Simple 2000 Series

The series is a line of budget-priced video games published by Japanese company D3 Publisher, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Entertainment. Games in the series have been developed by several different companies, including Sandlot, Success, Irem, and Taito (primarily for re-releases of their arcade ports, such as ''RC de Go!''). It was introduced in 1998 for the PlayStation, and has been released for platforms such as the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones. The number in a series name indicates the price point of the games in the series; for instance, a "Simple 2000" series game would cost 2000 yen. Most of the games were developed specifically for the line, but it also included budget-priced re-releases of previously released games.

Early ''Simple'' games were generic interpretations of other common video game themes, including tennis, racing, and video board games such as mahjong. Beginning with the PlayStation 2, ''Simple'' games began using larger genres such as scrolling shooters and role-playing games, in addition to original ideas and concepts. As the games were sold at a low price point and required little development time, developers were able to experiment with gameplay concepts and mechanics. A few entries in the series were released outside Japan by other companies without the brand. After releasing two ''Simple'' games for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, D3 has chosen to remove the ''Simple'' name from its budget titles for systems such as the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. In 2022, D3Publisher announced that the Simple Series brand will return for the Nintendo Switch.

The ''Simple'' series and several of its games, including ''Demolition Girl'', ''The Maid Clothes and Machine Gun'', '' Onechanbara'' and the ''Earth Defense Force'' series, have garnered notoriety outside Japan for their usually outlandish and bizarre nature. Publications have identified the series as being of considerably better quality than similar budget title ranges, with gameplay ideas they consider unique and interesting. As of 2007, the ''Simple'' series has sold over 20 million units across all platforms.

Riho Futaba

is a character and idol/gravure mascot for the ''Simple'' series created by D3. She's a young attractive female with light skin, short brown wavy hair, green colored eyes, and a curvaceous figure with a large bust standing at average height. She's usually clad in a blue or aqua bikini that accentuates her figure. She also appears in different outfits depending on which game she's featured in. She first made gaming debut in ''Love Songs♪ Idol ga Classmate'' in 2001 and had made multiple appearances in many of D3 and ''Simple'' games as a selectable or unlockable character including titles such as ''Demolition Girl'' (her most infamous title), the '' Dream Club'' series, '' Zombie Hunters'' and ''Zombie Hunters 2'' from the ''OneeChanbara'' series, '' Earth Defense Force: World Brothers'', ''Heart Beat Boxing'', and ''All-Star Fighters'' to name a few out of many more games she's been in. In all of her appearances with voice acting she's voiced by Yuko Goto.

She also has a younger sister, Makoto Futaba, whom she shares some of her features with except her sister has shorter darker straight hair with a petite build. She also appeared in ''Zombie Hunters'', ''Zombie Hunters 2'', and ''All-Star Fighters''.

Development

D3 Publisher employs a number of external developers for the series, some of the most prolific being Tamsoft (of ''Battle Arena Toshinden'' fame) and HuneX - most are smaller or little-known companies, although several games have been licensed from Taito for a (usually enhanced) re-release.

Certain ''Simple'' series titles have attracted considerable interest outside Japan for various reasons, either gameplay quality or a particularly unique idea - these include ''The OneeChanbara'' and its sequels, as well as Sandlot's ''Monster Attack'' and ''Global Defence Force'', which were based on their Gigantic Drive engine and were of considerably higher quality than most games in the series. Both of these series have had sequels for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console, although they were originally labelled under an "X" moniker ('' OneChanbara X'' and '' Earth Defense Force X'') rather than a "Simple" one.

Localization

Much of the titles in the ''Simple'' series have been localized and released outside of Japan as budget titles; normally with different titles and new cover art.

Many of the ''Simple 1500'' titles on the PlayStation were commonly released in the North American market under Agetec's A1 Games label or Mud Duck Productions, while Midas Interactive Entertainment published titles in Europe.

The ''Simple 2000'' series on the PlayStation 2 saw more titles released in Europe, commonly published through Midas Interactive Entertainment, Agetec Europe or 505 GameStreet. In 2005, when D3 Publisher opened up their European offices, they began to publish select titles themselves under the "Essential Games" label. Compared to Europe, very few titles came to North America, the only ones being released were ''The Bass Fishing'' (as ''Fisherman's Bass Club''), ''The Genshijin'' (as ''The Adventures of Darwin'') and ''OneChanbara''.

''The Party Game'' for the Wii and ''The Family Party'' for the Wii U were localized internationally as ''Family Party: 30 Great Games'' and '' Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade'' respectively.

See also

* Success, another Japanese publisher whose ''SuperLite'' series is similar to D3's ''Simple series''.
* ''Sega Ages'', a Sega franchise which the ''Sega Ages 2500'' series is also similar to this series.

Notes

References

External links

D3 Publisher

{{Bandai Namco franchises

Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1998
Video games developed in Japan