Tecmo Koei
Encyclopedia
Tecmo Koei Holdings Co., Ltd. (Japanese
：), is a holding company
created in 2009
by the merger of Japan
ese video game developer
s and publisher
s Koei and Tecmo.
Koei Europe changed its name to Tecmo Koei Europe, Ltd and now releases video games under the new moniker. In January 2010, Tecmo, Inc. and Koei Corporation merged into Tecmo Koei America Corporation. Tecmo has been declared disbanded in Japan, effective as of April 1, 2010. Koei Canada, Inc. has since changed its name to Tecmo Koei Canada, Inc.
The continued operating loss prompted Kenji Matsubara, the former president and CEO of both Tecmo Koei Holdings and Tecmo Koei Games label to tendered his resignation in November 2010. Yoichi Erikawa - Co-founder of Koei - will take over the four positions vacated by Kenji Matsubara.
, formerly known as , was founded by Yoshihito Kakihara on July 31, 1967, as a supplier of cleaning equipment. Two years later, in 1969, it started to sell amusement equipment. Tecmo had its headquarters in Kudankita
, Chiyoda
, Tokyo
. Tecmo's United States offices were located in Torrance, California
.
In March 1981, a U.S. division was inaugurated as U.S. Tehkan, Inc.. A month later, on April 1981, Tehkan released in Japan its first arcade video game titled Pleiads
(which was distributed in America by Centuri
). When it was still called Tehkan, the company also released such classic games as Bomb Jack
and Tehkan World Cup
. On January 8, 1986, Tehkan officially changed its name to Tecmo. In 1989 Tecmo was named as co-defendant in a lawsuit, when Indianapolis Colts
running back
Eric Dickerson
sued the NFLPA over use of his likeness in the game Tecmo Bowl
.
In 2006, Founder, President and Chairman Yoshihito Kakihara died of interstitial pneumonia.
On the 3rd June, 2008 Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki
resigned from the company and filed a 145 million yen ($1.3 million) lawsuit for "unpaid completion bonuses" and "emotional distress". This was followed by another lawsuit filed on the 16th of June by two plaintiffs on behalf of Tecmo's 300 employees for unpaid wages amounting to ¥8.3 million.
Koei Co., Ltd. (株式会社コーエー Kabushiki gaisha Kōē, formerly 光栄 (Kōei)) was founded in July 1978 by Yoichi Erikawa
and Keiko Erikawa
. Yoichi was a student at Keio University
, and when his family's rural dye
stuffs business failed he decided to pursue his interest in programming. The company to this day is located in the Hiyoshi
area of Yokohama
along with Erikawa's alma mater, and the company's name is simply a spoonerism
of the school's.
Kō Shibusawa and Eiji Fukuzawa, whose names are supposed to have made up the name of the company, do not really exist and are names used by the company to avoid giving credit to individual contributors, effectively acting as alter-egos for Erikawa.
The company initially focused on personal computer
sales and made-to-order business software
. In 1983 it released Nobunaga's Ambition
(信長の野望 Nobunaga no Yabō), a historical strategy game
set during the Sengoku period
of Japanese history
. The game went on to receive numerous awards, and Koei produced several more such games set against the backdrop of world history, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms
, set during the Three Kingdoms
period of Chinese history
, and Uncharted Waters
(大航海時代 Dai Kōkai Jidai; lit. Great Navigation Era), set in Portugal
during the Age of Exploration
.
In 1988, Koei established a North America
n subsidiary
, Koei Corporation, in California
. This subsidiary localized Koei games for export to all territories outside of Japan, as well as producing original games and concepts with the leadership of designer Stieg Hedlund
, like Liberty or Death, Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye, Gemfire
and Saiyuki: Journey West
. After Hedlund's departure, this subsidiary ceased game development in 1995, focusing instead on localization, sales and marketing.
