[NEC_Avenue] Re: NEC is back in the gaming business!
From Victor Villano <xxxxxx@yahoo.com>
Date
--- In xxxxxx@yahoogroups.com, "Victor Villano" <el_vvillano@y...> wrote:
> Believe it or not it is true! And it seems that they are FINALLY understanding the
> importance of simply translating (good) Japanese games for the non-kanji speaking
> markets of the Americas and Europe! A little late NEC, but better late than never I
> guess. Too bad they could not figure this out when they were making videogame
> consoles....Sheesh!
Here's the article (link did'nt work cause of those darned advertisements!):
NEC expands into U.S., European game markets
By Dean Takahashi
Mercury News
Drawn by the growth of the video game business, a big Japanese technology company
is moving into the U.S. and European video game markets.
NEC said its Interchannel video game publishing subsidiary will begin launching
games in the United States and Europe this month. Interchannel has been making
games for Japan and elsewhere in Asia, but NEC Executive Vice President Clint
Kurahashi said the time is right to expand since video game sales stand apart as a
growth area, compared with the slumping sales in so many other tech
industries.
NEC Interchannel will start with a small staff of five people in Santa Clara and expand
over time. It will begin by taking Japanese games and converting them so they can be
launched in the United States and Japan. Kurahashi, a 10-year veteran of the games
industry, was formerly an executive at Japan's Capcom. During his tenure there in
1996, Capcom launched its big hit, ``Resident Evil.''
``We will start small but want to be one of the major publishers,'' Kurahashi said.
That will be a tough task given how established companies like Electronic Arts have a
lock on some of the best game genres and brands.
But there are opportunities for smaller companies, said Richard Ow, an analyst at
market researcher NPD Funworld. While game sales are flourishing, many smaller
publishers like 3DO are losing money and could leave openings for new entrants.
NEC's first game will be ``Tube Slider,'' a futuristic racing game launching this month
for the Nintendo GameCube console. NEC will also make games for the Nintendo
GameBoy Advance, the Sony PlayStation 2, and the Microsoft Xbox.
NEC's last big presence in gaming was when it launched the TurboGrafx-16 video
game console in the United States in 1989. The console initially sold well as the first
system marketed as a 16-bit console, but it was overwhelmed later by the Sega
Genesis. The system sold fewer than 1 million units and was pulled in a few years.
To date, Interchannel has focused on games for the Japanese market such as dating
games, but few have sold more than several hundred thousand units.
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