Nichibutsu

was a Japanese video game developer and publisher headquartered in Kita, Osaka. In the past they had also manufactured and sold yachts.

The main video game brand of the company was Nichibutsu (日物、ニチブツ), with adult video games (mainly strip mahjong arcade games) coming under the Sphinx (スフィンクス) brand.Sphinx also released the game in the name of Nihon Bussan and it is listed on the home page
Mahjong Hanafuda product list
The company used a horned owl for its official logo.

In March 2014, Nihon Bussan sold its video game library to Hamster Corporation due to the decision of original founder Sueharu Torii to retire. The company was disbanded on December 15, 2015.

History

The company's founder Sueharu Torii established Nihon Bussan in October 1970 in Kita-ku, Osaka. They begin their activities by mainly selling arcade machines. In 1972, the company was incorporated as Nihon Bussan Co., Ltd with a capital of 3 million yen.

In 1976, Nihon Bussan made its debut as a manufacturer to the Amusement Machine Show and opened a Tokyo office in 1978. 1978 also saw Nihon Bussan entering the arcade game market, when they debuted with a clone of the game '' Breakout'' called ''Table Attacker''. The same year, Nihon Bussan settled with Taito by paying a license fee to launch a clone of ''Space Invaders'' titled ''Moon Base''. Also in 1979, a business alliance was formed with Namco for a clone of ''Galaxian'' called ''Moon Alien''. Originally intended as a limited release, Nihon Bussan violated the manufacturing agreement by producing the title in more units than the agreement called for and ended up paying Namco the excess of the license fee. Nihon Bussan continued to release successful titles such as '' Moon Cresta'' and '' Crazy Climber''.

In 1983, the company developed ''Jangou Night'' which features the industry's first undressing elements and established the genre of strip mahjong games. In 1984, Nihon Bussan developed ''Tube Panic'', the industry's first board game equipped with a rotation feature.''Shooting Game Side'' Volume 10 (September 26, 2014, Japanese)
From the mid-1980s, Nihon Bussan released '' Terra Cresta'' and ''Cosmo Police Galivan'' that made use of Yamaha YM3812 FM sound.

Nihon Bussan entered the home video game market in 1983 by developing a console of their own, the My Vision, and in 1986 released their first NES title, '' MagMax'', followed by the MSX in 1989; the same year also saw the release of the company's last mainstream arcade game, ''Sky Robo'' (''Tatakae! Big Fighter'' in Japan) before switching to exclusively produce strip mahjong titles for that market; in 1992, the company left JAMMA after the arcade industry began showing concerns about increasingly risque material in their strip mahjong games. ��雀ゲームの審査に不満を示した日本物産の退会で議論」, ''Game Machine'' issue 420 (1992), p. 3 (Japanese)/ref> In 1990, Nihon Bussan released console-first titles for the PC Engine such as '' F1 Circus'' which became a major hit. During the height of the F1 Circus series, Nihon Bussan sponsored Team Lotus from 1991 to 1993; the sponsorship agreement allowed Lotus to appear as the only licensed team in the ''F1 Circus'' titles until Nichibutsu obtained a complete license from Formula One Constructors Association.

Nihon Bussan began releasing games for the Mega Drive in 1991, SNES in 1992, Sony PlayStation in 1995 and for the Sega Saturn in 1996. Some of the titles were mahjong titles, with their PC Engine game ''Sexy Idol Mahjong'' featuring strip elements from their arcade titles.

In March 2009, the company partnered with D4 Enterprise to reprint and distribute Nihon Bussan retro games for its Project EGG service.

In March 2014, Nihon Bussan sold the rights of all video games to Hamster Corporation. Hamster had approached founder Sueharu Torii for a licensing agreement of Nihon Bussan's games. Torii opted instead to sell outright the company's video game library and to retire.

Timeline

* 1979 – The company's headquarters is relocated to Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka. Their capital increases to 24 million yen. Nichibutsu U.S.A. Co., Ltd. is established in Torrance, California, US.
* 1980 – Nichibutsu U.K. Ltd. is established in West Midlands, England, United Kingdom. Nichibutsu Kyushu Co., Ltd. is established in Hakataekiminami, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka.
* 1981 – Nichibutsu Europe GmbH is established in Rödermark, Offenbach, Hesse, Germany. The Nihon Bussan Co., Ltd. factory opens in Sayama, Kumiyama, Kuse, Kyoto.
* 1983 – Tokyo office is moved to Nihonbashihoridome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Nichibutsu Sapporo Co., Ltd. is established in Nakanoshima, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido. Nichibutsu Sendai Co., Ltd. is established in Uesugi, Sendai, Miyagi. Nichibutsu Hiroshima Co., Ltd. is established in Higashikasumichou, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima. Nichibutsu also releases their only console, My Vision.
* 1984 – Capital increases to 36 million yen.
* 1985 – Capital increases to 50 million yen.
* 1989 – Nihon Bussan's last mainstream arcade game, ''Sky Robo'' / ''Tatakae! Big Fighter'', is released.
* 1991 – The company's Tokyo office is moved to Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
* 1992 – Nihon Bussan withdraws from the Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association over a dispute regarding the risque content in their mahjong games.
* 2001 – Nihon Bussan's last home video game, ''Virtual Kyoutei 21'', is released.
* 2005 – Nihon Bussan's last arcade game (overall), ''Koi Suru Cosplay Akihabara'' is released.
* 2007 – The company ends development of video games, while continuing to oversee the rights to their games.
* 2009 – Nihon Bussan joins D4 Enterprise's Project EGG, a retro game republishing/distribution service.
* 2014 – Nihon Bussan sells the rights to their games to Hamster Corporation and closes the company.

