is a construction-oriented strategy video game that was released for the Super Famicom, NEC PC-9801, Sharp X68000 and

FM Towns The is a Japanese personal computer, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. ...

Summary

The traditional definition of a leading company is a corporation that currently dominates the "corporate wars" against their competitors. Its

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

s are considered by most people to be winning the "

rat race A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, in vain. It may also refer to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or routinely. The term is ...

". Both versions of this game were released only in the Japanese market, but the NEC PC-9801 version has sharper

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...

and the ability to use a

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

. Instead of abstract colors (to depict control of each square of the board), buildings are used to depict a typical Japanese residential neighborhood. A theme park is shown on an island in the PC-9801 version to depict recreational opportunities while the interior of the corporate headquarters is seen in the Sharp X68000 version. The game challenges young people to create their own business empire by researching and marketing better VHS machines for the Japanese consumers. In both versions of the game, the player is introduced to jazzy instrumental song being played in the background while

neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

pictures of various people fly across the screen. As of 2021, there has been no attempt to produce an English language version for this game either through official channels or through unofficial emulator translator groups. This game is considered to be in Japanese for the full duration of the game, making literacy skills in Japanese mandatory. Only the brand names themselves use ASCII letters; all other words use the

Japanese alphabet The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

. There are only two time periods in the game and jazz music plays throughout the entire game. The player can either start in the 1970s when

VCRs A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordin ...

were beginning to be researched in Japan or in the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

when VHS (and video cassette recorders) were beginning to come of age. Up to eight buildings can be constructed on the corporation's property to build and research new technology, but three buildings are already established at the start of the game. Each product the player manufactures has a separate profit chart. When an older model goes down in profits, the player should research and manufacture a newer one (and discontinue the older one) and make more money from willing Japanese customers. It is the job of the player to try to keep his chosen corporation profitable by creating new VHS machines while making sure that people still spend money on the ones being made. If they go down to zero or less, then the company goes bankrupt. At this point, the player loses the game. When a company goes bankrupt, a television news screen appears with the English word " DISSOLVED" on the picture caption.

References

External links

NEC PC9801 images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leading Company 1992 video games Business simulation games Japan-exclusive video games Koei games NEC PC-9801 games X68000 games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games FM Towns games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in the 1970s Video games set in the 1980s Video games set in the 1990s Video games set in Japan Multiplayer and single-player video games