"That's 'Service Games', Sonny...": A Brief History of Companies and Their Names: Part 1

So you know what this article is about...

What's in a name? When purchasing a console many consumers bank off the reputation found lurking behind a console developers name. From fanboys to first time purchasers, the name behind the console is a big factor. Do you stick with one of the oldest in the industry and risk a lack of third-party support at the end of the consoles lifespan? Go with the US-based company's system, that has killer shooters and action games, but lacks heavy support from some of the major Japanese developers? Or choose to support the former industry dominator, knowing they will have killer exclusives thanks to support from major developers, yet lack some of the quirky, charming, independently developed games? The choice is hard, and rarely do gamers have enough money to buy every console on the market and the games to go with them.

Hard to win, and easily lost, brand recognition and loyalty is a major factor in every console and video game companies success. With the video game industry now bringing in more money than Hollywood, it would be easy to point to the few mega-conglomerate corporations and say, "they've been around forever", or "they got in early, and built themselves up," and while this may be true in many instances, the companies we now see raking in billions of dollars in profits every year still had to start somewhere. From beginnings as varied as card game companies, to music specialists and the makers of leather for shoes, most of the current, and former, industry giants have indeed been around for generations; drawing on years of experience in customer service, sales, development and manufacturing.

Not the Crash I was talking about, but close enough...

Being a fairly new industry, video games have proven to be a volatile market, having gone from an early industry crash many never expected it to recover from, to being a multi-billion dollar industry in less than thirty years. With a small amount of titles released making up the majority of profits, it's a tough industry to break into, and intensively competitive once entered. Even the biggest video game companies have been known to go under suddenly and quickly, disappearing seemingly overnight into black holes of debt and "E.T." cartridges.

 Every major developer, publisher and console maker, had to start somewhere though, and many of those origins have impacted the brand recognition that so many rely on for their purchasing decisions. Looking at the  names themselves, many of the largest companies recognized the value of a strong, catchy name, and planned from the beginning on how to capture their markets. So, without further adieu, I present a brief list of some of the largest and most influential companies in gaming history, and a brief bio of their origins.

Nintendo actually still makes hanafuda (literally "flower cards").
I am not making that up. 

Nintendo

Founded September 23, 1899, the word "Nintendo" is said to translate (roughly) to "leave luck to heaven," an appropriate name considering it was originally a producer and manufacturer of hanafuda cards, which are used in several different types of traditional card games. With the card game market having limited means of growth, Hiroshi Yamauchi, grandson of the founder of Nintendo, and its third president, quickly realized that in order to stay afloat Nintendo would need to branch out; and branch out they did.

Arcade games used to be a lot cooler, and stupider at the same time. 

Testing markets as varied as a taxi company, to food production, Nintendo would finally hit it big with a line of toys developed initially by internal engineers, including Gunpei Yokoi, who would later go on to invent the Game Boy. Though they had several hit toys on their hands, Nintendo quickly begin to struggle to meet the rigorous demands of the toy industry, and its stiff competition. This struggle led to Nintendo looking for further expansion into the entertainment field, where they eventually started creating light gun style arcade games. With moderate success it seemed that Nintendo had finally found its area of expertise. Securing the rights to exclusively distribute the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan in 1974, Nintendo quickly started creating, and releasing their own home video game consoles. Starting off with simple "Pong Clone" machines, Nintendo used ingenuity, hard work, and strong business moves to get to the head of the game. 

Behold, the NES in all it's glory. 

Releasing the Famicom in 1983, (known as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) at its US launch in 1985), Nintendo had a slow start, but quickly picked up sales and finished their first console race with wild abandon. The NES became the best selling system of its time, giving Nintendo an infusion of money, power, and connections, propelling it to the forefront of the competition, and making Nintendo a household name the world over. 

"Bomberman: Panic Bomber" for Virtual Boy. I nearly went blind playing this and
"Warioland" right after I got a VB, true story. DO NOT turn off the VB's auto-pause feature.

Always the innovator, and a fearless trailblazer, Nintendo has repeatedly introduced concepts that seemed strange to begin with, but went on to become wild successes. Introducing products such as the Virtual Boy, (the worlds first widely available "VR" game system, and the companies only major failure), the Nintendo DS, and Nintendo Wii, it's clear Nintendo isn't sitting on its haunches waiting for others to lead the way. A great example of how Nintendo has repeatedly led the industry is the Wii's motion controls/sensor bar. Initially berated and bemoaned as little more than a gimmick at best, and child's plaything at worst, the Wii proved everybody wrong by incorporating motion based control in ways never before imagined. Within a short time both of the other major console manufacturers would come out with similar peripherals, both having to backtrack on their statements berating Nintendo's decision. With the upcoming Wii U, and its unique, and interesting looking, interface, many question whether Nintendo is on the downward slide. I however am looking forward to a new and interesting way of playing and interacting with video games. With the track record they have for innovation, it's hard not to be at least a little excited for the latest, and craziest, Nintendo gadget. 

