Blog:1
The True Origins of Intelligent Systems?
First of all, thanks to someone at 2ch for bringing this up.
According to Wikipedia, "Intelligent Systems came into being when members of Nintendo's Nintendo Research & Development 1 division headed by Gunpei Yokoi splintered off into its own development team." That may only be partially true, if it's true at all. It appears a company called Iwasaki Giken may have had something to do with the formation of IS. Here's why we think so.
1. Ryouichi Kitanishi is named in a patent for an "electronic locking device" assigned to Iwasaki Engineering.
Inventors: IWASAKI, HIROJI C/O IWASAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD. KITANISHI, RYOICHI C/O IWASAKI ENGINEERING CO.
"Giken" (as in "Iwasaki Giken") means "engineering and research," so presumably Iwasaki Engineering and Iwasaki Giken are the same thing. And just who is Ryouichi Kitanishi? He is the head of Intelligent Systems.
2. If you look in the disk version of FC Soccer, you will find this:
IWASAKI ELECTRONICS Co.Ltd F.D.A. SPECIAL VERSION FAMILY SUPER SOCCER 85/10/11 update by YKM -----> Hiroyuki Yukami Iwasaki-Laboratory S-Hokuen 201 Produced by MUCHAKUCHA.IKUNO -----> Kouzou Ikuno Created by CPU.YUKAMI -----> Hiroyuki Yukami LUM.OOYAMA ROM.DOHMAE Art Designer BABA.YAMAMURA -----> Yasuhisa Yamamura Music NICK.KONDO -----> Kouji Kondo Co-Director SPYHUNTER.OHTA USO.KITANISHI -----> Ryouichi Kitanishi Special thanks INCHIKI.NAKAMURA KEN.NAKAJIMA -----> Kenji Nakajima GPZ.SENGOKU -----> Toshio Sengoku 5KAISEI.IIJIMA TROUBLE.SUZUKI YASE.SOBAJIMA KOMASHI.NARIHIRO -----> Tohru Narihiro
"IWASAKI ELECTRONICS Co.Ltd"...Just on the name alone, one might assume this is the same company. But that's not enough for us. Back to the patents, Hiroji Iwasaki (mentioned in the patent above) turns up in one assigned to Iwasaki Electronics. Another man named Kenji Iio turns up on a patent assigned to Iwasaki Electronics and one assigned to Iwasaki Engineering. So we could conclude that Iwasaki Engineering and Iwasaki Electronics are one and the same, or at least related.
3. A relationship between Iwasaki Giken and Nintendo has already been established. According to the book Sore ha Pong kara Hajimatta: Arcade TV Game no Naritachi, Iwasaki Giken is the company that disassembled and reverse engineered Donkey Kong so that Nintendo could develop Donkey Kong Junior (see our Ikegami Tsushinki for more on that).
New "In Their Words" Excitement
Best "In Their Words" Q&A ever? Possibly. I got to exchange e-mails with Kimihiro Endou, a former Hot-B programmer (Steel Empire, Blue Almanac) and Opera House contractor. Great stuff. Read what he had to say here.
Answers may still be coming in, so be sure to keep checking the page.
18 Undiscovered Websites Every Gamer Should Know
Here's a list of "18 Undiscovered Websites Every Gamer Should Know." GDRI is suspiciously absent. Damn Democrats.
Of Mahjong and Chameleons
Dimitri ran a code comparison of F1 Circus and Fuzzical Fighter (FC, both by Make Software). Capcom's Gold Medal Challenge '92, DuckTales 2, and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 came up (Make Software is actually mentioned in the Gold Medal ROM). We're unsure of what Makesoft might have done on these games. Probably just sound or something.
Nichibutsu's Nichibutsu Mahjong III, Mahjong Taisen, WCW World Championship Wrestling, and Kurogane Hiroshi no Yosou Daisuki! Kachiuma Densetsu also came up. If I were a betting man, I'd say these were by Makesoft. But we cannot confirm these without any credits.
Total flukes came in the forms of Flying Dragon, Bikkuriman World: Gekitou Sei Senshi, and Keroppi to Keroriinu no Splash Bomb!. The credits in Bikkuriman World and Splash Bomb don't look familiar at all, while Flying Dragon is much too old.
Another fluke that appeared was Pyokotan no Dai Meiro, published by Sunsoft. The ROM mentions JSS, which I thought might be Japan System Supply. We proceeded to research that company. Seems it was responsible for some Pyokotan games later on.
AIM, Fill in Cafe
The entry for AIM is now up. A Fortyfive entry may or may not be far behind.
On our Youtube channel, I've uploaded some videos from Fill in Cafe games Neural Gear and Mission Metal Sight (both X68000).
