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 (日物、ニチブツ), with adult video games (mainly strip

mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-pla ...

arcade games) coming under the Sphinx (スフィンクス) brand.Sphinx also released the game in the name of Nihon Bussan and it is listed on the home page
Mahjong Hanafuda product list
The company used a horned owl for its official logo. In March 2014, Nihon Bussan sold its video game library to

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 200 titles are distri ...

due to the decision of original founder Sueharu Torii to retire. The company was disbanded on December 15, 2015.

History

The company's founder Sueharu Torii established Nihon Bussan in October 1970 in

Kita-ku, Osaka is one of 24 wards of Osaka in Japan. Incidents and accidents 2021 Osaka building fire Notable locations Kita-ku, particularly the Umeda area surrounding Osaka Station, is one of the main commercial centers of Osaka. Kita-ku is also a fin ...

. They begin their activities by mainly selling

arcade machine An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

s. In 1972, the company was incorporated as Nihon Bussan Co., Ltd with a capital of 3 million yen. In 1976, Nihon Bussan made its debut as a manufacturer to the

Amusement Machine Show The Japan Amusement Expo (JAEPO) is an annual trade fair for amusement arcade products, such as arcade games, redemption games, amusement rides, vending machines, and change machines. The event is hosted one weekend per year in the Greater T ...

and opened a Tokyo office in 1978. 1978 also saw Nihon Bussan entering the

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 vi ...

market, when they debuted with a copy of the game '' Breakout'' called ''Table Attacker''. The same year, Nihon Bussan settled with

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...

by paying a license fee to launch a copy of ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...

'' titled ''Moon Base''. Also in 1979, a business alliance was formed with

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiun ...

for a clone of ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, wh ...

'' 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 '' Moon Cresta'' and ''

Crazy Climber is a vertical scrolling arcade climbing game produced by Nichibutsu ( Nihon Bussan Co. Ltd.) and released in 1980 worldwide. In North America, the game was also released by Taito America. It was later released by UA Ltd. in 1982 for the Emerson ...

''. In 1983, the company developed ''Jangou Night'' which features the industry's first undressing elements and established the genre of strip

games. In 1984, Nihon Bussan developed ''Tube Panic'', the industry's first board game equipped with a rotation feature.''Shooting Game Side'' Volume 10 (September 26, 2014, Japanese)
From the mid-1980s, Nihon Bussan released ''

Terra Cresta is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game released by Nichibutsu in 1985. The player controls a flying craft to destroy the Mandler army before they destroy all of humanity. Gameplay involves shooting enemies and collecting different ...

'' 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 The is a home video game console developed by Nichibutsu and released in Japan in 1983. The system was dedicated solely to playing video versions of popular board games Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are ...

, and in 1986 released their first NES title, ''

MagMax is an arcade game which was developed by Nihon Bussan and released in 1985 under its brand Nichibutsu. A horizontal scrolling shooter, players control the title hover ship in an attempt to completely construct the ship into a giant robot and to ...

'', followed by the MSX in 1989; the same year also saw the release of the company's last mainstream arcade game, ''Sky Robo'' (''Tatakae! Big Fighter'' in Japan) before switching to exclusively produce strip mahjong titles for that market; in 1992, the company left JAMMA after the arcade industry began showing concerns about increasingly risque material in their strip mahjong games. ��雀ゲームの審査に不満を示した日本物産の退会で議論」, ''Game Machine'' issue 420 (1992), p. 3 (Japanese)/ref> In 1990, Nihon Bussan released console-first titles for the

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 ...

such as ''

F1 Circus is a series of Formula One-based racing video games developed and published by Nichibutsu starting on the PC Engine in 1990. Games The following is a list of games released in the series. None of the series was released outside Japan. The ini ...

'' which became a major hit. During the height of the F1 Circus series, Nihon Bussan sponsored

Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Mor ...

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 The Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) was an organization of the chassis builders (constructors) who design and build the cars that race in the FIA Formula One World Championship. It evolved from the earlier ''Formula 1 Constructors ...

. Nihon Bussan began releasing games for the

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

in 1991,

SNES 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 Eu ...

in 1992,

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

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 di ...

in 1995 and for the

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

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 is a Japanese video game publisher currently specializing in content delivery services like Project EGG over the Internet. Some of the titles that have been re-released include many of Compile's titles, like the '' Madō Monogatari'' games. The ...

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 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 Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

, 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 Rödermark is a town in the Offenbach (district), Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, southeast of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and northeast of Darmstadt. Geography Location The town ...

, Offenbach,

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

, 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. Nichibutsu also releases their only console,

. * 1984 – Capital increases to 36 million yen. * 1985 – Capital increases to 50 million yen. * 1989 – Nihon Bussan's last mainstream arcade game, ''Sky Robo'' / ''Tatakae! Big Fighter'', is released. * 1991 – The company's Tokyo office is moved to Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo. * 1992 – Nihon Bussan withdraws from the Japan Amusement Machinery Manufacturers Association over a dispute regarding the risque content in their mahjong games. * 2001 – Nihon Bussan's last home video game, ''Virtual Kyoutei 21'', is released. * 2005 – Nihon Bussan's last arcade game (overall), ''Koi Suru Cosplay Akihabara'' is released. * 2007 – The company ends development of video games, while continuing to oversee the rights to their games. * 2009 – Nihon Bussan joins D4 Enterprise's Project EGG, a retro game republishing/distribution service. * 2014 – Nihon Bussan sells the rights to their games to

and closes the company.

