Tengen Inc. was an American

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ( ...

and

developer Developer may refer to: Computers * Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications * Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games * Web d ...

that was created by 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 v ...

manufacturer

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of Arcade game, arcade Video game, games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated Arcade game, arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered ...

for publishing

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

and

console game A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...

s. It had a Japanese subsidiary named .

History

By 1984,

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

had been split into two distinct companies.

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when WarnerMedia, Warn ...

was responsible for computer and console games and hardware and owned the rights to the Atari brand for these domains. Atari Games was formed from Atari, Inc.'s

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

division, and were able to use the Atari name on arcade releases but not on console or computer games. When Atari Games wanted to enter the console game market, it needed to create a new label that did not use the Atari name. The new subsidiary was dubbed Tengen, which in the Japanese nomenclature of the board game Go refers to the central point of the board (the word "Atari" comes from the same game). At the time,

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 ...

restricted their licensees to releasing only five games per year, mandated that Nintendo handle

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

manufacturing, and required their games to be NES-exclusive for two years. Atari Games tried to negotiate for a less restrictive license to produce games for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit 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 redesigned version, was released in America ...

; Nintendo refused, so in December 1987, Atari Games agreed to Nintendo's standard licensing terms. Tengen was incorporated on December 21 of that year. In 1988, Tengen released its first and only three games licensed by Nintendo: '' R.B.I. Baseball'', ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'', and '' Gauntlet''. Meanwhile, Tengen secretly worked to bypass Nintendo's lock-out chip called 10NES that gave it control over which games were published for the NES. They started development on a

chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

they called Rabbit. While numerous manufacturers managed to override this chip by zapping it with a

voltage spike In electrical engineering, spikes are fast, short duration electrical transients in voltage (voltage spikes), current (current spikes), or transferred energy (energy spikes) in an electrical circuit. Fast, short duration electrical transients ...

, Tengen engineers feared this could potentially damage NES consoles and expose them to unnecessary liability. The other problem was that Nintendo made frequent modifications to the NES to prevent this technique from working. Instead, Tengen chose to

reverse engineer Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

the chip and decipher the code required to unlock it. However, the engineers were unable to do so, and the launch date for its first batch of games was rapidly approaching. With time running short, Tengen turned to the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who are ...

. Its lawyers contacted the government office to request a copy of the Nintendo lock-out program, claiming that the company needed it for potential litigation against Nintendo. Once obtained, it used the program to create its own chip that would unlock the NES. Tengen announced that they were going to release their own cartridges in December 1988. When Tengen launched the unlicensed versions of its games, Nintendo immediately sued Tengen for copyright and patent infringement. This began a series of lawsuits between the companies which would not be settled until 1994. Tengen faced another court challenge with Nintendo in 1989 in copyright controversy over the two companies' NES versions of ''

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the approp ...

''. Tengen lost this suit as well, and was forced to recall what was estimated to be hundreds and thousands of unsold cartridges of its version of ''Tetris'' (having sold only about 50,000 copies). Tengen went on to produce games for other systems, including the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

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, ...

, and

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC, NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth genera ...

, and a few more, as well as publish a localized

Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...

title. The company also licensed games for home computers such as the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

and 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 ...

, most of which were published by British company

Domark Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...

. It was best known for its ports of popular Atari arcade games, including '' Klax'', ''

Hard Drivin' ''Hard Drivin'' is a driving simulation video game developed by Atari Games in 1989. It invites players to test drive a sports car on courses that emphasize stunts and speed. The game features one of the first 3D polygon driving environments v ...

'', '' STUN Runner'', and ''

Paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th ...

'', although they published many other titles as well. In 1994, with the lawsuit against Nintendo settled and after

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

reacquired a controlling stake in Atari Games, Tengen was consolidated into

Time Warner Interactive Time Warner Interactive (Group) (TWI) was a studio within Time Warner and a predecessor of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was formed in 1993 after Time Warner bought a controlling interest in Atari Games, and was active until 1996 w ...

NES games

Tengen manufactured both licensed and unlicensed versions of three of their NES games (''R.B.I. Baseball'', ''Gauntlet'', and ''Pac-Man''). The cartridges for their unlicensed games did not come in the gray, semi-square shape that licensed NES games came in; instead, they are rounded and matte-black, and resemble the original

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

cartridges. ;Licensed and unlicensed * '' R.B.I. Baseball'' (released June 1988; reskinned version of '' Pro Yakyū Family Stadium'' by

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, 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, Na ...

) * '' Gauntlet'' (released July 1988) * ''

'' (released October 1988; based on Namco's 1984 Famicom port) ;Unlicensed only * '' Tetris: The Soviet Mind Game'' (released May 1989) * ''

Super Sprint Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butt ...

'' (released July 1989; licensed version released in Japan by Altron) * '' Rolling Thunder'' (released October 1989; released as a licensed game by

in Japan) * '' Road Runner'' (released November 1989) * ''

Vindicators ''Vindicators'' is a one or two player arcade game released by Atari Games in 1988. Home ports were by Tengen. ''Vindicators'' was not licensed by Nintendo and used an alternate chip to defeat the 10NES lockout system. Ports were planned for th ...

'' (released November 1989) * ''

After Burner is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...

'' (released December 1989; not related to the version released by

Sunsoft , stylized as SUNSOFT, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Sunsoft is the video games division of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sun Corporation. Its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sun Corporation of America, though, a ...

in Japan which was titled ''

After Burner II is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...

'') * '' Alien Syndrome'' (released December 1989; released as a licensed game by

in Japan) * ''

Shinobi A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 21� ...

'' (released December 1989) * ''

Toobin' ''Toobin is an Atari Games and Midway Games video game originally released as an arcade game in 1988 and is based on the recreational sport tubing. It was later ported to systems such as NES, Amiga, Commodore 64, MSX, and Game Boy Color. In ...

'' (released December 1989) * ''

Fantasy Zone is a 1986 arcade game by Sega, and the first game in the ''Fantasy Zone'' series. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights an enemy inv ...

'' (not related to the version released by

in Japan) * ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...

'' (released 1989; a licensed version was published by Mindscape) * '' Klax'' (released as a licensed game 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 ...

in Japan) * ''

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to '' Pac-Man'' (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's ...

'' (an original port, released in 1990, unrelated to

's port, which was exclusively released in North America in 1993) * ''

Pac-Mania is a Oblique_projection #Cavalier_projection, cavalier perspective maze game that was developed and released by Namco for arcade game, arcades in 1987. In the game, the player controls Pac-Man (character), Pac-Man as he must eat all of the dot ...

'' (developed by

Westwood Associates Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to West ...

) * '' R.B.I. Baseball 2'' * ''R.B.I. Baseball 3'' * '' Skull & Crossbones''

References

External links

Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. (from Harvard's Openlaw site; accessed via archive.org)

''Tengen''
profile on

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

Tengen games on 1up.com
{{Atari Atari American companies established in 1987 American companies disestablished in 1994 Defunct video game companies of the United States Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Milpitas, California Video game companies established in 1987 Video game companies disestablished in 1994 1987 establishments in California 1994 disestablishments in California Video game development companies Video game publishers

History

NES games

See also

References

External links