A Canadian
subsidiary, Koei Canada, Inc. was established in early 2001, and a Europe
an subsidiary, Koei Limited was established in early 2003 in Hertfordshire
, United Kingdom
. In 2004, a Lithuanian
subsidiary was formed.
announced plans for a friendly takeover of Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of ¥
22.3 billion. They gave Tecmo until September 4 to either accept or reject the proposal. Upon hearing this news on August 31, Kenji Matsubara, President and COO of Koei, called a board meeting for the next day, September 1. The board discussed the possibility of a merger with Tecmo, and began discussions with Tecmo that same day. On September 4, 2008 Tecmo officially declined the Square Enix's proposal, and later that same day announced plans to merge with Koei.
In November 2008 the companies announced their specific plan of action, to complete the merger on April 1, 2009, forming Tecmo Koei Holdings. Koei stock was to be exchanged for Tecmo Koei stock at a rate of 1:1, and Tecmo stock exchanged at .9:1, giving Koei shareholders, in total, a three-quarter stake in the new company. Though the combined profits in 2007 were 8.5 million yen, they anticipated that the merged company would net over 16 million yen in the fiscal year ending year ending March 2012. Effissimo Capital Management Pte, Tecmo's second-largest shareholder at 17.6%, openly opposed the merger. On January 26, 2009, the shareholders for both Koei and Tecmo reached separate agreements in favor of the merger. Effissimo raised some dissent during the meeting, and implied they may seek to sell their shares. Effissimo's director Takashi Kosaka stated “We have not had sufficient information from the company to make a judgment on the merger, such as the feasibility of their plan to raise shareholder value.” On February 12 Kenji Matsubara liquidated KOEI France SAS
. On February 13, Tecmo announced it had received repurchase claim (a request for the company to buy stock back) from a major shareholder, 15.64% of the stock (3,890,700 shares) from a shareholder that stood in opposition to the firm's upcoming merger with Koei. While the requesting shareholder was not mentioned, Reuters
stated that it was likely Effissimo.
Despite these misgivings, the holding company formed on April 1, 2009 as planned. The development divisions of both companies were spun-out into separate subsidiaries, created specifically for the planning and development of software, operating directly under the holding company. Kenji Matsubara became CEO of the new company, and former Tecmo CEO Yasuharu Kakihara became board chairman. As of May 26, Tecmo Koei had still not reached an agreement with Effissimo, prompting the investment fund to seek mediation with the Tokyo District Court. While Tecmo Koei favored a stock value in the mid-600 yen range, Effissimo was expected to ask for at least 900, in part due to the rejected Square Enix offer of 920 per share.
On June 23, 2009, Tecmo Koei announced a planned restructure of its international subsidiaries. Tecmo's sole subsidiary, the American Tecmo Inc., and Koei's American Koei Corporation were moved under a newly-formed Tecmo Koei America Corporation, itself a direct subsidiary to Tecmo Koei Holdings. Koei's Canadian, European, Korean, and Taiwanese subsidiaries were re-branded Tecmo Koei, and also moved to direct subsidiaries of the holding company, on par with the original Japanese Tecmo and Koei development teams. The first game published by the new Tecmo Koei Europe was Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
. In August 2009 Tecmo Koei announced that it was setting up a subsidiary in Hanoi, Vietnam. Later that month the ESA announced that Tecmo Koei was now a member. On April 1 2010, Koei Singapore was also re-branded as Tecmo Koei.
On February 8 2011, Koei Tecmo announced that the individual developers Tecmo and Koei would be merged into Tecmo Koei Games, though the company will continue to develop under the Tecmo and Koei brands.
which was founded in 1995. It is best known for the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series.
Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360
was published by Microsoft Game Studios
, making it the first game created by Team Ninja not published by Tecmo. Tecmo later released an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden II on the PlayStation 3 as Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
.
