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ADK Corporation

October 16, 2023

For the advertising company ADK Holdings, see Asatsu-DK.

ADK Corporation (Japanese: 株式会社エーディーケイ, Hepburn: Kabushiki Kaisha ADK), formerly known as Alpha Denshi Corporation (アルファ電子株式会社), was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1980. ADK began as a developer of arcade games and is best known for their library of SNK Neo Geo titles, including for its home consoles, produced in partnership with SNK. Most notable among these are their fighting games and, in particular, the World Heroes series and Aggressors of Dark Kombat. The company closed with properties sold to SNK Playmore in 2003.

ADK
TypePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedJuly 1980 (as Alpha Denshi)
1993 (as ADK)
Defunct2003
FateClosed, properties sold
SuccessorSNK
HeadquartersAgeo, Saitama, Japan
ProductsArcade games
Video games

History Edit

Early years Edit

ADK was founded in July 1980 in Ageo, Saitama, Japan.[1] At the time, it was known as Alpha Denshi or Alpha for short. Originally a producer of audio and telecommunications equipment, Alpha first ventured into video games in 1980 with two arcade titles: Dorachan (ドラちゃん) by Craul Denshi and Tehkan's Shogi (将棋), a basic Japanese chess game. Dorachan was recalled shortly after release due to unlicensed usage of the fictional character Doraemon.

Despite an inauspicious start, Alpha continued to develop arcade games in 1981. Janputer (ジャンピュータ), published by Sanritsu Giken Corp, was one of the earliest arcade Mahjong titles and helped Alpha to establish themselves in the industry. That same year, Craul Denshi released Alpha's Crush Roller (Make Trax),[2] a maze game similar to Pac-Man. By 1982, Alpha was able to finance their own independent development of Talbot, another maze game, which they licensed to Volt Electronics for distribution. In 1983, Alpha expanded into sports games with their self-published Exciting Soccer[3] and two Champion Baseball titles for Sega. Alpha would produce several more games for Sega through the mid 1980s while continuing to publish others on their own.

Partnership with SNK Edit

Alpha Denshi began developing games almost exclusively for SNK hardware in 1987. In 1990, SNK was developing a new unified video game platform for both the home and arcades. Alpha was a close partner in the process and contributed much of the hardware design for what would eventually become the Neo Geo.[1][4] The 1990 Neo Geo arcade launch lineup included two Alpha titles: Magician Lord and Ninja Combat. Magician Lord was also later included as a pack-in game for the 1991 home console, the Neo Geo AES.

In 1992, following the revitalization of the fighting game genre by Capcom's Street Fighter II, Alpha developed World Heroes with assistance from SNK. It would go on to sell over 200,000 copies that year,[1] and its popularity quickly spawned multiple sequels. In 1993, Alpha Denshi shortened its name to ADK, short for Alpha Denshi Kabushiki gaisha (Japanese for "share company"). Shortly thereafter, ADK agreed to become an exclusive developer for SNK. In 1994, SNK launched the CD-ROM-based version of the Neo Geo, the Neo Geo CD. ADK soon began porting their existing library to the new platform. In addition, ADK developed three new exclusive titles for the Neo Geo CD: Crossed Swords II, ADK World and ZinTrick.

In the late 1990s, newer fifth generation consoles with 3D graphics and CD audio were becoming more popular with consumers and an attractive target for video game developers. Still under exclusive contract, ADK was only allowed to develop two Sega Saturn ports: World Heroes Perfect and Twinkle Star Sprites, both published by SNK. Meanwhile, SNK released the short-lived Neo Geo Pocket and Pocket Color handhelds in 1998 and 1999. ADK developed only eight titles for the platform which was dwarfed in sales by Nintendo's Game Boy Color and lasted less than three years.

During this same time, the developer Miraisoft released two Sony PlayStation games with ADK included in the credits. This aroused suspicion at the time because while Miraisoft was officially listed as an "affiliate company" of ADK,[1] ADK was still under exclusive contract with SNK and could not release PlayStation games themselves. While no further link between the two companies was publicly announced, it has been suspected that ADK used the affiliate brand to circumvent SNK's terms.[5] In any event, ADK continued to develop Neo Geo games until 2001 when SNK declared bankruptcy.

