(styled CiNG) was an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...
based out of
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. The company, a small development house employing only 29 people, was founded in April 1999, and was run by Takuya Miyagawa, who served as President and CEO. Miyagawa also acted as the producer on all of Cing's titles. The company filed for bankruptcy on March 1, 2010.
After releasing ''
Glass Rose'' for the PlayStation 2 in 2003, Cing had enjoyed a close working relationship with
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
. Two projects were created in cooperation with the publisher for their
Nintendo DS
The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
handheld system, both of which received sequels (one for the
Nintendo DS
The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
and one for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
). Cing also released the critically acclaimed ''
Little King's Story'' for the Wii.
History
Founded on April 22, 1999, Cing was created as a means of providing gamers with new and unique video game experiences. The studio's first project was providing the core production for
Capcom
is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
's ''
Glass Rose'', an adventure title for
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
's
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
. Unfortunately, despite having
Masahiro Matsuoka
is a Japanese drummer and actor. He is a member of Tokio, a musical group of Starto Entertainment formerly known as Johnny & Associates. His nicknames are Mabo and Maa-kun. He starred as Shinichi Ozaki in '' Godzilla: Final Wars'', and comedy ...
's likeness (from the popular
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese pop group
Tokio) for its main character, the title failed to prove successful at retail and was never localized in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, although it did see a European release.
In early 2005, Cing released the adventure title ''
Another Code: Two Memories'' for the DS, which marked their first project produced with Nintendo. The game made extensive use of the various unique capabilities of the DS, and proved to be a fairly moderate success. The studio's next project, ''
Hotel Dusk: Room 215'', was another adventure title making specific use of the DS functionality, including holding the system sideways to play (similar to Nintendo's ''
Brain Age'' titles).
On March 13, 2007, Cing announced their next-generation video game title for the Nintendo
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
, titled ''
Little King's Story''. The game was released in Australia and Europe in April 2009, in North America on July 21, 2009, and in Japan on September 3, 2009. In November 2009, Cing announced ''
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West'', the sequel to ''
Hotel Dusk: Room 215'' for Nintendo DS. It was released on January 14, 2010 in Japan and September 17, 2010 in Europe.
Cing filed for bankruptcy in Japan on March 1, 2010. The company was reportedly suffering from liabilities of 256 million yen (USD 2.9m/EUR 2.1m).
Games developed
References
External links
*
*
Cing profile on
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
{{Cing franchises, state=expanded
Privately held companies of Japan
Japanese companies established in 1999
Japanese companies disestablished in 2010
Video game companies established in 1999
Video game companies disestablished in 2010
Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Japan
Defunct video game companies of Japan
Video game development companies
Companies based in Fukuoka Prefecture