Nihon Bussan Co. Ltd. (Nichibutsu)

Nihon Bussan Co. Ltd. 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, with adult video games (mainly strip mahjong arcade games) coming under the Sphinx brand. 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. (Wikipedia)

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 concluded 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 copy of the game Breakout called Table Attacker. The same year, Nihon Bussan settled with Taito by paying a license fee to launch a copy 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 the 1980 original works Moon Cresta and Crazy Climber. The same year, the company issued brochures that listed both Moon Base and Moon Alien as original works of Nihon Bussan.

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. 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. Sales and production of software for the MSX would follow in 1988. 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, USA.
• 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. The home video game console "My Vision" is released, and software begins to be supplied for it.
• 1984 - Capital increases to 36 million yen.
• 1985 - Capital increases to 50 million yen.
• 1991 - Tokyo office is moved to Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
• 1992 - Company withdraws from the Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association.
• 2001 - Final home video game, "Virtual Kyoutei 21," is released.
• 2005 - Final arcade game, "Koi Suru Cosplay Akihabara" is released.
• 2007 - The company withdraws from the game development business. They then become an intellectual property rights management business.
• 2009 - Entered D4 Enterprise's Project EGG, a retro game republishing/distribution service. Business is suspended.
• 2014 - Company's copyright is transferred to Hamster Corporation.