Final years Edit

ADK was already facing financial difficulty and had reduced its workforce prior to SNK's demise. In 2000, ADK released its last video game title, Dynamite Slugger, and was primarily focused on developing content for Japanese i-mode-based mobile devices.[1] A variety of content was developed spanning informational, social networking and digital pet sites.[6] However, ADK could not reverse their fortunes and ultimately declared bankruptcy in 2003. By this time, the successor to SNK, SNK Playmore, had already been established and was actively producing video games. Soon after the bankruptcy, SNK Playmore bought up ADK's relinquished intellectual properties, including ADK trademark.[7][better source needed]

Legacy Edit

To this day, ADK characters are still known to occasionally appear in SNK Playmore games. First, in 2005, SNK released a sequel to ADK's Twinkle Star Sprites, called Twinkle Star Sprites - La Petite Princesse for the PlayStation 2. In that same year came Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, a console and arcade fighting game featuring several characters from the World Heroes and Aggressors of Dark Kombat franchises. In 2008, SNK released a compilation of five classic ADK Neo Geo titles for the PlayStation 2 titled ADK Tamashii (ADK魂) (lit. "ADK Spirits").[8] In 2019, Jeanne D'Arc, one of the characters from the World Heroes series has appeared as playable DLC character in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy.

List of products Edit

The following lists ADK-developed titles by platform of earliest release. Third-party publishers are also noted.

Early arcade games Edit

NES Edit

  • STED: Iseki Wakusei no Yabou (1990, K Amusement Leasing/KAC[10])

Neo Geo Edit

Neo Geo CD Edit

All released Neo Geo titles were also ported to Neo Geo CD.

Hyper Neo Geo 64 Edit

  • Beast Busters: Second Nightmare (1998, SNK)

PlayStation Edit

  • Treasure Gear (1997, as Miraisoft)
  • Star Monja (1998, as Miraisoft, published by GMF)

Neo Geo Pocket Edit

  • Melon Chan no Seichō Nikki ("Melon-chan's Growth Diary") (1998, SNK)
  • Shōgi no Tatsujin: Master of Syougi (1998, SNK)

Neo Geo Pocket Color Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ a b c d e [ADK Corporate Information]. Z-channel (in Japanese). ADK corporation. Archived from the original on August 3, 2001.
  2. ^ Crush Roller at the Killer List of Videogames
  3. ^ Exciting Soccer at the Killer List of Videogames
  4. ^ "What's "NEOGEO"". Arcadia. April 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. ^ . Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. (in Japanese)
  6. ^ (in Japanese). ADK corporation. Archived from the original on April 2, 2002.
  7. ^ "SNK Playmore World Heroes Trademark". Industrial Property Digital Library. 2003. Registration number 4771590. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 23 July 2014. (Search required)
  8. ^ "ADK魂" (in Japanese). SNK Playmore. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  9. ^ Roberts, Mike (June 1985). "Coin-Op Connection". Computer Gamer. No. 3. Argus Press. pp. 18–9.
  10. ^ KAC was a company known for supporting SNK in the NES market.
  11. ^ "Dynamite Slugger". IGN. May 3, 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2019.

External links Edit

  • at Jap-Sai.com
  • ADK Corporation at MobyGames
  • (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2014-07-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  • ADK Game Developer Research Institute

