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− | '''Megasoft''' (株式会社メガソフト) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sega. [http://web.archive.org/web/20150109230617/http://sega.jp/fb/creators/vol_3/4.html] Originally established in July 1985 as '''Whiteboard''' (株式会社ホワイトボード) [https://www.google.com/books/edition/%E6%83%85%E5%A0%B1%E7%94%A2%E6%A5%AD%E7%B7%8F%E8%A6%A7/Vre1AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%E6%A0%AA%E3%83%9B%E3%83%AF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89] [https://www.google.com/books/edition/%E6%83%85%E5%A0%B1%E7%94%A2%E6%A5%AD%E7%B7%8F%E8%A6%A7/Vre1AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%E4%B8%89%E6%9C%A8%E6%98%A5%E8%80%95], it was later renamed '''Santos''' (サントス). Santos was acquired by Sega in December 1991 and changed names again. Megasoft was merged into Sega in November 1992 [http://web.archive.org/web/20150109230617/http://sega.jp/fb/creators/vol_3/4.html] during the production of the two games listed below. | + | '''Mega Soft Co., Ltd.''' (株式会社メガソフト) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sega (as of December 1991), allegedly the company formerly known as [[Santos]]. [http://web.archive.org/web/20150109230617/http://sega.jp/fb/creators/vol_3/4.html] However, there is some conflicting information. |
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− | Takeshi Tozu (戸津猛) was the president of Whiteboard/Santos. (He previously headed Orca [''Game Machine'' 1983/8/15, pg. 6], Sesame Japan, and [[Crux]]. [https://twitter.com/Area51_zek/status/525992587824353280]) He was replaced after the Sega acquisition (apparently by Tokinori Kaneyasu [兼安時紀] from Data East [https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZhGAAAAMAAJ&q=%22%E5%85%BC%E5%AE%89+%E6%99%82%E7%B4%80%22&dq=%22%E5%85%BC%E5%AE%89+%E6%99%82%E7%B4%80%22]) and apparently started [[Santos (2)|another company called Santos]] with some previous employees and intellectual property. (It could also be an [[Aicom]]-like situation where Sega only bought part of Santos.)
| + | A former Santos staffer said Santos went bankrupt. [https://twitter.com/kin68000/status/1363122004128272387] The book ''Japanese Corporate Groups'' (''日本の企業グループ'') has December 1991 ("平3.12") listed as when Mega Soft was established [https://www.google.com/books/edition/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E4%BC%81%E6%A5%AD%E3%82%B0%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97/7Sy1AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22%E6%A0%AA%E3%83%A1%E3%82%AC%E3%82%BD%E3%83%95%E3%83%88%22], which would suggest this was a new company. Of course, neither of these things would preclude Sega from buying Santos or its assets. |
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− | Megasoft was located in the same building as Treasure (東京都台東区上野 7 - 9 - 15 根本ビル 4F). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZhGAAAAMAAJ&q=%22%E5%85%BC%E5%AE%89+%E6%99%82%E7%B4%80%22&dq=%22%E5%85%BC%E5%AE%89+%E6%99%82%E7%B4%80%22] [https://twitter.com/TreasureCoLtd/status/1189052046197981184] [https://twitter.com/Dr_Purple2155/status/1058400300485099520]
| + | Tokinori Kaneyasu [兼安時紀], formerly of Data East, was the president of Mega Soft. [https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/QmC1AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22%E5%85%BC%E5%AE%89%E6%99%82%E7%B4%80%22] [https://archive.org/details/segaprofile1992/page/19/mode/1up] The company was located in the same building as Treasure (東京都台東区上野 7 - 9 - 15 根本ビル 4F). [https://twitter.com/TreasureCoLtd/status/1189052046197981184] [https://twitter.com/Dr_Purple2155/status/1058400300485099520] It was allegedly merged into Sega in November 1992 [http://web.archive.org/web/20150109230617/http://sega.jp/fb/creators/vol_3/4.html] during the production of the games listed below, but it looks like only the staff was folded into Sega; the company itself appears to have been liquidated in 1996. [https://twitter.com/gdri/status/1335653744252506121] [https://www.google.com/books/edition/%E5%AE%98%E5%A0%B1/wKhWAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%E6%A0%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BE%E3%83%A1%E3%82%AC%E3%82%BD%E3%83%95%E3%83%88] (Mega Soft is still listed as a subsidiary in Sega's 1995 annual report. [https://archive.org/details/sega-annual-report-1995/Sega%20Annual%20Report%20%281995%29/page/n19/mode/1up]) |