On June 3, 2008, Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki announced that he was leaving Tecmo and Team Ninja, citing difficulties with Tecmo. In the same statement announcing his resignation, Itagaki also announced that he was filing a lawsuit against his former employer over unpaid bonuses for his work on Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. It was later reported on websites claiming that Itagaki was fired from Tecmo on June 18, 2008.
On June 2, 2009, Nintendo
representatives announced at its Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference that they were collaborating with Team Ninja on a new Metroid game for Nintendo's Wii console, entitled Metroid: Other M
, lead by Metroid's co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto
. It has been revealed that Team Ninja is working on a PS3 and Xbox 360 game, which is the first time in 10 years that they have made a multiplatform game.
Their first release, Dead or Alive
, was comparable to other fighting game
s released at the time, though one of the things that made it stand out were the "outrageous physics" used for female fighters in the game, causing breasts to bounce even for simple actions such as walking. Home console versions allowed players to toggle bouncing on or off.
When porting Ninja Gaiden 2 to the PS3, violence and gore were reduced, and three female playable characters were added. The game also made use of the PS3's SIXAXIS
controller, by allowing players to individually control the bounce of these female characters' breasts. A Tecmo Koei representative summed up the feature to The Escapist, saying "You waggle the pad, the girl's tits bounce".
series for the PlayStation Portable
, Nintendo DS
, Game Boy Advance
, PC
, Xbox 360
, PlayStation
, PlayStation 2
, PlayStation 3
and Wii
.
department of Tecmo Koei founded in 2007. Similar to Team Ninja, the group was formed to develop high-profile games, some of which relate to Tecmo Koei's classic franchises. The company says that the they chose the name, "Team Tachyon", because a tachyon
is a particle that exceeds the speed of light. Key members include Tecmo producers Keisuke Kikuchi (Rygar, Fatal Frame) and Kohei Shibata.
So far, Team Tachyon has aided in the development of the 2008 Wii
game Rygar: The Battle of Argus
, has released Undead Knights
for the PlayStation Portable
, and Quantum Theory
for the PlayStation 3
and the Xbox 360
, released in 2010.
dating sims, usually with extra side-quests. Out of the three Neoromance series, the best known is Angelique
, which has been in production since 1994. Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
is a newer Neoromance hit, with many sequels and an anime
TV series based on it. The newest game in the series, Kin'iro no Corda, is gaining popularity partially because the manga
series it was based on, has been recently licensed by Viz
for English language
publishing. It gaining more popularity though, and an anime TV series based on it began airing in October 2006. A sequel was also released on the PlayStation 2
in March 2007.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
：), is a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
created in 2009
2009 in video gaming
The year 2009 saw the release of many video games, including several sequels.-Events:-Scheduled releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2009 in North America....
by the merger of Japan
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 developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
s and publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
s Koei and Tecmo.
Koei Europe changed its name to Tecmo Koei Europe, Ltd and now releases video games under the new moniker. In January 2010, Tecmo, Inc. and Koei Corporation merged into Tecmo Koei America Corporation. Tecmo has been declared disbanded in Japan, effective as of April 1, 2010. Koei Canada, Inc. has since changed its name to Tecmo Koei Canada, Inc.
The continued operating loss prompted Kenji Matsubara, the former president and CEO of both Tecmo Koei Holdings and Tecmo Koei Games label to tendered his resignation in November 2010. Yoichi Erikawa - Co-founder of Koei - will take over the four positions vacated by Kenji Matsubara.
Tecmo
Kudankita
is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, consisting of four chōme. It was a part of the former ward of Kōjimachi. As of March 1, 2007, its population is 1,404. Its postal code is 102-0073.The Yasukuni Shrine is situated near the center of the district....
, Chiyoda
Chiyoda, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward. As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. Tecmo's United States offices were located in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
.
