, formally and , is a Japanese company which specializes primarily in the publishing and distribution of

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

s, including both

adult games An ''eroge'' ( or , ''erogē''; ; a portmanteau of ''erotic game'' , ''erochikku gēmu'') is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. In 1982, Japan's Koei, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa (and later known for strategy ...

under their brand

Leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

and games for all ages under Aquaplus's own brand. Aquaplus has been involved with the production of

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

based on Leaf's games. The company is also involved with

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, franchised restaurants, and at one point was involved with

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

History

Aquaplus was established in October 1994 in

Itami, Hyōgo 270px, Gogadzuka Kofun 270px, Aerial view of Itami city center 270px, Konoike inari shihi 270px, Arioka Castle ruins ) is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,215 in 83580 households and a ...

, Japan as a

and

publishing company at the time called ; their adult game brand

was also established at this time. In February 1995, Leaf produced their first game, and later that year in November U-Office started releasing all-ages games for the PC under their name. The company changed its name to in May 1996, and became a

joint stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

. In 1997, Aqua opened their

specialty shop Aqua in

Yachiyo, Hyōgo was a town located in Taka District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 6,262 and a population density of 118.00 persons per km². The total area was 53.07 km². On November 1, 2005, Yachiyo, along wi ...

, Japan. In 1998, the company changed their name to the current Aquaplus. In October of that year, Aquaplus opened a development office in

Toshima, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, a ...

. In March 1999, Aquaplus published their first visual novel on a home console, ''

To Heart ''To Heart'' is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Leaf and released on May 23, 1997 for Windows. It was later ported to the PlayStation and given voice acting. A second PC version, titled ''To Heart PSE'' was released containin ...

'', for the

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 ...

. In May two months later, Fix Records was established as the

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

for

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s released through, and related to, Aquaplus; the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the PS version of ''To Heart'' was the label's first production. In June 2000, the head office moved to its current location in

Yodogawa-ku, Osaka is one of 24 wards of Japan, wards of Osaka, Japan. It is located in the north of the city. Economy Nissin Foods has its corporate headquarters in Yodogawa-ku. The company moved to its current headquarters in 1977, when the construction of the b ...

, Japan. In November 2001, Aquaplus produced their

PDA PDA may refer to: Science and technology * Patron-driven acquisition, a mechanism for libraries to purchase books *Personal digital assistant, a mobile device * Photodiode array, a type of detector * Polydiacetylenes, a family of conducting poly ...

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...

P/ECE. In 2002, Aquaplus became involved in managing franchised restaurants. At the end of 2002, Aquaplus moved their Tokyo development office to Taitō, Tokyo. In August 2007, Aquaplus closed down their automobile specialty shop Aqua. In 2011, Aquaplus developed the 2D arcade fighting game '' Aquapazza: Aquaplus Dream Match'', with all the characters coming from various Leaf visual novels. The company was acquired by Crest (currently: HIKE) in December 2022.

Enterprises

Aquaplus is mainly involved with the publishing and distribution of

s, including both

under their brand

and games for all ages under Aquaplus's own brand. Aquaplus manages a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

named Studio Aqua which puts out

s by

Indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

music artists in the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

of Japan where Aquaplus is located. Albums released in connection with the visual novels the company publishes are also recorded at Studio Aqua. Aquaplus's

is Fix Records, and excluding the artists with albums released by Studio Aqua, all albums produced by Aquaplus are on this label, including all albums related to the visual novels by Leaf and Aquaplus as well as some belonging to mainstream artists such as Suara. Aquaplus is involved with the franchised restaurants Toriaizu Gohei and

Gyu-Kaku is a chain of Japanese yakiniku restaurants History First entered yakiniku restaurant business in 1996 and opened its first franchised restaurant in 1997 after changing to the current name. The first overseas restaurant was opened in the U.S ...

in Hyōgo, Japan. Aquaplus had managed an

specialty shop in

Taka, Hyōgo 270px, Isarigami Rice Terraces 270px, Kitaharima Leisure Village Park Rose Garden is a town in Taka District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 19,589 in 7661 households and a population density of 110 persons ...

, Japan called Aqua, but closed it down on August 31, 2007. The shop specialized in customizing

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

s, including for street races.

P/ECE

In addition to software publishing, Aquaplus produced P/ECE, a

greyscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysca ...

mobile gaming platform that allows user to download games via

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

or infrared port. The specifications of the P/ECE are as follows: * Screen ** Four-level grayscale

FSTN Pioneering passive-matrix STN LCD, Brown Boveri, Switzerland, 1984 A super-twisted nematic display (STN) is a type of monochrome passive-matrix liquid crystal display (LCD). History This type of LCD was invented at the Brown Boveri Research ...

LCD ** 128 x 88 pixel resolution * Sound:

PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

* CPU: EPSON S1C33209 24 MHz (32-bit RISC) * Main Memory: 256kb SRAM * Storage: 512kb flash RAM P/ECE unit has preloaded 'Picket' software, which is an electronic organizer. Aquaplus offered downloadable freeware titles such as '' Multi's Going Out'', ''Black Wings'', ''TANK BATTLE'', ''Ojomajomini'', ''Inagawa de Urou!!''.

Animated works

*'' To Heart 2 OVA'' (2007, with

Chaos Project is a Japanese animation studio An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a m ...

) *'' To Heart 2 AD'' (2008, with Chaos Project) *'' To Heart 2 AD Plus'' (2009, with Chaos Project) *'' Utawarerumono OVA'' (2009–2010, with Chaos Project) *'' To Heart 2 AD Next'' (2010, with Chaos Project)

References

External links

Aquaplus's official website

Studio Aqua's official website

Fix Records' official website

Aqua's official website
{{Authority control Amusement companies of Japan Video game companies established in 1994 Mass media in Osaka Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Japanese companies established in 1994