Hudson Soft

• 1. Radio Shop Origins

  ›

  Hudson Soft began as CQ Hudson, an amateur radio shop in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Japan. The business opened on the 18th of May 1973, founded by brothers Yuji and Hiroshi Kudo. They named the company after their favorite train, the Hudson locomotive known as the 4-6-4. A bee mascot named Hachisuke represented the firm's early identity. This name linked to the Japanese word for eight and the radio call sign JA8 used in Hokkaido. The founders had no formal business training yet they navigated a difficult market alone. Monthly losses plagued the venture during its initial years as a pure radio retailer. Yuji Kudo originally intended to open a coffee shop but found one already existed in the building. He pivoted to wireless equipment sales at the last moment instead.

  14

• 2. Console Partnerships

  ›

  The company shifted focus from retail goods to video game development in March 1978. By late 1983, leadership prioritized quality over quantity in software releases. Lode Runner became a massive success selling 1.2 million units on the Family Computer console. In July 1987, Hudson developed the C62 System alongside NEC engineers. This collaboration produced the PC Engine console which achieved second-best status behind Nintendo in Japan. The same hardware launched as the TurboGrafx-16 in North America with less market share than competitors. Hudson continued releasing games for other platforms while maintaining this partnership. They later created the HuC62 chip independently for NEC's PC-FX console in 1994. The company also developed titles for MSX and ZX Spectrum systems throughout the early era.

  20735

• 3. Franchise Creation

  ›

  Bomberman released in December 1983 on the Famicom system was considered a big hit by internal standards. Other major series included Adventure Island and Star Soldier during the 1980s. Bonk appeared as another flagship character for the brand. Bloody Roar expanded the roster into fighting game territory later. Hudson Soft developed the Mario Party series for Nintendo covering eight console installments. Two handheld spin-offs followed before Konami took control of operations. Far East of Eden served as a classic role-playing game set in fictionalized feudal Japan. The second entry ranked 12th among all games released in Japan according to Famitsu magazine. Momotaro Dentetsu became a long-running board game style series with 16 entries in Japan alone.

  738

• 4. Corporate Takeover

  ›

  The Hudson All-Japan Caravan Festival ran annually from 1985 through 2000 across Japan. Early competitions focused heavily on shoot em up titles like Star Force released in 1985. Star Soldier served as the second competition game in 1986 while Starship Hector appeared in 1987. Power League became the first PC Engine competition game in 1988 breaking the shooter trend. Gunhed featured special edition cartridges produced only for the event in 1989. Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier followed in subsequent years until 1992. Later events shifted focus to casual games like Bomberman which remained popular. Many early cartridges included two-minute or five-minute practice modes built directly into the software. The PC Engine Best Collection re-released select titles for PSP systems decades later.

  2226249