Ultra Software Corporation was a

shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...

and publishing label created in 1988 as a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Konami of America, in an effort to get around

Nintendo of America is a Japanese 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 founded the company to p ...

's strict licensing rules in place at the time for the

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 ...

n market. One of these rules was that a third-party company could only publish up to five games per year for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

in the US. This was hardly convenient for Konami, which had begun releasing more than ten games a year for both the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

and its Disk System add-on in

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 ...

. With a greater library than it was allowed to localize, Konami formed the Ultra Games brand to extend its annual library to ten games a year.

History

Ultra's first NES game was ''

Metal Gear is a Media franchise, franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear (video game), Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX, MSX home computers. The player often takes con ...

''. At first, Ultra was dedicated to localizing Konami's pre-existing software from Japan, but later it began publishing works from other companies as well. Some of Konami's most notable games released under the Ultra label include '' Operation C'', ''

Snake's Revenge ''Snake's Revenge'' (also known as ''Snake's Revenge: Metal Gear 2'') is a 1990 action-adventure stealth game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a stand-alone sequel to ''Metal Gear'' that was released ...

'' and the first few ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'' games for the NES and

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

. The

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

conversions of ''

'' and ''

'' were also published under the Ultra branding. After the North American launch of the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

in 1991, Nintendo started relaxing the restriction on the number of games third parties could publish each year. As a result, Ultra Games began losing its purpose and Konami dropped the label in 1992. The last games released by Ultra Games were '' Ultra Golf'' and '' World Circuit Series'', both released in March 1992. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Konami established the Palcom Software Limited subsidiary for similar purposes. Its library was relatively similar to Ultra's but the company also published games that were not released in North America, notably ''

Road Fighter is a racing arcade video game developed by Konami and released in 1984, and was the first racing game from the company. The goal is to reach the finish line within the stages without running out of time, hitting other cars or running out of ...

'', ''

Parodius is a series of Shoot 'em up#Cute 'em ups, cute 'em ups developed and published by Konami. The games are tongue-in-cheek Parody, parodies of ''Gradius'', and also feature characters from many other Konami franchises. Video games There are six game ...

'' and '' Crackout''. Palcom also released

games that were published in America by Konami itself. In contrast, some games that were released under the Ultra name in North America, such as ''Metal Gear'' and ''Snake's Revenge'', were published under the regular Konami brand in Europe. The European subsidiary lasted longer than Ultra Games, until it was closed down in early 1994.

Games published

Ultra Games

NES

* ''

'' (June 1988) * ''

Skate or Die! ''Skate or Die!'' is a skateboarding video game released by Electronic Arts (EA) in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It is EA's first internally developed game. Versions for the Apple II, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum followed. It was por ...

'' (December 1988) * ''

Gyruss is shoot 'em up arcade video game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto and released by Konami in 1983. ''Gyruss'' was initially licensed to Centuri in the United States for dedicated machines, before Konami released their own self-distributed conversion ...

'' (February 1989) * ''

Q*bert ''Q*bert'' () is a 1982 Action game, action video game developed and published by Gottlieb for Arcade video game, arcades. It is a Video game graphics, 2D action game with Puzzle video game, puzzle elements that uses Isometric video game gr ...

'' (February 1989) * ''

'' (June 1989) * ''

Defender of the Crown ''Defender of the Crown'' is a strategy game, strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Amiga, Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home co ...

'' (July 1989; developed by

Beam Software Krome Studios Melbourne, originally Beam Software, was an Australian video game development studio founded in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen and based in Melbourne, Australia. Initially formed to produce books and software to be publis ...

) * '' Silent Service'' (December 1989; developed by Rare) * ''

Kings of the Beach ''Kings of the Beach'' is a beach volleyball computer game released by Electronic Arts in 1988 for the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS. A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was produced by Konami (under the Ultra Games label) in 1990. Gamepl ...

