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Data East Declares Bankruptcy

Posted by simoniker on from the bad-dudes-versus-financial-insolvency dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for reporting the news that Japanese developer/publisher Data East has officially been declared bankrupt. According to the article, "Data East has been in financial trouble since 1999, when the company requested a settlement in the district court in order to reorganize its finances because of a 3.3 billion yen ($28 million) debt." The company was renowned for a massive backcatalog of '80s and '90s arcade and home games, including BurgerTime, Karate Champ, Karnov, and the brilliantly named Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja, as well as the addictive Magical Drop puzzle game series for Neo Geo and other consoles.

22 comments

  1. Karnov.. by August_zero · · Score: 5, Funny

    So much for my hopes for "Karnov: Online"

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    On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
    1. Re:Karnov.. by edwdig · · Score: 4, Funny

      You'll just have to settle for Dance Dance Karnov then.

      http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=142

  2. How sad. by handsomepete · · Score: 5, Informative

    Burgertime is one of my favorite arcade games of all time. Tomorrow I'll throw some pepper at my eggs in mourning.

    They also made some pretty decent pinball games including Star Wars, Simpsons and Rocky and Bullwinkle themes.

    1. Re:How sad. by DLWormwood · · Score: 2, Interesting
      They also made some pretty decent pinball games including Star Wars, Simpsons and Rocky and Bullwinkle themes.

      The pinball divison still lives... kind of... It changed hands several times, from Sega and now to a re-branded Stern.

      IMHO, DE/Sega/Stern's tables were the lowest quality verses others like those of Williams', but that lower quality meant lower cost, which allowed them to survive as the only still operating pinball manufacturer. (That and some bar friendly licences like South Park also helped.)

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
    2. Re:How sad. by cj_goth · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't group Stern's new machines together with the old Data East machines. I'd agree with you wholeheartedly that the DE machines were certainly a long way behind the Williams/Bally/Gottleib meta-brand in the 90s, but after Gary Stern's buy-out of the division in 99 the newer games have been top-notch. Playability, features, rule-depth and feel have all been on a par if not superior to the last of the WMS machines (except, of course, the next-generation Pinball 2000 video hybrids).

      In fact, Stern tables just seem to keep getting better, and more people appear to be pumping quarters into the games. Hopefully the new Terminator 3 game should continue the upwards curve, especially with former WMS designers like Steve Ritchie and the legendary Pat Lawlor working with Stern.

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      -- now where did I put that .sig
  3. Two Words: Tattoo Assassins by JMandingo · · Score: 1

    If only Data East had went into production with this genius work, Fakuda would be right up there with Master Gates:

    http://www.bunnyears.net/tattoo

    (just a wee little bit of sarcasm)

    --
    Vonnegut was right: Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."
  4. Investors.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are you a BAD ENOUGH DUDE to RESCUE DATA EAST?

    1. Re:Investors.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bump

  5. Games? by HunterZ · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Does this mean that Data East titles such as Heavy Barrel and Bad Dudes are now abandonware?

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    Arguing about vi versus Emacs is like arguing whether it's better to make fire by rubbing sticks or banging rocks.
    1. Re:Games? by Echnin · · Score: 1

      I'd post this as a link, but frickin' Windows won't let me change the keyboard layout, so I can't make those less-than-greater-than things. Sorry. Game number 88 of ~4500 on the-underdogs: http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=88 ... It's been there a while

      --
      Lalala
    2. Re:Games? by xenocide2 · · Score: 1

      Just cuz its on the underdogs doesn't mean its free or legal to download in your country.

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    3. Re:Games? by Scarblac · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Does this mean that Data East titles such as Heavy Barrel and Bad Dudes are now abandonware?

      Sure, as long as you remember that that doesn't actually mean anything. So-called "abandonware" games aren't legal to download, they're just considered unlikely to cause legal trouble in the eyes of some people running a site.

      The rights to these games will be bought by someone, and they get to decide what you can do - downloading them for free off some third party site isn't likely to be first on their list.

