Natsume (company)

Natsume
Private
Industry Video game developer and publisher
Founded October 20, 1987 (Natsume-Atari)
May 1988 (Natsume Inc)
Headquarters Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan[1]
Burlingame, California, United States[2]
Key people
 Takashi Matsumoto (CEO, Natsume-Atari)
Hiro Maekawa (President, Natsume Inc)
Taka Maekawa (President, Natsume Inc Japan)
Products Harvest Moon series
Lufia
Pocky and Rocky
Rune Factory
Reel Fishing
River King series
Number of employees
 150 (Natsume-Atari)[1]
Website www.natsume-game.com (Natsume-Atari)
www.natsume.com (Natsume Inc)

Natsume is the name of two video games publishers, Natsume-Atari and Natsume Inc, that were once the same company but are now completely separated.

Natsume Co Ltd was founded in Japan on October 20, 1987.[1] It established in 1988 an American division called Natsume Inc. In 1995, Natsume Inc split from Natsume Co Ltd to become an independent company. The name "Natsume" was retained by both companies in their respective countries. In 2013, Natsume Co Ltd renamed itself Natsume-Atari following a merger with its subsidiary Atari that year.[3] Also in 2013, Natsume Inc (the American company) inaugurated a Japanese division called Natsume Inc Japan with no connection to its former parent company.[4]

Natsume-Atari is based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan and is known for developing licence titles and mobile games. Natsume Inc is located in Burlingame, California.[2] and is best known for publishing unique, family-oriented niche games, such as the Harvest Moon and Reel Fishing.

Products

During the NES and SNES era, Natsume-Atari developed numerous titles, often licensed, such as Power Rangers. Natsume Inc published numerous titles, including those developed by Natsume-Atari, such as S.C.A.T., Wild Guns and Shadow of the Ninja. Natsume also released the SNES game Pocky & Rocky as well as Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. Natsume-Atari had also developed the Medabot games up until the end of the GBA era, which Natsume Inc published.

From the end of the Super NES era up until late 2014, Natsume Inc was known for publishing a series of Story of Seasons games in North America. The last game in the series they published was Harvest Moon: A New Beginning for the Nintendo 3DS. In 2015 the developer of the series, Marvelous AQL, brought the next game in the series, Story of Seasons, to North America with their own US branch, XSEED Games, ending the relationship they had with Natsume. Since then, Natsume has released their own games under the Harvest Moon name, starting with Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley,[5] continuing with Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories and the upcoming Harvest Moon: Skytree Village.

Natsume has also operated an eBay shop, selling copies of older games sealed in their original packaging, collected from storage at its offices. At auction, the company sold a sealed copy of Pocky & Rocky for over $1,600.[6]

Corporate divisions

Natsume Co Ltd was previously the parent company of Natsume Inc, founded in May 1988. Although founded in 1988, Natsume Inc started publishing video games in 1990 [7] By 1995 Natsume Inc had broken away into its own company and is separately owned and operated.[8]

In October 2002, Natsume Co Ltd founded the pachinko company Atari Inc. (not to be confused with the American game company) in Osaka, specialized on developing slot and pinball machines.

On May 6, 2005, Natsume Solution began operation in Shinjuku, Osaka. This division specializes on web site development, providing mobile solutions/services and developing web systems. On March 1, 2006, Natsume Solution was merged with Evolve co.,ltd.

Meanwhile, Natsume Inc opened up a development studio of their own, named Natsume Inc Japan[9]

Natsume Co Ltd company is now known as Natsume-Atari since 2013, and is not directly connected to Natsume Inc USA or its subsidiary Natsume Inc Japan.[10]

Works

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References

  1. 1 2 3 https://www.natsumeatari.co.jp/company/profile/
  2. 1 2 "Natsume". Natsume. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  3. ↑ https://www.natsumeatari.co.jp/company/
  4. ↑ http://natsume.com/news/news_pdffiles/pid_121_June042013NatsumeJapanoffice.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/18/harvest-moon-beyond-whats-next-natsume/
  6. ↑ "Classic game publisher cleans out its closet, makes thousands on eBay". Ars Technica. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050303080145/http://www.natsume.com/welcome_frameset.html
  8. ↑ http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=130336&cmd=tc
  9. ↑ http://natsume.com/news/news_pdffiles/pid_121_June042013NatsumeJapanoffice.pdf
  10. ↑ http://ceecee-natsume.tumblr.com/post/114896253427/wikipedia-bad-source-of-info
  11. ↑ http://tcrf.net/Touhou_Kenbun_Roku
  12. 1 2 "Natsume Announce Next Two Harvest Moons, DS and Wii". Gaming Union. 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-05-25. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  13. ↑ "RETURN TO THE WORLD OF LUFIA THIS FALL WITH NATSUME'S LUFIA: CURSE OF THE SINISTRALS FOR NINTENDO DS" (PDF). natsume.com. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  14. ↑ Natsume Aren't Done With Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Yet. Siliconera (2013-05-23). Retrieved on 2013-08-23.
  15. 1 2 "IGN: Natsume Reveals E3 Lineup". IGN. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2009-05-28.

External links

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