Tengen Inc. was an American

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ...

and

developer Developer may refer to: Computers *Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications * Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games * Web de ...

that was created by the

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...

manufacturer

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of arcade games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered by Warner Communications to a join ...

for publishing

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...

and console games. It had a Japanese subsidiary named .

History

By 1984, Atari, Inc. had been split into two distinct companies. Atari Corporation was responsible for computer and console games and hardware and owned the rights to the Atari brand for these domains. Atari Games was formed from Atari, Inc.'s arcade division, and were able to use the Atari name on arcade releases but not on console or computer games. When Atari Games wanted to enter the console game market, it needed to create a new label that did not use the Atari name. The new subsidiary was dubbed Tengen, which in the Japanese nomenclature of the board game Go refers to the central point of the board (the word "Atari" comes from the same game). At the time,

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

restricted their licensees to releasing only five games per year, mandated that Nintendo handle cartridge manufacturing, and required their games to be NES-exclusive for two years. Atari Games tried to negotiate for a less restrictive license to produce games for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

; Nintendo refused, so in December 1987, Atari Games agreed to Nintendo's standard licensing terms. Tengen was incorporated on December 21 of that year. In 1988, Tengen released its first and only three games licensed by Nintendo: ''

R.B.I. Baseball ''R.B.I. Baseball'' is a baseball sports video game series. ''R.B.I.'' stands for "run batted in". Launched in 1987 as a localized version of Namco's '' Family Stadium'' series, the ''R.B.I. Baseball'' series initially ran through 1995. In 2014 ...

'', ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'', and '' Gauntlet''. Meanwhile, Tengen secretly worked to bypass Nintendo's lock-out chip called

10NES The Checking Integrated Circuit (CIC) is a lockout chip designed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game console in 1985; the chip is part of a system known as 10NES, in which a 'key' (which is stored in the game) is us ...

that gave it control over which games were published for the NES. They started development on a chip they called Rabbit. While numerous manufacturers managed to override this chip by zapping it with a voltage spike, Tengen engineers feared this could potentially damage NES consoles and expose them to unnecessary liability. The other problem was that Nintendo made frequent modifications to the NES to prevent this technique from working. Instead, Tengen chose to reverse engineer the chip and decipher the code required to unlock it. However, the engineers were unable to do so, and the launch date for its first batch of games was rapidly approaching. With time running short, Tengen turned to the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who ar ...

. Its lawyers contacted the government office to request a copy of the Nintendo lock-out program, claiming that the company needed it for potential litigation against Nintendo. Once obtained, it used the program to create its own chip that would unlock the NES. Tengen announced that they were going to release their own cartridges in December 1988. When Tengen launched the unlicensed versions of its games, Nintendo immediately sued Tengen for copyright and patent infringement. This began a series of lawsuits between the companies which would not be settled until 1994. Tengen faced another court challenge with Nintendo in 1989 in copyright controversy over the two companies' NES versions of '' Tetris''. Tengen lost this suit as well, and was forced to recall what was estimated to be hundreds and thousands of unsold cartridges of its version of ''Tetris'' (having sold only about 50,000 copies). Tengen went on to produce games for other systems, including the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 an ...

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

, and

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

, and a few more, as well as publish a localized

Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...

title. The company also licensed games for home computers such as the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

and the

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first per ...

, most of which were published by British company Domark. It was best known for its ports of popular Atari arcade games, including '' Klax'', '' Hard Drivin''', ''

STUN Runner ''S.T.U.N. Runner'' (Spread Tunnel Underground Network Runner) is 3D Racing game, racing/shooter game released in Arcade game, arcades by Atari Games in 1989. The player pilots a futuristic vehicle which can exceed 900 mph, through various t ...

'', and '' Paperboy'', although they published many other titles as well. In 1994, with the lawsuit against Nintendo settled and after

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

reacquired a controlling stake in Atari Games, Tengen was consolidated into

Time Warner Interactive Time Warner Interactive (Group) (TWI) was a studio within Time Warner and a predecessor of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was formed in 1993 after Time Warner bought a controlling interest in Atari Games, and was active until 1996 w ...

NES games

Tengen manufactured both licensed and unlicensed versions of three of their NES games (''R.B.I. Baseball'', ''Gauntlet'', and ''Pac-Man''). The cartridges for their unlicensed games did not come in the gray, semi-square shape that licensed NES games came in; instead, they are rounded and matte-black, and resemble the original

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc., founded in Sunnyvale, Ca ...

cartridges. ;Licensed and unlicensed * ''

'' (released June 1988; reskinned version of '' Pro Yakyū Family Stadium'' by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiun ...

) * '' Gauntlet'' (released July 1988) * ''

'' (released October 1988; based on Namco's 1984 Famicom port) ;Unlicensed only * '' Tetris: The Soviet Mind Game'' (released May 1989) * '' Super Sprint'' (released July 1989; licensed version released in Japan by Altron) * '' Rolling Thunder'' (released October 1989; released as a licensed game by

in Japan) * '' Road Runner'' (released November 1989) * '' Vindicators'' (released November 1989) * '' After Burner'' (released December 1989; not related to the version released by Sunsoft in Japan which was titled ''

After Burner II is an arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies, using both a m ...

'') * ''

Alien Syndrome is a run and gun game developed by Sega and released in arcades in 1987. Gameplay Two players control two soldiers, named Ricky and Mary, who fight their way through large eight-way scrolling levels while rescuing their comrades who are being ...

'' (released December 1989; released as a licensed game by Sunsoft in Japan) * '' Shinobi'' (released December 1989) * '' Toobin''' (released December 1989) * '' Fantasy Zone'' (not related to the version released by Sunsoft in Japan) * ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action- adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', ...

'' (released 1989; a licensed version was published by Mindscape) * '' Klax'' (released as a licensed game by

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, T ...

in Japan) * ''

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to ''Pac-Man'' (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's wif ...

'' (an original port, released in 1990, unrelated to

's port, which was exclusively released in North America in 1993) * '' Pac-Mania'' (developed by Westwood Associates) * '' R.B.I. Baseball 2'' * ''R.B.I. Baseball 3'' * '' Skull & Crossbones''

References

External links

Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. (from Harvard's Openlaw site; accessed via archive.org)

''Tengen''
profile on

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

Tengen games on 1up.com
{{Atari Atari American companies established in 1987 American companies disestablished in 1994 Defunct video game companies of the United States Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Milpitas, California Video game companies established in 1987 Video game companies disestablished in 1994 1987 establishments in California 1994 disestablishments in California Video game development companies Video game publishers

History

NES games

See also

References

External links