      --
      I believe posters are recognized by their sig. So I made one.
    4. Re:Games? by splerdu · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sure, as long as you remember that that doesn't actually mean anything. So-called "abandonware" games aren't legal to download, they're just considered unlikely to cause legal trouble in the eyes of some people running a site.

      So-called abandonware isn't legal to download, because a lot of abandonware sites put on titles that are only 5-10 years old. Everyone knows copyrights are good for 75 years so they aren't really abandonware. Unfortunately 75 years is an eternity for computers and software.

      The Data East products on the other hand, are now true abandonware. The entity holding the copyrights has been dissolved, and the works move on to become public domain... ...unless a holding company scoops them up. Better make sure that didn't happen before you start hosting bad dudes. =)

    5. Re:Games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure they are, there was a post to the underdogs from the slashdot main page a week ago, and everyone said it HAD to be perfectly legal, or else Underdogs would take it down!

    6. Re:Games? by xenocide2 · · Score: 1

      Actually thats not the case. Their faq even says that offering "abandonware" is illegal. What it does say, is that in the event that one of the copyright holders notices Underdog's actions and complains, they'll take it down. Still a criminal offense, reguardless of whether you stopped or not. If I recall correctly, part of what has kept the underdogs going is their cushy location within China.

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      I Browse at +4 Flamebait

      Open Source Sysadmin

  6. Hardest Game Ever by jeblucas · · Score: 3, Interesting
    As soon as I read the headline I thought of two games: Burgertime on the NES and Karnov on the NES. Burgertime was about the worst arcade-to-console translation ever. SUCH a pile. The controls were terrible--I would repeatedly miss ladders and shoot pepper in the wrong directions. HATED IT.

    Karnov was INSANELY difficult. I remember jumping really high and landing on bad guys that killed me about 12 seconds after the start of every game. Mind you, Metroid was out at the time--that was a little bit better. The only game harder that I played was that psycho Konami Rush'n Attack. I made it to Level 2 about 4 out of a million times and the dog+sniper combo always erased me. Maybe that Donkey Kong guy should take a crack at that bad boy.

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    blarg.
  7. Your move, creep! by sixb0nes · · Score: 1

    Robocop was a great cross-platform side scroller. They sure made you feel like a ton of bricks though - I remember it being quite difficult to master the shot timing.

    They published quite a few games I still enjoy today - hope they can pull out .. somehow.

  8. Shadowrun by Oakey · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They also made Shadowrun for the SNES (or published it, they were responsible in some way). This game was brilliant. Such a shame they never made a sequel.

    --
    "Dre don't get as high as me.... I'm Cheech and Chong" - Snoop Dogg
    1. Re:Shadowrun by Islington_66_81 · · Score: 0

      the version for the sega was at least 10 times better

  9. Never make a deal with a Dragon by August_zero · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Very different games though

    The Version on the Sega was closer to the source material, but I have to agree with the above and say that the SNES version was better.

    Better story, hell great story and far less tedious.

    --
    On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
    1. Re:Never make a deal with a Dragon by Oakey · · Score: 1

      Ok, so I did some checking. Data East was responsible for Shadowrun on the SNES (I thought it was FASA but I believe that's where the license came from?). Anyway, yes, Shadowrun. This title seems to have been overlooked during this discussion about Data East (same at Penny Arcade forums too, no one seems to remember Data East being responsible either).

      The game had a great story, seriously, you wake up in a morgue at the start. How many games can boast that? For those who completed it you'll remember Drake saying "See you in Shadowrun 2" in the ending. So what happened? Microsoft happened (I'm sure interest in this thread discussion will soon rise).

      Microsoft bought the License along with the Mechwarrior series. So, the balls in their court. They could (should) release a new Shadowrun game, but it's unlikely.

      --
      "Dre don't get as high as me.... I'm Cheech and Chong" - Snoop Dogg
    2. Re:Never make a deal with a Dragon by August_zero · · Score: 1

      It seems like a license that is ripe for a new game, perhaps a MMORPG? X-box live needs one hella bad to compete with evercrap on the PS2, and if they implemented the game right, it could have something for everyone; hacking, driving, magic, automatic weapons....

      --
      On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?