List of Nihon Bussan games

Paddle game

*1978 Table Attacker (copy of Breakout) *1978 Table Attacker Guard (copy of Breakout) *1978 Table Attacker Special (copy of Breakout) *1978 Table Attacker Black (copy of Breakout) *1978 Table Bonpa (copy of

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

) *1979 Attacker Ace (copy of Breakout) *1979 Bonpa (copy of Circus)

Shooter

*1978 Moon Base (copy of

) *1978 Moon Base Spector (copy of Space Invaders Color version) *1978 Moon Base Zeta *1979 Super Moon Base *1980 Moon Alien (copy of

) *1980 Moon Alien 2 *1980 Moon Cresta *1980 Moon Alpha *1980 Moon Raker *1980 Moon Quasar *1981 Moon Shuttle *1984

Seicross ''Seicross'', known as in Japan, is a shooter arcade game developed and released by Nichibutsu in Japan and North America. Despite the original arcade game being titled ''Sector Zone'', Nichibutsu later ported it to the Famicom as . This port ...

*1984 Tube Panic *1985

*1985

*1986 UFO Robo Dangar *1986 Soldier Girl Amazon (a.k.a. ''Sei Senshi Amatelass'') *1986 Ninja Emaki (a.k.a. ''Youma Ninpou Cho'') *1987 Sky Fox (a.k.a. ''Exerizer'') *1987 Terra Force *1987 Legion *1988 Formation Armed F *1989 Sky Robo (a.k.a. ''Tatakae! Big Fighter'') *1992 Terra Cresta 2 *1997 Terra Cresta 3D

Action

*1980 ''

'' *1981 ''

Frisky Tom ''Frisky Tom'' is a 1981 arcade video game developed by Jorudan and published by Nichibutsu. In this game, the player assumes the role of a plumber, named Tom, who is tasked with protecting and maintaining a network of plumbing pipes that route wa ...

'' *1982 ''Wiping'' (also known as "Rug Rats") *1983 ''Dacholer'' (''Kick Boy'') *1983 ''Skelagon'' (''SF-X'') *1984 ''Roller Jammer'' *1984 ''

Dynamic Ski ''Dynamic Ski'' is a skiing arcade video game released by Taiyo System and Nichibutsu 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 g ...

'' *1985 ''Cop01'' *1985 ''

Galivan ''Cosmo Police Galivan'' (コスモポリスギャリバン ''Kosumoporisu Gyariban''), is a single-player, shoot-em-up arcade video game developed and released worldwide by Nichibutsu. The game is inspired by the Japanese tokusatsu shows '' S ...

'' (also known as "Cosmo Police Galivan") *1986 ''Mighty Guy'' *1987 '' Booby Kids'' (a.k.a. ''Kid no HORE HORE Dai Sakusen'') *1987 ''Samurai Assassin'' (a.k.a. ''Kozure Ōkami'') *1988 '' Crazy Climber 2'' *1990 '' Die Hard'' (PC Engine version developed for Pack-In-Video Co. Ltd.) *1993 ''Galivan 2'' (also known as "Cosmo Police Galivan 2: Arrow of Justice") *1996 ''Expert'' (PlayStation 1. Japanese Title: エキスパート)

Quiz

*Hihoo! (1987) *Hihoo!2 (1987) *Quiz DE Date (1991) *Miracle Q (1991) *Kotaemon kachi (1991) *TECHNO・DOOL (1991)

Puzzle

*Oh! Pyepee (1988) *Tougenkyou (1988) *Pairs (1989) *

Puzzle'n Desu! is a Japan-exclusive puzzle game for the Super Famicom released on April 14, 1995 by Nichibutsu. It stars an unnamed gnome who has to push boxes. Gameplay The main objective of the game is to push the boxes and make a group of 3 boxes; onc ...

(1995)

Sports

Action role-playing

Artelius is a Nintendo Family Computer action role-playing video game that was released exclusively in Japan on November 13, 1987. Story An advanced civilization once flourished in a fictional solar system. One day, a black hole appeared and sucked every ...

Casino

* Kouryaku Casino Bar

Mahjong

*1983 ''Jangō Lady'' *1984 ''Night Gal'' (Japan's top-grossing table arcade cabinet of October 1984 and December 1984) *1986 ''Second Love'' *1990 ''Mahjong Triple Wars'' *1991 ''Mahjong Vanilla Syndrome'' *1994 ''Sailor Wars''

Notes

References

External links

* (archives) {{Authority control Video game companies established in 1970 Video game companies disestablished in 2015 Defunct video game companies of Japan Hamster Corporation Video game development companies Hentai companies Mass media in Osaka Japanese companies established in 1970 Japanese companies disestablished in 2015