Data East Declares Bankruptcy
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.
So much for my hopes for "Karnov: Online"
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
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.
Are you a BAD ENOUGH DUDE to RESCUE DATA EAST?