Two questionable format choices in one picture. A succinct, yet powerful statement. 

While Nintendo has made what some have called questionable business, and even format, decisions, they have always marched to the beat of their own drummer, and made money while doing it. With stocks taking a recent dip, Nintendo is no longer the second most valuable company in Japan, but is still a major player and a company worth keeping tabs on, and, as always, a truly great developer. While they've had their ups and downs Nintendo looks like they're in for the long haul. 

I don't think it makes me a fanboy to say I think that
Sega's logo has always been awesome. 

Sega

Founded in 1940 as Standard Games, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the early "Sega" was a distributor of jukeboxes and slot machine style games. Moving to Japan in 1951, the founders, Raymond Lemaire and Richard Stewart, would rename the company Service Games, a nod to the fact that they supplied many of their machines to military bases in, and around, Japan.

Fellow entrepreneur, and American Air Force officer, David Rosen would soon after start his own company in Japan. Placing photo booths around bases, and eventually expanding into a large chain of arcades under the company name Rosen Enterprises. Rosens only competition in Japan was Service Games, seeing an opportunity he could not pass up, he organized the merger of Service Games and Rosen Enterprises. Probably realizing that neither Rosen Enterprises or Service Games rolled off the tongue, the new company became Sega, an abbreviated combination of "Service Games"; a simple and catchy name.

This was pretty awesome for 1969.
But so was the radio...

Mostly dealing with imports to Japan, Rosen immediately recognized the value of producing their own machines and titles. Their first game, "Periscope", a submarine simulator, was a huge hit, leading Sega to export it to both the US and Europe. With this hit on their hands, and other early arcade successes Sega quickly entered the new, and booming, arcade industry of the seventies to enormous success. This success, however, was not to last. While Sega would release their first home console, to limited success, in 1983, the crash of the video game industry of '83-84 would lead to a series of sell offs, mergers, and buy outs, and various presidents and owners. Finally being bought out in 1984, for a final time, Sega would go on to produce the moderately successful Master System, and become the industry leader, for a time, with the Sega Genesis (Megadrive in Europe and Japan).

I actually had this setup after the 32X went on clearance at Toys 'R' Us. If it wasn't for "Kolibri", the only hummingbird based shooter ever, I would have regretted spending $15 on a 32X. Also a true story.

It seemed like Sega was on a roll, and at the top of their game, but dark clouds would soon gather. In their attempt to outdo the competition, Nintendo, NEC, etc., Sega started producing peripherals and expansions that were expensive, under-supported, or simply unwanted. While system peripherals, such as the Sega CD and Sega 32X, did have some truly great titles, and innovative material, Sega was quick to drop support, and slow to listen to what the market wanted. Due in part to this Sega would continue to lose market share with the Sega Saturn. By failing to research the market properly, and losing much of their most important third-party support (including angering many developers by a "surprise launch" in the US), Sega managed to alienate much of its market and its support. At the same time Sega failed to capture audiences with their new marketing campaign, getting rid of the iconic "Sega Scream", and instead opting for bizarre commercials featuring confusing ideas of what the console and gameplay would be like.

Sega Saturn. Talk crap on it and I will straight up stab you. 

While the Saturn was a fantastic system, and probably my personal favorite console of all time, Sega failed to capture Americas attention. A moderate success in Japan, Sega would start to hemorrhage money, leading to the eventual decision to pull out the console market and focus solely on game development.

The Sega Dreamcast. A system that deserved to be adopted.
Why wouldn't you  people share the love? WHY?!

Sega's last attempt at a console was a gem of a system. The Sega Dreamcast (DC) was one of the finest, and most innovative consoles ever released. Being the first system with built in internet connectivity, a unique disc format, and several other features that, while now common, were considered mind blowing at the time, the Dreamcast looked like it was the prize pig that would save Sega. However, due to alienation of third-party support during the Saturn era, massive losses, and even a lawsuit over the Dreamcasts development, the DC never got the chance it so very deserved. Considered by many enthusiasts as the peak of Sega's history, the DC lives on with homebrew releases and very devoted fans the world over.

Sega is currently doing well as a developer and publisher. Having gone through a handful of small mergers and sell-offs it looks like Sega may be following the model of the phoenix; rising, only to fall and rise again in an eternal cycle. Lets hope they stick around for the long haul, and find the success they seek.

Check back next week for the origins of Sony, Microsoft, Atari, and Coleco, and expect more detailed installments on these companies in the future. Including detailed explanations of how they influenced the industry, and where they are now.

Until next time, game on.