In March 1981, a U.S. division was inaugurated as U.S. Tehkan, Inc.. A month later, on April 1981, Tehkan released in Japan its first arcade video game titled Pleiads
Pleiads
is an arcade game produced by Tehkan and Centuri, loosely based on an earlier game called Phoenix which was produced by Amstar in 1980.-Gameplay:...
(which was distributed in America by Centuri
Centuri
Centuri, based in Hialeah, Florida, was one of the top six suppliers of coin operated video game machinery in the United States. Many of the machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Konami....
). When it was still called Tehkan, the company also released such classic games as Bomb Jack
Bomb Jack
is an arcade platform game that was released in 1984 by Tehkan . It was followed by two official sequels, the console and computer title Mighty Bomb Jack, and the arcade game Bomb Jack Twin...
and Tehkan World Cup
Tehkan World Cup
Tehkan World Cup, aka. Tecmo Cup, is the first multi-player soccer game featuring a trackball controller. Programmed by Michishito Ishizuka it was released to arcades in 1985 by Tehkan, Ltd., the former name of Tecmo, Inc. Its arrival coincided with the buildup to the 1986 FIFA World Cup...
. On January 8, 1986, Tehkan officially changed its name to Tecmo. In 1989 Tecmo was named as co-defendant in a lawsuit, when Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
sued the NFLPA over use of his likeness in the game Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Bowl
is an arcade game developed and released in 1987 by Tecmo. While moderately successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The NES version was considered by many to be the first NES American...
.
In 2006, Founder, President and Chairman Yoshihito Kakihara died of interstitial pneumonia.
On the 3rd June, 2008 Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki
Tomonobu Itagaki
is a Japanese video game designer who created the Dead or Alive fighting game and beach sport simulation series and also revived the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004...
resigned from the company and filed a 145 million yen ($1.3 million) lawsuit for "unpaid completion bonuses" and "emotional distress". This was followed by another lawsuit filed on the 16th of June by two plaintiffs on behalf of Tecmo's 300 employees for unpaid wages amounting to ¥8.3 million.
Koei
Yoichi Erikawa
is the co-founder of Koei, along with his wife Keiko Erikawa.Yōichi Erikawa is a game producer for Koei, using the pen name Kou Shibusawa. At first game developing was only a hobby for him. Then he came up with the game Nobunaga's Ambition, which went on to sell millions of copies in Japan...
and Keiko Erikawa
Keiko Erikawa
was the co-founder of Koei with her husband Yoichi Erikawa. Today she is the chairman, president and CEO of Koei.- References :...
. Yoichi was a student at Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
, and when his family's rural dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
stuffs business failed he decided to pursue his interest in programming. The company to this day is located in the Hiyoshi
Hiyoshi
thumb|Strand of [[Ginkgo biloba|ginkgo]] trees at [[Keio University]] is a part of the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located within Kōhoku Ward in the northeast of Yokohama City....
area of Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
along with Erikawa's alma mater, and the company's name is simply a spoonerism
Spoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
of the school's.
Kō Shibusawa and Eiji Fukuzawa, whose names are supposed to have made up the name of the company, do not really exist and are names used by the company to avoid giving credit to individual contributors, effectively acting as alter-egos for Erikawa.
The company initially focused on personal computer
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...
sales and made-to-order business software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
. In 1983 it released Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition
is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games, first released in 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.Games in the franchise have been released on a variety of gaming platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive,...
(信長の野望 Nobunaga no Yabō), a historical strategy game
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
set during the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
of Japanese history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
. The game went on to receive numerous awards, and Koei produced several more such games set against the backdrop of world history, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (video game series)
, or Sangokushi in Japanese, is a series of turn-based tactical role-playing simulation grand strategy wargames produced by Koei. Originating from Japan in 1985, eleven installments of the game have been published in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and North America to date.-Overview:The games are...
, set during the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
, and Uncharted Waters
Uncharted Waters
is a popular Japanese video game series produced by Koei as part of its Rekoeition games. In East Asia, the series has a large cult following, but has not received much recognition outside the region. The series has been compared to Sid Meier's Pirates! in gameplay and theme...