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− | [[Gai Brain]] was started by former staff. | + | '''[[About:Research Methods|Research Methods]]:''' Interviews, online resources, shared staff |
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− | '''[[About:Research Methods|Research Methods]]:''' Actual mentions, code comparisons, hidden data, interviews, online resources, shared staff | + | ===Game Gear [https://twitter.com/kin68000/status/1088737878065143810]=== |
| + | *<div style="color:red">''Aa Harimanada'' (JP Publisher: Sega)</div> |
| + | *<div style="color:red">''Doraemon: Nora no Suke no Yabou'' (JP Publisher: Sega)</div> |
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− | ==As Whiteboard==
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− | ===Arcade===
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− | *''Airwolf'' (Kyugo) [https://twitter.com/kin68000/status/1096733670222622720]
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− | *''Dakko-chan House'' (Sega)
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Flashgal'' (Sega)</div>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Legend'' (Sega)</div>
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− | *''Photo Mahjong: Gekisha'' (Whiteboard)
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− | *<div style="color:red">''S.R.D. Mission'' (Taito)</div>
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− | *''Sukeban Janshi Ryuuko'' (Sega)
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− | ===Famicom/NES===
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Airwolf'' (sound?) (JP Publisher: Kyugo)</div>
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− | :<small>Programming: [[C-lab.]]?</small>
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− | *''Space Harrier'' (JP Publisher: Takara)
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− | :<small>Started out as a game based on Licca-chan, Takara's popular fashion doll</small>
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− | ===Mark III/Master System===
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− | *''Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars'' (JP/US/EU/AU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy)
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− | *''Danan: The Jungle Fighter'' (EU/AU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy)
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− | *''Dynamite Dux'' (EU/AU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy)
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− | *''Masters Golf'' / ''Great Golf'' (JP/US/EU/AU Publisher: Sega)
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− | *''Megumi Rescue'' (JP Publisher: Sega)
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− | *''Nekkyuu Koushien'' (JP Publisher: Sega)
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− | *''Opa Opa'' / ''Fantasy Zone: The Maze'' (JP/US/EU/AU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy)
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− | *''Reggie Jackson Baseball'' / ''American Baseball'' (US/CA/EU/AU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy)
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− | Artist Ano Shimizu has said he worked on ''Dynamite Dux'' and ''Nekkyuu Koushien'' at Whiteboard. [http://www.smspower.org/forums/16643-NekkyuuKoushienCheatCodeAndDeveloperTeam#97872] A code comparison between the two revealed shared code in the rest of the games on this list except ''Alex Kidd'' and ''Great Golf''.
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− | ''Alex Kidd'', ''Fantasy Zone'', ''Great Golf'', ''Megumi Rescue'', and ''Nekkyuu Koushien'' have the same initials, "YM," in the header. [http://www.smspower.org/Development/NamesInHeaders] Additionally, the standings screen in ''Great Golf'' has the name "KEI M," likely a reference to Whiteboard programmer Kei Maruyama (though some of the other names appear to be Sega staff). [http://www.smspower.org/forums/15286-WhodunitSantos#98144]
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− | ''Danan: The Jungle Fighter'', ''Nekkyuu Koushien'', and ''Reggie Jackson Baseball'' share a font. The other games use a variation of a font seen in Sega-developed titles like ''Black Belt'' with a less angular "A."
