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Video game companies of Japan

  • HexaDriveMasakazu Matsushita established HexaDrive in February 2007 within Osaka, Japan. He arrived at this decision after years of work as a programmer for Capcom.
  • M2 (game developer)M2 emerged as a Japanese video game developer and publisher with a singular focus on emulation. The company built its reputation by handling re-released…
  • TaitōUkrainian refugee Michael Kogan established a business in Shanghai during 1944 called Taitung. The name combined the Chinese characters for Judea and East to…
  • SegaOn the 3rd of June 1960, Martin Bromley and Richard Stewart established a new company in Tokyo to take over the assets of Service Games of Japan.
  • Polygon MagicPolygon Magic emerged as a Japanese video game developer focused on arcade, console, and mobile platforms. The studio established itself by creating titles…
  • DimpsOn the 6th of March 2000, Takashi Nishiyama resigned from SNK. He faced a choice between moving his team to Tokyo or staying in Osaka.
  • System SacomSystem Sacom, also known as System Sacom Sales Corp., operates from an office in Tokyo. This Japanese electronics company sells electronic devices to the…
  • Sony Interactive EntertainmentIn 1993, Sony and Sony Music Entertainment Japan jointly established Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in Tokyo to handle the company's ventures into the…
  • Team NinjaIn 1995, a group of game designers at the struggling Japanese company Tecmo formed a new division called Tecmo Creative #3.
  • Kojima ProductionsIn April 2005, a new team formed inside the Japanese giant Konami. This group took the name Kojima Productions and operated as a subsidiary of the larger…
  • NintendoOn the 23rd of September 1889, a craftsman named Fusajiro Yamauchi founded a small unincorporated establishment in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto.
  • KodanshaSeiji Noma established Kodansha in 1909 as a spin-off of the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai, also known as the Greater Japan Oratorical Society.
  • Kadokawa ShotenGenyoshi Kadokawa established Kadokawa Shoten on the 10th of November 1945 in Tokyo. The company began its publishing journey with a specific imprint called…
  • Nihon FalcomMasayuki Kato established Nihon Falcom in 1981. The name Falcom came from the Millennium Falcon. The final n changed to an m to fit naming trends of that…
  • Square EnixSquare Enix began as two separate entities with distinct origins. Enix was founded on the 22nd of September 1975, by Yasuhiro Fukushima, an architect turned…
  • SNKEikichi Kawasaki stood in a small office in Osaka on the 22nd of July 1978 and signed papers to reorganize Shin Nihon Kikaku into a stock company.
  • KonamiKagemasa Kōzuki opened a small business in Toyonaka, Osaka, on the 21st of March 1969. He rented and repaired jukeboxes for local bars and restaurants.
  • Pony Canyonthe 1st of October 1966 marked the founding of Nippon Broadcasting System Service, Inc. by Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc.
  • NamcoOn the 1st of June 1955, Japanese businessman Masaya Nakamura founded a company in Ikegami, Tokyo. The son of a shotgun repair business owner, Nakamura…
  • CapcomKenzo Tsujimoto stood at the helm of Irem Corporation in 1979 when he established a new entity called I.R.M. Corporation on the 30th of May 1979.
  • GainaxIn 1981, seven university students gathered in Osaka to create a short film for the 20th Annual Japan National SF Convention.