Punchline is a defunct Japanese company that develops video games. It was founded by former Love-de-Lic employee Yoshiro Kimura and had around 25 employees. [1] Kimura left to work for Marvelous Inc., and later opened a new studio with the name Onion Games. [2] [3]
Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational holding company, video game production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing game franchises, such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts, among numerous others. Outside of video game publishing and development, it is also in the business of merchandise, arcade facilities, and manga publication under its Gangan Comics brand.
Atlus Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as Megami Tensei, Persona, Etrian Odyssey, and Trauma Center, as well as Print Club (Purikura) arcade machines. Its corporate mascot is Jack Frost, a snowman-like character from their Shin Megami Tensei series. Outside of video games, the company is known for their Purikura arcade machines, which are selfie photo sticker booths popular in East Asia.
Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia.
The Tales series is a franchise of fantasy role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, and developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco Studios. First begun in 1995 with the development and release of Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom, the series currently spans seventeen main titles, multiple spin-off games and supplementary media in the form of manga series, anime series, and audio dramas.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is a multinational American video game and digital entertainment company owned by the Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony. SIE primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game consoles and products. SIE is made up of two legal corporate entities: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC based in San Mateo, California, and Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., based in Minato, Tokyo. SIE Inc. was originally founded as Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in November 1993 to handle Sony's venture into video game development for the PlayStation systems. SIE LLC was established in San Mateo in April 2016, and is managed through Sony's American branch, Sony Corporation of America.
Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide.
Gust is a video game developer and division of Koei Tecmo Games, known for their Atelier franchise.
Clover Studio Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game development studio founded by Capcom. The studio developed the PlayStation 2 port of Viewtiful Joe, both versions of Viewtiful Joe 2 for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, and the PS2 titles Ōkami and God Hand. The name "clover" is an abbreviation of "creativity lover" as well as the Japanese syllables mi ("three") and ba ("leaf") coming from the names of Shinji Mikami and Clover's Atsushi Inaba.
Shinji Mikami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the first installment of the Resident Evil series in 1996 and the first installment of the Dino Crisis series in 1999, both survival horror games. He returned to Resident Evil to direct the remake of the first game in 2002 and the third-person shooter Resident Evil 4 in 2005. In 2006, he directed his final Capcom game God Hand, a beat 'em up action game. Mikami worked at PlatinumGames to direct the third-person shooter Vanquish in 2010. The same year, he founded his own studio Tango Gameworks which has since been acquired by the American company ZeniMax Media. Under his studio, he directed the third-person horror game The Evil Within in 2014. He has also served the roles of producer and executive producer for many games.
Bully is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar Vancouver and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 17 October 2006 for the PlayStation 2. A remastered version of the game, subtitled Scholarship Edition, was developed by Mad Doc Software and released on 4 March 2008 for Xbox 360 and Wii, and on 21 October 2008 for Windows. Bully was re-released for PlayStation 4 available via PlayStation Network on 22 March 2016. An updated version of the Scholarship Edition, titled Anniversary Edition, was developed by War Drum Studios and released for Android and iOS on 8 December 2016.
Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on September 29, 2005. The company specializes in toys, video games, arcades, anime, restaurants, and amusement parks.
Rule of Rose is a survival horror video game developed by Punchline for the PlayStation 2. Set in England in 1930, the plot revolves around a nineteen-year-old woman named Jennifer, who becomes trapped in a world ruled by young girls who have established a class hierarchy called the Red Crayon Aristocrats. It was first released in 2006 by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan. After Sony Computer Entertainment's American and European branch did not express interest in localizing the title, it was published later that year by Atlus USA in North America and by 505 Games in Europe.
Chulip (チュウリップ), stylized as Chu♥lip, is an adventure/simulation video game developed by Punchline and released on October 3, 2002 in Japan by Victor Interactive Software for the PlayStation 2. After numerous delays, the game was released in North America by Natsume on February 13, 2007 as a GameStop-exclusive title. It was released on the PlayStation Network as a "PS2 Classic" on December 4, 2012, exclusively in North America.
Hideki Kamiya is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the vice-president of PlatinumGames. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed Resident Evil 2 (1998), Devil May Cry (2001), Viewtiful Joe (2003), and Ōkami (2006). From 2004 to 2006, he worked for the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio. After leaving Capcom, Kamiya and other former staff members founded PlatinumGames in 2006, where he has served as vice-president since 2017. His projects with PlatinumGames include Bayonetta (2009) and The Wonderful 101 (2013).
Little King's Story is a real-time strategy life simulation role-playing video game co-developed by Cing and Town Factory for the Nintendo Wii. The game was published by Rising Star Games in Australia on April 22, 2009 and Europe on April 24, 2009, by Xseed Games in North America on July 21, 2009, and by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan on September 3, 2009.
Love-de-Lic, Inc. is a now-defunct Japanese video game developer created by Kenichi Nishi in 1995. Many of its personnel were former Square employees. The firm folded in 2000 after creating three games. Many employees went on to work for other small and independent gaming businesses, including skip Ltd., Vanpool, and Punchline.
Moon: Remix RPG Adventure is a role-playing adventure game developed by Love-de-Lic and first published in 1997 by ASCII Entertainment for the PlayStation in Japan. Moon is set within a fictional role-playing game where "the hero" has wreaked destruction, killing hundreds of creatures and looting homes. The player takes on the role of a supporting character in this world, attempting to undo the damage done by the hero. Moon has been praised by critics for how it parodies the conventions and tropes of role-playing games.
Japan Studio was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. A first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment, it was best known for the Ape Escape, LocoRoco, Patapon, Gravity Rush and Knack series, the Team Ico games, Bloodborne, The Legend of Dragoon, and Astro's Playroom. In April 2021, Japan Studio was reorganized and merged with Team Asobi and other SIE studios.
Bandai Namco Studios Inc. is a Japanese video game developer headquartered in Kōtō, Tokyo. Its offices in Malaysia and Singapore, Bandai Namco Studio Malaysia and Bandai Namco Studios Singapore, are based out of Selangor, Malaysia and Infinite Studios, Singapore respectively. Bandai Namco Studios is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Entertainment, which itself is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. The company works under its parent company as a keiretsu; Bandai Namco Studios creates video games for home consoles, handheld systems, mobile devices and arcade hardware, while Bandai Namco Entertainment handles the managing, marketing and publishing of these products.
Judgment is an action-adventure video game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. A spin-off to the Like a Dragon series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 in December 2018 in Japan and June 2019, worldwide. A remastered version of the game, with the subtitle Remastered in Japan and Asia, was released for the PlayStation 5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X and Series S in April 2021. A port for Amazon Luna was made available on December 16, 2021. A Windows port was released on 14 September 2022 through Steam. Judgment follows lawyer-turned-detective Takayuki Yagami and his allies as they explore a case involving corpses whose eyes have been removed. The player controls Yagami in the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurocho, where he fights thugs and yakuza while carrying out missions involving chasing, stealth, and searching for clues.