(大航海時代 Dai Kōkai Jidai; lit. Great Navigation Era), set in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
during the Age of Exploration
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration and the Great Navigations , was a period in history starting in the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans engaged in intensive exploration of the world, establishing direct contacts with...
.
In 1988, Koei established a North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
, Koei Corporation, in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. This subsidiary localized Koei games for export to all territories outside of Japan, as well as producing original games and concepts with the leadership of designer Stieg Hedlund
Stieg Hedlund
Stieg Hedlund is a computer and video game designer, artist, and writer with over 20 years of experience who has worked on more than 30 games in the video game industry...
, like Liberty or Death, Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye, Gemfire
Gemfire
Gemfire is a medieval war game for the MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, FM-Towns, Mega Drive/Genesis, MS-DOS, and later Windows, developed by Koei. The object in the game is to unify a fictional island by force...
and Saiyuki: Journey West
Saiyuki: Journey West
Saiyuki: Journey West is a tactical role-playing video game released for the Sony PlayStation by Koei. It is based loosely on the Great Classical Novel Journey to the West...
. After Hedlund's departure, this subsidiary ceased game development in 1995, focusing instead on localization, sales and marketing.
A Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
subsidiary, Koei Canada, Inc. was established in early 2001, and a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an subsidiary, Koei Limited was established in early 2003 in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 2004, a Lithuanian
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
subsidiary was formed.
Merger and reorganization
On August 20, 2008, Tecmo announced the resignation of president Yoshimi Yasuda, to be replaced by current Chairman of the Board Yasuharu Kakihara as of September 1. On August 28 Square EnixSquare Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
announced plans for a friendly takeover of Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
22.3 billion. They gave Tecmo until September 4 to either accept or reject the proposal. Upon hearing this news on August 31, Kenji Matsubara, President and COO of Koei, called a board meeting for the next day, September 1. The board discussed the possibility of a merger with Tecmo, and began discussions with Tecmo that same day. On September 4, 2008 Tecmo officially declined the Square Enix's proposal, and later that same day announced plans to merge with Koei.
In November 2008 the companies announced their specific plan of action, to complete the merger on April 1, 2009, forming Tecmo Koei Holdings. Koei stock was to be exchanged for Tecmo Koei stock at a rate of 1:1, and Tecmo stock exchanged at .9:1, giving Koei shareholders, in total, a three-quarter stake in the new company. Though the combined profits in 2007 were 8.5 million yen, they anticipated that the merged company would net over 16 million yen in the fiscal year ending year ending March 2012. Effissimo Capital Management Pte, Tecmo's second-largest shareholder at 17.6%, openly opposed the merger. On January 26, 2009, the shareholders for both Koei and Tecmo reached separate agreements in favor of the merger. Effissimo raised some dissent during the meeting, and implied they may seek to sell their shares. Effissimo's director Takashi Kosaka stated “We have not had sufficient information from the company to make a judgment on the merger, such as the feasibility of their plan to raise shareholder value.” On February 12 Kenji Matsubara liquidated KOEI France SAS
Société par actions simplifiée
Société par actions simplifiée is the first hybrid law enacted under French law and based on common law principles rather than civil. It is similar to a limited liability company under United States law, as the Delaware limited liability company was the model used by the French Government...
. On February 13, Tecmo announced it had received repurchase claim (a request for the company to buy stock back) from a major shareholder, 15.64% of the stock (3,890,700 shares) from a shareholder that stood in opposition to the firm's upcoming merger with Koei. While the requesting shareholder was not mentioned, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
stated that it was likely Effissimo.