October 16, 2023
corporation, advertising, company, holdings, asatsu, japanese, 株式会社エーディーケイ, hepburn, kabushiki, kaisha, formerly, known, alpha, denshi, corporation, アルファ電子株式会社, japanese, video, game, developer, founded, 1980, began, developer, arcade, games, best, known, thei. For the advertising company ADK Holdings see Asatsu DK ADK Corporation Japanese 株式会社エーディーケイ Hepburn Kabushiki Kaisha ADK formerly known as Alpha Denshi Corporation アルファ電子株式会社 was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1980 ADK began as a developer of arcade games and is best known for their library of SNK Neo Geo titles including for its home consoles produced in partnership with SNK Most notable among these are their fighting games and in particular the World Heroes series and Aggressors of Dark Kombat The company closed with properties sold to SNK Playmore in 2003 ADKTypePrivateIndustryVideo gamesFoundedJuly 1980 as Alpha Denshi 1993 as ADK Defunct2003FateClosed properties soldSuccessorSNKHeadquartersAgeo Saitama JapanProductsArcade gamesVideo games Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 Partnership with SNK 1 3 Final years 1 4 Legacy 2 List of products 2 1 Early arcade games 2 2 NES 2 3 Neo Geo 2 4 Neo Geo CD 2 5 Hyper Neo Geo 64 2 6 PlayStation 2 7 Neo Geo Pocket 2 8 Neo Geo Pocket Color 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditEarly years Edit ADK was founded in July 1980 in Ageo Saitama Japan 1 At the time it was known as Alpha Denshi or Alpha for short Originally a producer of audio and telecommunications equipment Alpha first ventured into video games in 1980 with two arcade titles Dorachan ドラちゃん by Craul Denshi and Tehkan s Shogi 将棋 a basic Japanese chess game Dorachan was recalled shortly after release due to unlicensed usage of the fictional character Doraemon Despite an inauspicious start Alpha continued to develop arcade games in 1981 Janputer ジャンピュータ published by Sanritsu Giken Corp was one of the earliest arcade Mahjong titles and helped Alpha to establish themselves in the industry That same year Craul Denshi released Alpha s Crush Roller Make Trax 2 a maze game similar to Pac Man By 1982 Alpha was able to finance their own independent development of Talbot another maze game which they licensed to Volt Electronics for distribution In 1983 Alpha expanded into sports games with their self published Exciting Soccer 3 and two Champion Baseball titles for Sega Alpha would produce several more games for Sega through the mid 1980s while continuing to publish others on their own Partnership with SNK Edit Alpha Denshi began developing games almost exclusively for SNK hardware in 1987 In 1990 SNK was developing a new unified video game platform for both the home and arcades Alpha was a close partner in the process and contributed much of the hardware design for what would eventually become the Neo Geo 1 4 The 1990 Neo Geo arcade launch lineup included two Alpha titles Magician Lord and Ninja Combat Magician Lord was also later included as a pack in game for the 1991 home console the Neo Geo AES In 1992 following the revitalization of the fighting game genre by Capcom s Street Fighter II Alpha developed World Heroes with assistance from SNK It would go on to sell over 200 000 copies that year 1 and its popularity quickly spawned multiple sequels In 1993 Alpha Denshi shortened its name to ADK short for Alpha Denshi Kabushiki gaisha Japanese for share company Shortly thereafter ADK agreed to become an exclusive developer for SNK In 1994 SNK launched the CD ROM based version of the Neo Geo the Neo Geo CD ADK soon began porting their existing library to the new platform In addition ADK developed three new exclusive titles for the Neo Geo CD Crossed Swords II ADK World and ZinTrick In the late 1990s newer fifth generation consoles with 3D graphics and CD audio were becoming more popular with consumers and an attractive target for video game developers Still under exclusive contract ADK was only allowed to develop two Sega Saturn ports World Heroes Perfect and Twinkle Star Sprites both published by SNK Meanwhile SNK released the short lived Neo Geo Pocket and Pocket Color handhelds in 1998 and 1999 