'' (January 1990) * ''

'' (April 1990) * '' Mission: Impossible'' (September 1990) * '' RollerGames'' (September 1990) * '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game'' (December 1990) * '' Ski or Die'' (February 1991) * '' Base Wars'' (June 1991) * '' Pirates!'' (October 1991; developed by Rare) * ''

Nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

'' (January 1992; developed by

) * '' Star Trek: 25th Anniversary'' (February 1992; developed by Interplay)

Game Boy

* '' Motocross Maniacs'' (January 1990) * ''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

'' (April 1990) * '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan'' (August 1990) * ''

Quarth , known as ''Block Hole'' outside Japan, is a hybrid Puzzle video game, puzzle/shoot 'em up game developed by Konami and released in 1989 as an arcade game. In addition to the arcade version, there were also ports of the game to the MSX, MSX2 (w ...

'' (December 1990) * '' Operation C'' (February 1991) * ''

Blades of Steel ''Blades of Steel'', later released in Japan as , is an ice hockey video game released by Konami for North American arcades in 1987, and ported to the Family Computer Disk System and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. All teams are fiction ...

'' (August 1991) * '' Star Trek: 25th Anniversary'' (February 1992; developed by

Visual Concepts Visual Concepts Entertainment is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in May 1988, the company is best known for developing Sports video game, sports games in the ''2K'' franchise, most recently ''NBA 2K'' and ' ...

) * '' Ultra Golf'' (March 1992) * '' World Circuit Series'' (March 1992)

IBM PC (DOS)

* ''

'' (1989; developed by Unlimited Software) * ''

'' (August 1990; developed by Banana Development)

Commodore 64

* ''

'' (1990; developed by Unlimited Software) * ''

'' (1990; developed by Unlimited Software)

Palcom Software

NES

* ''

'' (August 1990) * '' Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles'' (August 1990) * '' Crackout'' (1991) * ''

'' (July 1991; developed by

) * '' Pirates!'' (October 1991; developed by Rare) * '' Ski or Die'' (October 1991) * '' Mission: Impossible'' (November 1991) * ''

Monster in My Pocket ''Monster in My Pocket'' is a media franchise developed by American company Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, two former senior executives at Mattel. The focus is on monsters and fantastical and legendar ...

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1992) * '' Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' (December 1992) * '' Formula 1 Sensation'' (1993) * '' Rackets & Rivals'' (1993) * ''

Bucky O'Hare Bucky O'Hare is a fictional character and the hero of an eponymous comic book series and spin-off (media), spin-off media, including an Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars, animated TV series and various toys and video games. He was created by comic bo ...

'' (December 1993)

Game Boy

* ''

'' (1991) * '' Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad'' (1991) * ''

Probotector Probotector is an alternate title originally given to a number of Contra games in Europe. By itself, the title was affixed to three different games, and may refer to the European localizations of: * ''Contra'' (video game) for the Nintendo Enterta ...

'' (May 1992) * ''

'' (1992) * '' Star Trek: 25th Anniversary'' (1992; developed by

) * '' Zen: Intergalactic Ninja'' (1993)

Super NES

* ''

Cybernator , also known as ''Cybernator'', is a 2D mecha action game developed by Masaya and released in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the '' Assault Suit'' series, it is a prequel to the first game, '' Target Earth'' ...

'' (1993; developed by NCS Corporation) * ''

Pop'n TwinBee is a top-view shoot-'em-up game originally released in 1993 by Konami for the Super Famicom in Japan. The game was also released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the PAL region. It is the sixth game in the ''TwinBee'' series and a ...

'' (1993) * ''

Sunset Riders is a side-scrolling run and gun video game developed and released by Konami as an arcade video game in 1991. It is set in the American Old West, where the player(s) take control of bounty hunters who are seeking the rewards offered for various ...

'' (December 1993)

References

Bibliography

External links

Ultra Games
profile on

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

Palcom
profile on

{{Konami Konami Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game companies established in 1988 Video game companies disestablished in 1992 1988 establishments in Illinois 1992 disestablishments in Illinois Defunct companies based in Illinois Video game publishers American companies established in 1988 American companies disestablished in 1992

History

Games published

Ultra Games

NES

Game Boy

IBM PC (DOS)

Commodore 64

Palcom Software

NES

Game Boy

Super NES

See also

References

Bibliography

External links