''International Karate'' is a

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

developed and published by System 3 for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

in 1985 and ported to various home computers over the following years. In the United States it was published by

Epyx Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before rena ...

in 1986 as ''World Karate Championship''. It was the first European-developed game to become a major hit in the United States, where it sold over 1.5 million copies. However, it drew controversy for its similarities to ''

Karate Champ ''Karate Champ'', known in Japan as , is a 1984 arcade fighting game developed by Technōs Japan (which would later developing 1995 Neo Geo titles ''Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' with SNK) and released by Data East. A variety of moves can be perform ...

'' (1984), which led to

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...

filing a lawsuit against Epyx. ''

International Karate + ''International Karate +'', stylized as ''IK+'', is a fighting game written by Archer Maclean and published in 1987 by System 3 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. It is a successor to ''International Karate'' (1985). Activision ...

'', a successor which expanded the gameplay, was released in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Gameplay

The core game is a two-dimensional, one-on-one,

versus fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

. Players take on the roles of martial artists competing in a

kumite Kumite ( ja, 組手, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a partic ...

tournament. Rather than wearing down an opponent's health, the goal is instead to score single solid hits. After each hit, combat stops and both combatants are returned to their starting positions. Depending on how well players hit their opponent, they score either a half-point or a full point. Matches can be quite brief, as only two full points are required to win, and a point can be quickly scored just seconds after a round begins. In single-player mode, successive opponents increase in difficulty from novice white belts to master black belts. Play continues as long as the player continues to win matches. Between fights, bonus mini-games focusing on rhythm and timing appear, including one in which the player must break a number of stacked boards using the fighter's head. As in newer games in the genre, starting specifically with ''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'', the fights take place against a variety of backdrops (eight in total) representing different locations in the world: the

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

(Tokyo, Japan), the

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

(Sydney, Australia), the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

(New York, USA), the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

(Beijing, China), the Christ the Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

(London, England), the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

(Athens, Greece), and the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...

(Cairo, Egypt). The title utilizes the standard one-button joystick, allowing players to execute a variety of

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

techniques. Unlike modern 2D fighting games, players do not turn around if the opponent is behind them and must instead execute one of three "turn-around" maneuvers to change direction.

Ports

Archer Maclean, initially only employed by System 3 to create graphics routines when the original programmer and artist walked out, developed the Commodore 64 version from scratch as he had no interest in porting the original ZX Spectrum version. Another port exists for the MSX platform. A version for the

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

home computer was created by Andromeda Software and released in 1986. This version featured the most advanced graphics of all versions as the

16 bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

hardware supported more colors and larger sprites. The port to

IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

s, published the same year, uses 4-color CGA graphics.

Lawsuit

After the release of ''World Karate Championship'' in the US in late April 1986, Epyx was sued by video game publisher

for infringement of copyright, trademark, and trade dress. The dispute was about similarities to the 1984

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

'' and its home computer adaptations published in 1985. ''International Karate'' used the same colored fighters and had the same points system. The initial trial at the

District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the United States federal courts, federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: ...

began on 28 October 1986. In his decision of 28 January 1987, the court dismissed the allegations of trademark and trade dress infringement but found Epyx guilty of infringing upon Data East USA's copyright on ''Karate Champ''. Data East was granted a permanent injunction against Epyx, Inc., and an impoundment was also ordered to restrain Epyx from selling or distributing ''World Karate Championship'', and Epyx was also required to recall all copies of the game from customers and distributors. The decision was appealed the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

, who in November 1988 reversed the decision, stating that while the game was similar, it was not identical and that one game company can not monopolize one entire sport.''Data East v. Epyx''
862 F. 2d 204, 9 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1322
(9th Cir. 1988).

Reception

''World Karate Championship'' was a commercial success in the United States, where it became the first European-developed game to top the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' software charts. The game went on to sell over 1.5 million copies in the United States. Rick Teverbaugh reviewed the game for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'', and wrote that Epyx continued to take a strong stand in the foreground of the arcade sports programs with ''World Karate Championship''.

Charles Ardai Charles Ardai (born 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessperson, and writer of award winning crime fiction and mysteries. He is founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a line of pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is also an early employe ...

called the game "an original ''Karate Champ'' clone, but it's the best one available ... Great scenery adds to the ambience". ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' reviewed the ZX Spectrum version in 1990, giving it a 74% score. In a 2006 retrospective of the genre, ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'' gave the game an 86% rating, referring to it as an "excellent" game that was overshadowed by the earlier release of ''

The Way of the Exploding Fist ''The Way of the Exploding Fist'' is a 1985 fighting game based on Japanese martial arts developed by Beam Software, by a team consisting of Gregg Barnett, Bruce Bayley, Neil Brennan and David Johnston. Originally developed on the Commodore 64 ...

''.

Legacy

In 2000, a

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

version, created without input from Archer Maclean, was released as ''International Karate 2000''. It sported some enhancements and was the basis for ''International Karate Advanced'' released in 2001 for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

. The C64 version saw re-releases in 2004 as a title on the

C64 Direct-to-TV The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick (modeled after the mid-1980s Competition Pro joystick), with 30 built-in games. The design is similar to the Atari ...

, and in 2008 on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...

''International Karate +''

'', a successor which expanded the gameplay, was released in 1987.

References

External links

* * {{WoS game, id=0002502 1985 video games Amstrad CPC games Atari 8-bit family games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Game Boy Color games Karate video games MSX games Multiplayer and single-player video games Fighting games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Virtual Console games ZX Spectrum games Video games involved in plagiarism controversies Video games scored by Rob Hubbard Video games set in Australia Video games set in Brazil Video games set in China Video games set in Egypt Video games set in Greece Video games set in London Video games set in New York City Video games set in Tokyo Epyx games System 3 (company) games