On the 22nd of September 1975, an architect named Yasuhiro Fukushima founded a company called Eidansha Boshu Service Center, which began life as a publisher of tabloids for real estate advertising. This was not the beginning of a video game giant, but rather a humble attempt to sell houses in Japan. Fukushima, an architect turned business entrepreneur, initially focused on advertising tabloids for real estate, a far cry from the digital worlds he would later create. By 1980, the company had created a subsidiary, Eidansya Fudousan, to specialize in real estate trading and brokerage. However, after an unsuccessful attempt to become a nationwide chain in 1981, Fukushima made a pivotal decision to invest his capital into the emerging video game market. This shift marked the beginning of a transformation that would see the company renamed Enix Corporation on the 30th of August 1982. The name Enix was a clever play on both the mythological Phoenix, symbolizing rebirth, and the early computer ENIAC, signaling a new era in technology. This strategic pivot from real estate to gaming would set the stage for one of the most influential publishing houses in the history of video games.
The Competition That Changed Gaming
In 1982, Enix organized a competition dubbed the Enix Game Hobby Program Contest, offering a prize of ¥1 million, which was approximately US$10,000 at the time, for a game prototype that could be published by Enix. This competition was not just a contest; it was a catalyst for the future of the industry. Among the winners were Yuji Horii, then a writer for Weekly Shōnen Jump, with the sports game Love Match Tennis; designer Koichi Nakamura with the puzzle game Door Door; and self-trained programmer Kazuro Morita with the simulation video game Morita's Battlefield. These individuals would go on to shape the landscape of video games. Horii, Nakamura, and Morita were not just winners; they were the architects of Enix's future. Horii and Nakamura, in particular, would collaborate to create The Portopia Serial Murder Case in 1983, an adventure game that would later lead to the development of Dragon Quest. This game, which began development in 1985, would become one of the most successful role-playing video games (RPG) for consoles, selling over one million copies in Japan. The success of Dragon Quest spawned a franchise of the same name, which would become Enix's highest-grossing property. Horii, Sugiyama, and Toriyama remained mainstays with the series, ensuring its longevity and cultural impact.The Dragon That Soared
The RPG titled Dragon Quest began development in 1985, with Horii and Nakamura acting as designers, composer Koichi Sugiyama creating the score for the game, and Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama brought on board for art design. While meeting with initially slow sales, Dragon Quest became a critical and commercial success, selling over one million copies in Japan. The success of Dragon Quest spawned a franchise of the same name, which would become Enix's highest-grossing property. Horii, Sugiyama, and Toriyama remained mainstays with the series, ensuring its longevity and cultural impact. In 1988, Enix began selling merchandise themed after Dragon Quest, including character statues and toys, expanding to board and card games the following year. This expansion into merchandise was a strategic move to ensure income did not entirely depend on Dragon Quest. The company also began selling guidebooks for the Dragon Quest series, between 1988 and 1991, the company decided to make print publication of its second major business section alongside video game publishing. This eventually led to Enix launching the Gangan Comics imprint family, beginning with Monthly Shonen Gangan in March 1991. Following its first publication with Monthly Shonen Gangan in March 1991, several other manga imprints with magazine and tankōbon editions were created for different genres, including Monthly G-Fantasy and Monthly Shonen Gag-OU. The company also expanded its merchandise range to include other notable series, including Mario and Pokémon.