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Curated playlist

Software companies based in Tokyo

  • SegaSega began in 1940 by supplying slot machines to American military bases in Hawaii. It later made Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Polygon MagicPolygon Magic made a Silent Hill arcade game and a Disney basketball game. It also made a GREE fishing app.
  • System SacomOne System Sacom series blended sound and on-screen text, leaving a mark on sound novels and visual novels.
  • Team NinjaTeam Ninja began as a rescue plan for a struggling company. Tecmo asked Tomonobu Itagaki to rival Virtua Fighter.
  • Kojima ProductionsKojima Productions was erased by Konami, then reborn under the same name.
  • ShogakukanJapanese publishing company
  • Square (video game company)Square, maker of Final Fantasy, began in a former hairdresser's salon in Yokohama. It started in September 1983.
  • KodanshaKodansha, Japan's largest publisher, began as a spin-off of a public speaking society. Seiji Noma founded it in 1909.
  • Nihon FalcomNihon Falcom took its name from the Millennium Falcon, with one letter changed.
  • Square EnixIn 2022, Square Enix sold Tomb Raider and Deus Ex to Embracer Group for $300 million.
  • SonySony built the PlayStation after Nintendo dropped it as a partner in 1991.
  • Sammy CorporationA slot machine maker bought control of Sega for $1.1 billion. Sammy Corporation did it in mid-2004.
  • KonamiKonami's legal team blocked Hideo Kojima from accepting his Game Awards 2015 prize. The audience booed.
  • Pony CanyonThe Asian financial crisis of 1997 closed four of Pony Canyon's five overseas branches.
  • NamcoNamco began with two hand-cranked rocking horses on a Yokohama rooftop. He spent his entire 300,000 yen budget.
  • TaitoTaito, the Space Invaders company, began as a vodka distillery in Tokyo. A Ukrainian refugee founded it in 1953.
  • FromSoftwareFromSoftware spent nearly a decade making office software before its first game. King's Field then changed the company.

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