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Natsume Atari

This article is about the Japanese video game company. For the American company, see Natsume Inc.

Natsume Atari Co., Ltd. (Japanese: ナツメアタリ株式会社), formerly Natsume Co., Ltd. (Japanese: ナツメ株式会社) from 1987 to 2013, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Natsume Atari is based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan and is known for developing licensed titles and mobile games.

Natsume Atari Co., Ltd.
Company typePrivate K.K.
IndustryVideo game
Founded20 October 1987; 37 years ago (1987-10-20)
HeadquartersShinjuku, Tokyo, Japan[1]
Key people
Takashi Matsumoto (CEO, Natsume-Atari)
ProductsLufia
Pocky & Rocky
Wild Guns
Revenue719,000,000 yen Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
150[1]
Websitewww.natsumeatari.co.jp

The company was founded as Natsume Co., Ltd. in 1987. In 1995, its American division Natsume Inc. split to become an independent company. The name "Natsume" was retained by both companies in their respective countries. In 2013, Natsume Co., Ltd. renamed itself Natsume Atari following a merger with its subsidiary Atari Inc. (a pachinko company, not to be confused with the American game company) that year.[2] Since 2016, Natsume Atari's division Tengo Project has developed modern remakes to classic video games.

Products

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During the NES and SNES era, Natsume Atari developed numerous titles, often licensed, such as Power Rangers. Natsume Inc published a wide range of titles, including those developed by Natsume Co. Ltd., such as S.C.A.T., Wild Guns and Shadow of the Ninja. Natsume Atari also released the SNES game Pocky & Rocky as well as Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. Natsume Atari had also developed the Medarot games up until the end of the GBA era, and Natsume Inc. published some of them outside of Japan.

A sizeable amount of Natsume Atari's products were video games it developed for other publishers. Some of its biggest clients over the years included Imagineer, Bandai, THQ and Taito. Most of Natsume Atari's video games, as a sub-contractor, were original titles, but it occasionally developed some ports as well. Taito, in particular, outsourced the development of three of its Master System ports to Natsume Co., Ltd.: Sagaia, Renegade and Special Criminal Investigation.[3]

Corporate divisions

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Natsume Co., Ltd. was founded in Japan on October 20, 1987.[1] It became the parent company of Natsume Inc., founded in May 1988. Natsume Inc. started publishing video games in 1990.[4] By 1995, Natsume Inc. had broken away into its own company and is separately owned and operated.[5]

In October 2002, Natsume Co., Ltd. founded the pachinko company Atari Inc. (not to be confused with the American game company) in Osaka, which specialized in developing slot and pinball machines. On May 6, 2005, Natsume Solution began operation in Shinjuku. This division specializes on web site development, providing mobile solutions/services and developing web systems. On March 1, 2006, Natsume Solution was merged with Evolve.

Natsume Co., Ltd. changed its name to Natsume Atari in October 2013, and it is not directly connected to Natsume Inc. or its subsidiary Natsume Inc. Japan.[6] Despite their corporate split off, Natsume Atari and Natsume Inc. have continued to collaborate on a number of occasions.[7][8]

Within Natsume Atari exists Tengo Project, an internal development team established as early as 2008 for the production of Omega Five, which has shifted its focus to modern revivals of classic video games.[9] Composed of veteran developers with an average age of 54 (as of 2022), its permanent members are composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, designer Shunichi Taniguchi, and programmer Toshiyasu Miyabe.[10] Its works include Wild Guns Reloaded, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors and Pocky & Rocky Reshrined.

Works

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Pre-split Natsume

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These are games produced while Natsume Inc., was still operating as a subsidiary of Natsume Co., Ltd. Natsume Inc. would publish only Natsume Co., Ltd.'s games until becoming independent in the mid-90s.

Year Title Publisher(s) Platform(s) Details Ref.
1988 Tōhōken Bunroku Natsume NES Japan only [11]
1989 Idol Hakkenden Towa Chiki NES Japan only
Mitsume ga Tooru: The Three-Eyed One Comes Here Natsume MSX Japan only
Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements Natsume/Taito NES
Abadox: The Deadly Inner War Natsume/Milton Bradley NES
1990 Amazing Penguin Natsume Game Boy
Power Blade Taito NES Co-developed with Taito
Dragon Fighter Towa Chiki/SOFEL NES
S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team Natsume/Infogrames NES
Shadow of the Ninja Natsume/Taito NES
1991 Chōjin Sentai Jetman Angel NES Japan only
Ninja Gaiden Shadow Tecmo Game Boy
Spanky's Quest Taito (GB), Natsume (SNES) Game Boy, SNES
Tail 'Gator VAP/Natsume Game Boy
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance Pony Canyon NES
Shatterhand Angel/Jaleco NES
Chaos World Natsume NES Japan only
1992 The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper! Taito/Mattel NES
Mitsume ga Tōru Tomy NES Japan only
Pocky & Rocky Natsume SNES
Power Blade 2 Taito NES Co-developed with Taito
Sagaia Sega[a] Master System Europe and Brazil only; based on the Sega Genesis port
Special Criminal Investigation Sega[a] Master System Europe and Brazil only
1993 Renegade Sega[a] Master System Europe, Brazil and Australia only
Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling Masaya SNES Japan only
Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling Dash: Sekai Saikyō Tag Masaya SNES Updated version; Japan only
Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body Banalex SNES Japan only
1994 Pocky & Rocky 2 Natsume/Ocean Software SNES
Wild Guns Natsume/Titus Software SNES
Natsume Championship Wrestling Natsume SNES Heavily based on Zen-Nippon Wrestling Dash
The Ninja Warriors Taito/Titus SNES
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Bandai SNES

Natsume Atari / Natsume Co., Ltd.