Despite these misgivings, the holding company formed on April 1, 2009 as planned. The development divisions of both companies were spun-out into separate subsidiaries, created specifically for the planning and development of software, operating directly under the holding company. Kenji Matsubara became CEO of the new company, and former Tecmo CEO Yasuharu Kakihara became board chairman. As of May 26, Tecmo Koei had still not reached an agreement with Effissimo, prompting the investment fund to seek mediation with the Tokyo District Court. While Tecmo Koei favored a stock value in the mid-600 yen range, Effissimo was expected to ask for at least 900, in part due to the rejected Square Enix offer of 920 per share.
On June 23, 2009, Tecmo Koei announced a planned restructure of its international subsidiaries. Tecmo's sole subsidiary, the American Tecmo Inc., and Koei's American Koei Corporation were moved under a newly-formed Tecmo Koei America Corporation, itself a direct subsidiary to Tecmo Koei Holdings. Koei's Canadian, European, Korean, and Taiwanese subsidiaries were re-branded Tecmo Koei, and also moved to direct subsidiaries of the holding company, on par with the original Japanese Tecmo and Koei development teams. The first game published by the new Tecmo Koei Europe was Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, also known as Ninja Gaiden Σ 2, is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 3. It is an enhanced port of Ninja Gaiden II.-Plot:...
. In August 2009 Tecmo Koei announced that it was setting up a subsidiary in Hanoi, Vietnam. Later that month the ESA announced that Tecmo Koei was now a member. On April 1 2010, Koei Singapore was also re-branded as Tecmo Koei.
On February 8 2011, Koei Tecmo announced that the individual developers Tecmo and Koei would be merged into Tecmo Koei Games, though the company will continue to develop under the Tecmo and Koei brands.
Team Ninja
Team Ninja is a Japanese video game development department of Tecmo Koei formerly led by Tomonobu ItagakiTomonobu Itagaki
is a Japanese video game designer who created the Dead or Alive fighting game and beach sport simulation series and also revived the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004...
which was founded in 1995. It is best known for the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series.
Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
was published by Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
, making it the first game created by Team Ninja not published by Tecmo. Tecmo later released an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden II on the PlayStation 3 as Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, also known as Ninja Gaiden Σ 2, is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 3. It is an enhanced port of Ninja Gaiden II.-Plot:...
.
On June 3, 2008, Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki announced that he was leaving Tecmo and Team Ninja, citing difficulties with Tecmo. In the same statement announcing his resignation, Itagaki also announced that he was filing a lawsuit against his former employer over unpaid bonuses for his work on Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. It was later reported on websites claiming that Itagaki was fired from Tecmo on June 18, 2008.
On June 2, 2009, 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....
representatives announced at its Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference that they were collaborating with Team Ninja on a new Metroid game for Nintendo's Wii console, entitled Metroid: Other M
Metroid: Other M
is an action-adventure video game for the Wii developed by "Project M", a team which consists of staff members from Nintendo, Team Ninja, and D-Rockets. A part of the Metroid series, it features gameplay in both first- and third-person perspectives, and is the first installment of the franchise to...
, lead by Metroid's co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto
Yoshio Sakamoto
is a Japanese video game designer working for Nintendo. He is a key member in the development of the Metroid series, having worked as director, scenario designer, and script writer for many of the games. Sakamoto grew up with Nintendo toys, which he noted to be inventive and occasionally "strange"....
. It has been revealed that Team Ninja is working on a PS3 and Xbox 360 game, which is the first time in 10 years that they have made a multiplatform game.
Breast physics
Team Ninja has shown heavy emphasis on breast physics in game design, garnering them a reputation as "noted digital perverts". Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi stated in an interview that his development team's core design philosophy is "Every man loves tits", and The Escapist stated "Tomonobu Itagaki really likes boobs, and the games created by his Team Ninja reflect that."Their first release, Dead or Alive
Dead or Alive (arcade game)
Dead or Alive is a fighting game and the first entry in the long-running Dead or Alive series. It was released in 1996 in arcades, followed by home ports for Sega Saturn in 1997 and Sony PlayStation in 1998 .-Gameplay:Dead or Alive was unique in its debut that featured fairly different choices in...
