''Picross'' is a series of

puzzle video games Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

developed by

Jupiter Corporation is a Japanese video game and hardware development studio that focuses on handheld consoles. It is based in Kyoto, though they have a secondary branch in Tokyo. Jupiter's motto is “Let’s Play! Let’s Smile!”. Titles Super Nintendo Ent ...

and owned by

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 ...

. It features a series of

nonogram Nonograms, also known as Hanjie, Paint by Numbers, Griddlers, Pic-a-Pix, and Picross, are picture logic puzzles in which cells in a grid must be colored or left blank according to numbers at the edges of the grid to reveal a hidden picture. In ...

puzzles solved by the player. The series started in 1995 with ''

Mario's Picross ''Mario's Picross'' is a 1995 puzzle video game developed by Jupiter (company), Jupiter and Ape Inc. and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It is a compilation of nonogram logic puzzles. The game stars Mario who chisels away at puzzle grid ...

'' for the

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 ...

. After many entries published by Nintendo for multiple platforms, Jupiter started self-publishing ''Picross'' games such as the ''

Picross e ''Picross e'' is a series of nonogram puzzle video games developed and published by Jupiter for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It is the successor to Jupiter's Nintendo-published Picross games including the ''Mario's Picross'' series an ...

'' and ''

Picross S ''Picross S'' is a series of nonogram puzzle video games developed and published by Jupiter for the Nintendo Switch. It is the current incarnation of Nintendo's '' Picross'' series, with Jupiter releasing the games under license. with all past ...

'' series on the

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

and

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

under license from Nintendo.

HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since establishe ...

developed the ''Picross 3D'' spinoff series, with games on 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 Nintendo 3DS.

Development

Due to the popularity of pen-and-paper nonogram puzzles at the time in Japan, Makoto Nakayama, founder of Jupiter Corporation, pitched a video game version of nonograms to Nintendo. Since Jupiter had little experience in game development, Ape Inc. (known now as Creatures Inc.) assisted with the game's development.

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...

oversaw the process from Nintendo's side and proposed adding Mario to the game. ''

'' was released for the Game Boy in 1995. While it did not take off in the West, it sold well in Japan and led to several Japan-only entries, including ''Picross 2'' for the Game Boy, ''

Mario's Super Picross is a Super Famicom sequel to '' Mario's Picross''. The game is compatible with the Super Famicom Mouse. It is developed by Jupiter and Ape and published by Nintendo. After the failure of '' Mario's Picross'' in North America, Nintendo decide ...

'' for the Super Famicom, the ''Picross NP'' series for the

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...

service, and ''Tamori no Picross'' for

Satellaview The is a satellite modem peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Famicom in 1995. Containing 1 megabyte of ROM space and an additional 512 kB of RAM, Satellaview allowed players to download games, maga ...

. A ''Picross'' minigame was also planned to be included in ''

Pokémon Gold and Silver and are 1999 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. They are the first installments in the second generation of the ''Pokémon'' video game series. They were released in Japan in ...

'' during its development, although that idea was scrapped. ''

Picross DS is a puzzle video game developed by Jupiter and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the second game in the '' Picross'' series to be released by Nintendo in Europe and North America after ''Mario's Picro ...

'' was the first ''Picross'' title in 12 years to be released internationally, launching on the Nintendo DS in 2007. Shortly thereafter, HAL Laboratory, known for the

Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...

series, developed ''

Picross 3D ''Picross 3D'', known in Japan as , is a puzzle video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in March 2009, in Europe in March 2010, and in North America in May 2010. It uses simi ...

'' for the Nintendo DS. The game used similar mechanics to traditional ''Picross'' but adapted them to a three-dimensional environment. The sequel, '' Picross 3D: Round 2'', was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2015. After unsuccessfully pitching a ''Picross DS'' sequel to Nintendo for the 3DS, Jupiter opted to self-publish ''Picross'' games under a licensing deal. They released nine titles and many spin-offs in the ''

'' series for the Nintendo 3DS. Jupiter continues to self-publish ''Picross'' games on the Nintendo Switch, releasing nine titles and various spin-offs in the ''

'' series.

Games

Cancelled

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Video games, Japan, 1990s Picross (video game series) Nonograms Video game franchises Nintendo franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1995