List of Nihon Bussan games

Paddle games

'' Breakout'' clones

*1978 ''Table Attacker''
*1978 ''Table Attacker Guard''
*1978 ''Table Attacker Special''
*1978 ''Table Attacker Black''
*1979 ''Attacker Ace''

''

Circus'' clones

*1978 ''Table Bonpa''
*1979 ''Bonpa''

Shooters

''Moon Base'' series

Originally clones of ''Space Invaders''.
*1978 ''Moon Base''
*1978 ''Moon Base Spector''
*1978 ''Moon Base Zeta''
*1979 ''Super Moon Base''

''Terra Cresta'' series

*1980 '' Moon Cresta''
*1985 '' Terra Cresta''
*1986 '' UFO Robo Dangar''
*1992 '' Terra Cresta II: Mandler's Counterattack''
*1997 '' Terra Cresta 3D''

This series was followed by '' Sol Cresta'' in 2022, developed by another company, Platinum Games.

Other shooter games

*1980 ''Moon Alien'' (clone of ''Galaxian'')
*1980 ''Moon Alien 2''
*1980 ''Moon Alpha''
*1980 ''Moon Raker''
*1980 ''Moon Quasar''
*1981 ''Moon Shuttle''
*1984 '' Seicross''
*1984 ''Tube Panic''
*1985 '' MagMax''
*1986 ''Soldier Girl Amazon'' (a.k.a. ''Sei Senshi Amatelass'')
*1986 ''Ninja Emaki'' (a.k.a. ''Youma Ninpou Cho'')
*1987 ''Sky Fox'' (a.k.a. ''Exerizer'')
*1987 ''Terra Force''
*1987 ''Legion''
*1988 '' Formation Armed F''
*1989 ''Sky Robo'' (a.k.a. ''Tatakae! Big Fighter'')

Action games

*1980 '' Crazy Climber''
*1981 '' Frisky Tom''
*1982 ''Wiping'' (also known as "Rug Rats")
*1983 ''Dacholer'' (''Kick Boy'')
*1983 ''Skelagon'' (''SF-X'')
*1984 ''Roller Jammer''
*1984 '' Dynamic Ski''
*1985 ''Cop01''
*1985 '' Galivan'' (also known as "Cosmo Police Galivan")
*1986 ''Mighty Guy''
*1987 '' Kid's Horehore Daisakusen''
*1987 ''Samurai Assassin'' (a.k.a. ''Kozure Ōkami'')
*1988 '' Crazy Climber 2''
*1990 ''Die Hard'' (PC Engine version developed for Pack-In-Video Co. Ltd.)
*1993 ''Galivan 2'' (also known as "Cosmo Police Galivan 2: Arrow of Justice")
*1996 ''Expert'' (PlayStation 1. Japanese Title: エキスパート)

Quiz games

*1987 ''Hihoo!''
*1987 ''Hihoo!2''
*1991 ''Quiz DE Date''
*1991 ''Miracle Q''
*1991 ''Kotaemon kachi''
*1991 ''TECHNO・DOOL''

Puzzle games

*1988 ''Oh! Pyepee''
*1988 ''Tougenkyou''
*1989 ''Pairs''
*1995 '' Puzzle'n Desu!''

Mahjong games

*1983 ''Jangō Lady''
*1984 ''Night Gal'' (Japan's top-grossing table arcade cabinet of October 1984 and December 1984)
*1986 ''Second Love''
*1990 ''Mahjong Triple Wars''
*1991 ''Mahjong Vanilla Syndrome''
*1994 ''Sailor Wars''

Other games

* 1987 '' Artelius''
* 1990 '' F1 Circus''
* 1995 '' Kouryaku Casino Bar''

Notes

References

External links

* (archives)

{{Authority control

Video game companies established in 1970
Video game companies disestablished in 2015
Defunct video game companies of Japan
Hamster Corporation

Video game development companies
Hentai companies
Mass media in Osaka
Japanese companies established in 1970
Japanese companies disestablished in 2015