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− | Whiteboard is named as a third party owed royalties for ''Danan: The Jungle Fighter'' on a list of Sega games that could be licensed to Atari Corp. as part of a settlement between the two companies over alleged patent infringement by Sega (referred to herein as "the Atari list"). [http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Blog:Legal_Brief:_Atari_vs._Sega]
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− | Possible games (and reasons for inclusion on this list):
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Great Baseball'' (overseas)</div>
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− | :<small>Similar graphics</small>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''The Pro Yakyuu Pennant Race''</div>
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− | :<small>Similar fonts/graphics</small>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Walter Payton Football'' / ''American Pro Football''</div>
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− | :<small>Uses fonts similar to ones used in ''Flashgal''</small>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Wonder Boy''</div>
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− | :<small>Displays same Mark III logo at startup on Japanese systems as ''Masters Golf'' / ''Great Golf'' and ''Opa Opa'' / ''Fantasy Zone: The Maze''</small>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''World Games''</div>
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− | :<small>Similar fonts/graphics</small>
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− | ===Mega Drive/Genesis===
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− | *''Mahjong Cop Ryuu: Hakurou no Yabou'' (JP Publisher: Sega)
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− | ===SG-1000===
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Wonder Boy'' (JP Publisher: Sega)</div>
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− | :<small>Names of several staff members are found throughout the ROM: Kamei, Maruyama, Nakayama, Tanaka</small>
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− | Possible games (and reasons for inclusion on this list):
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Ninja Princess''</div>
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− | :<small>Has the same Sega logo animation at startup as ''Wonder Boy''</small>
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− | ==As Santos==
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− | ===Arcade===
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− | *''Hammer Away'' (unreleased) (Sega)
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− | :<small>Went on location test but was cancelled</small>
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− | *''Mahjong Quest'' (Taito)
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− | ===Game Gear===
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− | Possible games (and reasons for inclusion on this list):
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− | *<div style="color:red">''The Pro Yakyuu '91''</div>
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− | :<small>Based on ''The Pro Yakyuu Pennant Race'' (Master System)</small>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Space Harrier''</div>
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− | :<small>Appears on the Atari list, but there's no other evidence of Santos' involvement</small>
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− | *<div style="color:red">''Wonder Boy'' / ''Revenge of Drancon''</div>
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− | :<small>Based on ''Wonder Boy'' (Master System)</small>
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− | ===Mega Drive/Genesis===
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− | *''Battle Golfer Yui'' (JP Publisher: Sega)
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− | *''Toki: Going Ape Spit'' / ''JuJu Densetsu'' (US/EU/JP Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy; KR Publisher: Samsung)
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− | ===Neo Geo===
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− | *''Janshin Densetsu'' [MVS] (Yubis)
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− | :<small>This was developed around 1991 and dusted off for a 1994 release.</small>
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− | ==As Megasoft==
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| ===Mega Drive/Genesis=== | | ===Mega Drive/Genesis=== |
| *''Aa Harimanada'' (JP Publisher: Sega) | | *''Aa Harimanada'' (JP Publisher: Sega) |
− | *''The Super Shinobi II'' / ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'' (JP/US/EU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy; SK Publisher: Samsung) | + | *''The Super Shinobi II'' / ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'' (JP/US/EU Publisher: Sega; BR Publisher: Tec Toy; KR Publisher: Samsung) |
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| ==Links== | | ==Links== |
− | *[http://www.smspower.org/forums/15286-WhodunitSantos SMS Power! thread]
| + | *[http://web.archive.org/web/20160323022746/http://sega.jp/fb/creators/vol_3/1.html Sega.jp interview with sound designer Hirofumi Murasaki (村崎弘史) (Internet Archive Wayback Machine)] (Japanese) |
− | *[http://web.archive.org/web/20160323022746/http://sega.jp/fb/creators/vol_3/1.html Sega.jp interview with Santos/Megasoft/Wavemaster sound creator Hirofumi Murasaki (村崎弘史) (Internet Archive Wayback Machine)] (Japanese) | + | |
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| [[Category:Companies]] | | [[Category:Companies]] |
| + | [[Category:Sega]] |
Tokinori Kaneyasu [兼安時紀], formerly of Data East, was the president of Mega Soft. [4] [5] The company was located in the same building as Treasure (東京都台東区上野 7 - 9 - 15 根本ビル 4F). [6] [7] It was allegedly merged into Sega in November 1992 [8] during the production of the games listed below, but it looks like only the staff was folded into Sega; the company itself appears to have been liquidated in 1996. [9] [10] (Mega Soft is still listed as a subsidiary in Sega's 1995 annual report. [11])