Blasting Again
Blaster Master: Blasting Again is the fourth game in the Blaster Master series. It was released for the PlayStation on February 7, 2001...
, Blaster Master: Enemy Below
Blaster Master: Enemy Below
Blaster Master: Enemy Below, known in Japan as , is a video game for the Game Boy Color.-External links:* - a complete record of all games in the series, including external media and background development history on each game...
and Power Quest. Citing several factors, like yet-another "next generation" console transition, and high overhead production costs, Sunsoft closed its offices in America and Europe, and initiated a re-organization. Today, Sunsoft has continued to operate out of its corporate headquarters in Japan, developing and publishing RPGs, pachinko
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
games and mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
games and mobile platform titles in partnership with other companies such as NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
and Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
.
On September 14, 2006, Nintendo announced that the developer was a partner on the 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...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
. Although this relationship with Nintendo took a few years to bear fruit, on December 4, 2009, Sunsoft announced that they were partnering with GaijinWorks to bring Blaster Master
Blaster Master
Blaster Master is a platforming and run and gun video game released by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a localized version of a Japanese Famicom game titled , which was released on . The game was released in North America in November 1988 and in Europe on...
to Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
that month for 500 Wii Points. Also as of December 10, 2009, the company has also acquired Telenet Japan
Telenet Japan
was a Japanese video game and software developer founded in October 1983 by Kazuyuki Fukushima. The company was also known as Nippon Telenet . The company was best known for the Valis series as well as its Wolfteam & RiOT divisions...
's entire game library. On February 6, 2010, Sunsoft announced the release of Blaster Master: Overdrive
Blaster Master: Overdrive
Blaster Master: Overdrive is a platforming and run and gun video game released by Sunsoft and Gaijinworks as a WiiWare title for the Wii game console...
for WiiWare, 2 days prior to its release. Afterwards, Sunsoft also published Aero the Acrobat, Aero the Acrobat 2 and Ufouria (also known as Hebereke) to WiiWare.
Products
- For a list of video games released by Sunsoft, see List of games released by Sunsoft.