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Natsume Atari, formerly Natsume Co., Ltd, has mostly acted as a developer since splitting from Natsume Inc. - although it has also published some games, notably in the Medarot series.

Year Title Publisher(s) Platform(s) Details Ref.
1995 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie Bandai SNES
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition Bandai SNES
1996 Shin Kidō Senki Gundam Wing: Endless Duel Bandai SNES Japan only
Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers Bandai SNES
1997 Gekisō Sentai Carranger: Zenkai! Racer Senshi Bandai SNES Japan only
Medarot: Kuwagata Version Imagineer Game Boy
Medarot: Kabuto Version Imagineer Game Boy
1998 Medarot: Parts Collection Imagineer Game Boy
1999 Medarot: Parts Collection 2 Imagineer Game Boy
WWF WrestleMania 2000 THQ/Asmik Ace Game Boy Color
Hole in One Golf Natsume Inc. Game Boy Color
2000 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Activision Game Boy Color
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 Activision Game Boy Color
Power Rangers Lightspeed Recue THQ Game Boy Color
Dragon Dance Crave Entertainment Game Boy Color [12]
Keitai Denjū Telefang Smilesoft Game Boy Color Japan only
2001 Croc 2 THQ Game Boy Color
Action Man: Search for Base X THQ Game Boy Color
Power Rangers Time Force THQ Game Boy Color
Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision O2 Game Boy Advance
WWF Road to WrestleMania THQ Game Boy Advance
Monsters, Inc. THQ Game Boy Advance
2002 Keitai Denjū Telefang II Smilesoft Game Boy Advance Japan only
Medabots AX Natsume Inc. Game Boy Advance
Medabots Imagineer Game Boy Advance
Power Rangers Wild Force THQ Game Boy Advance
WWE Road to WrestleMania X8 THQ Game Boy Advance
2003 Medabots Infinity Natsume Inc. GameCube
Power Rangers Ninja Storm THQ Game Boy Advance
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrath of the Darkhul King THQ Game Boy Advance
2004 Gundam SEED: Battle Assault Bandai Game Boy Advance
WWE Survivor Series THQ Game Boy Advance
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder THQ Game Boy Advance
2005 Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy Bandai/Destineer/Empire Interactive Nintendo DS
Power Rangers S.P.D. THQ Game Boy Advance
2006 Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island THQ Nintendo DS
Kirby: Squeak Squad Nintendo Nintendo DS Co-developed with Flagship and HAL Laboratory
2007 Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots THQ Nintendo DS
2008 SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom Play THQ Nintendo DS
2009 Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight D3 Publisher Nintendo DS
2011 Nikoli's Pencil Puzzle Hudson Soft Nintendo 3DS
2014 Godzilla Bandai Namco Games PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
2017 Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time Bandai Namco Entertainment PlayStation 4, Windows
2018 The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia Bandai Namco Games PlayStation 4
2020 Kamen Rider: Memory of Heroez Bandai Namco Entertainment Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
2022 Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising 505 Games Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Assistance by Rabbit & Bear Studios [13]
2024 Penny Blood: Hellbound Yukikaze PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S Co-developed with Studio Wildrose and Yukikaze
Reynatis FuRyu/NIS America Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows Co-developed with FuRyu [14]

Tengo Project

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Year Title Publisher(s) Platform(s) Details Ref.
2008 Omega Five Hudson Soft Xbox 360
2016 Wild Guns Reloaded Natsume Co. (JP), Natsume Inc. (WW) PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch Based on Wild Guns (1994)
2019 The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors Taito (JP and PC), ININ Games (WW) Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows Based on The Ninja Warriors (1994)
2022 Pocky & Rocky Reshrined Taito (JP), Natsume Inc. (WW), Natsume Atari (PC), ININ Games (Xbox) Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox Series X/S Based on Pocky & Rocky (1992)
2024 Shadow of the Ninja Reborn Natsume Atari (JP), ININ Games (WW) Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S Based on Shadow of the Ninja (1990)

Note

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  1. ^ a b c Published by Sega but subcontracted to Natsume by Taito.

References

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  1. ^ a b c INC., NATSUME ATARI (December 18, 2017). "ゲーム遊技機開発のナツメアタリ株式会社｜ナツメアタリ株式会社". ナツメアタリ株式会社.
  2. ^ INC., NATSUME ATARI (December 18, 2017). "ゲーム遊技機開発のナツメアタリ株式会社｜ナツメアタリ株式会社". ナツメアタリ株式会社.
  3. ^ "サービス終了のお知らせ".
  4. ^ "Natsume - Serious Fun!". March 3, 2005. Archived from the original on March 3, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Fragments of Silicon - Live & Recorded Episodes". www.talkshoe.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  6. ^ "WIKIPEDIA: BAD SOURCE OF INFO". CeeCee's Musings. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  7. ^ "[Industry Interviews] Taka Maekawa from Natsume Inc". November 22, 2017.
  8. ^ The Classic SNES Shooter Comes to PlayStation 4 This Fall
  9. ^ "Tengo Project". Gematsu. October 18, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  10. ^ "TENGO PROJECT - About". Natsume Atari. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  11. ^ "Touhou Kenbun Roku - The Cutting Room Floor". tcrf.net.
  12. ^ "Dragon Dance". IGN. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (April 12, 2022). "Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising launches May 10". Gematsu. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Romano, Sal (February 21, 2024). "FuRyu and Natsume Atari announce Shibuya-set action RPG REYNATIS for PS5, PS4, and Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
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