, was comparable to other fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s released at the time, though one of the things that made it stand out were the "outrageous physics" used for female fighters in the game, causing breasts to bounce even for simple actions such as walking. Home console versions allowed players to toggle bouncing on or off.
When porting Ninja Gaiden 2 to the PS3, violence and gore were reduced, and three female playable characters were added. The game also made use of the PS3's SIXAXIS
Sixaxis
The Sixaxis Wireless Controller was the official gamepad for the Sony PlayStation 3 from launch until 2008 when it was succeeded by the DualShock 3....
controller, by allowing players to individually control the bounce of these female characters' breasts. A Tecmo Koei representative summed up the feature to The Escapist, saying "You waggle the pad, the girl's tits bounce".
Omega Force
Omega Force (ω-Force) is a video game developer working for Tecmo Koei that is most well known for its Dynasty WarriorsDynasty Warriors
is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
series for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, 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...
, Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, 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...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, 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...
, 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...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and 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...
.
Team Tachyon
Team Tachyon is a Japanese video game developmentVideo game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
department of Tecmo Koei founded in 2007. Similar to Team Ninja, the group was formed to develop high-profile games, some of which relate to Tecmo Koei's classic franchises. The company says that the they chose the name, "Team Tachyon", because a tachyon
Tachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
is a particle that exceeds the speed of light. Key members include Tecmo producers Keisuke Kikuchi (Rygar, Fatal Frame) and Kohei Shibata.
So far, Team Tachyon has aided in the development of the 2008 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...
game Rygar: The Battle of Argus
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, known in Japan as , is a console game for the PlayStation 2 first released in November 2002. It is an update of the original Rygar released for arcade machines and various consoles. The new features are a transition to 3D graphics and portions of the environment are...
, has released Undead Knights
Undead Knights
Undead Knights is a PlayStation Portable exclusive game developed by Tecmo, based on a medieval setting where the player is basically a zombie-creating overlord...
for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, and Quantum Theory
Quantum Theory (video game)
Quantum Theory, is a third-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is developed by Team Tachyon and published by Tecmo. The game was released in September 2010....
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, released in 2010.
Ruby Party
Ruby Party specializes in games labeled as Neoromance: GxBOtome game
An is a video game that is targeted towards a female market, where one of the main goals, besides the plot goal, is to develop a romantic relationship between the female player character and one of several male characters. This genre is most established in Japan. The label includes both visual...
dating sims, usually with extra side-quests. Out of the three Neoromance series, the best known is Angelique
Angelique (video game)
Angelique is a group of GxB dating sim videogames developed by Ruby Party, which has been extensively remade, re-released, and ported to other platforms...
, which has been in production since 1994. Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
is an otome adventure game developed by Ruby Party and published by Koei. It is a part of Ruby Party's Neoromance label.Because of Harukanaru Toki no Naka des success, the game has give rise to a franchise including several sequels, numerous drama and music CDs, a manga series, two OAVs, a movie,...
is a newer Neoromance hit, with many sequels and an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
TV series based on it. The newest game in the series, Kin'iro no Corda, is gaining popularity partially because the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series it was based on, has been recently licensed by Viz
Viz (comic)
Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
for English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
publishing. It gaining more popularity though, and an anime TV series based on it began airing in October 2006. A sequel was also released on 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...
in March 2007.
International offices
- Tecmo Koei Holdings, Inc.
- Koei Tecmo Europe, Ltd.
- Koei Tecmo Vietnam
- Tecmo Koei America Corporation
- Tecmo Koei Canada, Inc.
- Tecmo Koei Singapore Pte, Ltd.
- Tecmo Koei Taiwan Co., Ltd
- Koei Tecmo Net, Inc.
- Koei Tecmo Games, Inc.
- Koei Tecmo Wave Co., Ltd.