(also known by the abbreviated name ''Momotetsu'') is a long-running

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

-style video game series in Japan; in which players travel by

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

, ship, and airplane; attempting to acquire wealth through business transactions buying properties; and dealing with rival entrepreneurs and nemeses such as the . The game mechanics are often compared to the board games sugoroku and

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

. Started in 1988, the series was initially produced by

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo ...

. The rights to the series are now owned by

Konami Corporation , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

, who absorbed Hudson in 2012. This series is spin-off from another video game series by

, ''

Momotaro Densetsu , also known by the abbreviated name ''Momoden'', is a role-playing video game series in Japan featuring the character from Japanese folklore, as well as other Japanese folklore characters such as Kintarō, Urashima Tarō, and Princess Kaguya (fr ...

''. The project supervisor for the series is

Akira Sakuma (also known by the abbreviated name ''Momotetsu'') is a long-running board game-style video game series in Japan; in which players travel by rail, ship, and airplane; attempting to acquire wealth through business transactions buying properties; a ...

, with illustration by and main music production by Kazuyuki Sekiguchi of

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (dr ...

. In some works, and (composer of " Makafushigi Adventure!", opening theme song of the

Dragon Ball anime is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It is an adaptation of the first 194 chapters of the manga of the same name created by Akira Toriyama, which were published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995. The a ...

) also participate in music production. From 2004, for many years promotional marketing for the series featured the pairing of comedian Tomonori Jinnai and

gravure idol A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thou ...

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as " ...

Chinatsu Wakatsuki is a Japanese variety ''tarento'' and former gravure idol. Her real name was before she got married. She is represented with Platinum Production is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 2000 and focuses ...

. In June 2015, creator Akira Sakuma stated "I'm announcing here that Momotaro Dentetsu is officially done. Ishikawa at Konami squelched everything." However, in July 2015, Konami lends the license to

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

for an unspecified amount of yen. After 7 years of no release, a new version of the game was released, exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS. Momotaro Dentetsu II released in the US on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini.

Titles

Console games

Its console games are as follows: # (

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

: 1988-12-02) # (

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

: 1989-09-15,

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

: 1991-03-08, Famicom: 1992-03-20) # (PC Engine: 1991-12-20,

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

: 1992-08-07, Game Boy: 1994-02-18) # (Super Famicom: 1994-12-09) #* (

Sega Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

: 1995-12-15ハドソンゲームナビ
/ref>) # (Super Famicom: 1995-12-08) # (Super Famicom: 1996-12-06) # (

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

: 1997-12-23) # (Game Boy: 1998-07-31) # (PlayStation: 1999-12-16) # (

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

: 2001-12-13) #'' Momotaro Dentetsu 11: Black Bombee Arrives'' (PlayStation 2 &

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

: 2002-12-05) #'' Momotaro Dentetsu 12: All Aboard for Western Japan!'' (PlayStation 2 & GameCube: 2003-12-11) # - (PlayStation 2: 2004-11-18) # (

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 ...

: 2005-06-30) # (PlayStation 2: 2005-12-08) # (PlayStation 2: 2006-12-07,

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 ...

: 2007-07-19) #* (

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

: 2007-12-06) # (

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

: 2007-04-26) # (

: 2008-12-18) # (

: 2009-11-26) # (

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

: 2010-07-15) # (

:2010-12-02) #''Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!!'' (

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

: 2016-12-22) #''Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa Mo Teiban!'' (

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

: 2020)

Feature phone games

Hudson
* (

i-mode NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and the packet- ...

: 2005-02-07,

EZweb au, or au by KDDI, is a Japanese mobile phone operator. au is a brand marketed by KDDI in the main islands of Japan and by Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa for their mobile cellular services. au is the second-largest wireless carrier in Japan, wit ...

: 2006-01-26, : 2007-04-02) * (i-mode: 2005-11-01, EZweb: 2006-08-10, Yahoo! Keitai: 2007-04-02) ** (i-mode: 2007-01-04, EZweb: 2008-04-03) * (i-mode: 2006-04-01, EZweb: 2007-02-01, Yahoo! Keitai: 2007-09-03) ** (i-mode: 2007-07-01) ** (i-mode: 2009-08-03) * (i-mode: 2006-11-01, Yahoo! Keitai: 2007-09-03, EZweb: 2007-09-06) * (i-mode: 2007-05-01, EZweb: 2008-01-31, Yahoo! Keitai: 2008-02-01) * (i-mode: 2007-11-01, Yahoo! Keitai: 2008-09-01, EZweb: 2008-09-04) ** (i-mode: 2008-01-04) * (i-mode: 2008-06-01, Yahoo! Keitai: 2009-02-02, EZweb: 2009-02-12) * (i-mode: 2009-02-01) * (i-mode: 2009-09-01) * (i-mode: 2010-03-01) * (i-mode:2010-11-01) * (i-mode:2011-05-01) * (i-mode:2012-02-01)

iOS games

* (iPhone/iPod touch: 2011-02-17)

Sales and popularity

The series is popular in Japan.Momotaro Dentetsu 7 sold over 500,000 copies in Japan. Total shipments exceeded 12 million units by 2011. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series, Hudson collaborated with the financially troubled Chōshi Electric Railway Line, operating a train on the railway decorated with a ''Momotaro Dentetsu'' motif. Opening on April 25, 2007, the train ran until its third anniversary. In June 2009, two ''Momotetsu''-themed restaurants opened at Japanese railway stations: one at

Haijima Station is an interchange passenger railway station located in the city of Akishima, Tokyo, Japan, jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Seibu Railway. The station is also a freight depot for the Japa ...

, and another at Kaminagaya Station.

References

External links

Official website
{{Konami franchises Digital board games Hudson Soft games Konami franchises Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games Video games based on Japanese mythology Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1988 Wii Wi-Fi games