ADK developed only eight titles for the platform which was dwarfed in sales by Nintendo s Game Boy Color and lasted less than three years During this same time the developer Miraisoft released two Sony PlayStation games with ADK included in the credits This aroused suspicion at the time because while Miraisoft was officially listed as an affiliate company of ADK 1 ADK was still under exclusive contract with SNK and could not release PlayStation games themselves While no further link between the two companies was publicly announced it has been suspected that ADK used the affiliate brand to circumvent SNK s terms 5 In any event ADK continued to develop Neo Geo games until 2001 when SNK declared bankruptcy Final years Edit ADK was already facing financial difficulty and had reduced its workforce prior to SNK s demise In 2000 ADK released its last video game title Dynamite Slugger and was primarily focused on developing content for Japanese i mode based mobile devices 1 A variety of content was developed spanning informational social networking and digital pet sites 6 However ADK could not reverse their fortunes and ultimately declared bankruptcy in 2003 By this time the successor to SNK SNK Playmore had already been established and was actively producing video games Soon after the bankruptcy SNK Playmore bought up ADK s relinquished intellectual properties including ADK trademark 7 better source needed Legacy Edit To this day ADK characters are still known to occasionally appear in SNK Playmore games First in 2005 SNK released a sequel to ADK s Twinkle Star Sprites called Twinkle Star Sprites La Petite Princesse for the PlayStation 2 In that same year came Neo Geo Battle Coliseum a console and arcade fighting game featuring several characters from the World Heroes and Aggressors of Dark Kombat franchises In 2008 SNK released a compilation of five classic ADK Neo Geo titles for the PlayStation 2 titled ADK Tamashii ADK魂 lit ADK Spirits 8 In 2019 Jeanne D Arc one of the characters from the World Heroes series has appeared as playable DLC character in SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy List of products EditThe following lists ADK developed titles by platform of earliest release Third party publishers are also noted Early arcade games Edit Dorachan 1980 Craul Denshi Shogi 1980 Tehkan Janputer 1981 Sanritsu Giken Jump Bug 1981 contracted by Hoei Sangyo published by Sega Crush Roller Make Trax 1981 Craul Denshi Talbot 1982 Exciting Soccer 1983 Champion Baseball 1983 Sega Champion Baseball II 1983 Sega Bull Fighter 1984 Sega Equites 1984 Sega Exciting Soccer II 1985 High Voltage 1985 Perfect Janputer 1985 The Koukou Yakyu lit The High School Baseball 1985 Splendor Blast 1985 9 Super Stingray 1986 Sega Kyros No Yakata Kyros 1986 Time Soldiers Battle Field 1987 SNK Sky Soldiers 1988 SNK Gang Wars 1989 SNK Sky Adventure 1989 SNK Super Champion Baseball 1989 SNK formally titled as Kaettekita Champion Baseball NES Edit STED Iseki Wakusei no Yabou 1990 K Amusement Leasing KAC 10 Neo Geo Edit Magician Lord 1990 SNK Ninja Combat 1990 SNK Sun Shine Block Paradise 1990 unreleased Blue s Journey Raguy 1990 SNK Thrash Rally 1991 SNK Rally Chase on NGCD Crossed Swords 1991 SNK Fun Fun Bros 1991 unreleased Mystic Wand 1991 unreleased Ninja Commando 1992 SNK World Heroes 1992 assisted by and published with SNK World Heroes 2 1993 assisted by and published with SNK Aggressors of Dark Kombat 1994 SNK World Heroes 2 Jet 1994 SNK Shōgi no Tatsujin Master of Syougi 1995 SNK World Heroes Perfect 1995 SNK Ninja Master s Haō Ninpō Chō 1996 SNK Over Top 1996 Twinkle Star Sprites 1996 SNK Dance RhythMIX 2002 unreleased Neo Geo CD Edit All released Neo Geo titles were also ported to Neo Geo CD Crossed Swords II 1995 ADK World 1995 ZinTrick 1996 SNK Hyper Neo Geo 64 Edit Beast Busters Second Nightmare 1998 SNK PlayStation Edit Treasure Gear 1997 as Miraisoft Star Monja 1998 as Miraisoft published by GMF Neo Geo Pocket Edit Melon Chan no Seichō Nikki Melon chan s Growth Diary 1998 SNK Shōgi no Tatsujin Master of Syougi 1998 SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color Edit Crush Roller 1999 SNK Dokodemo Mahjong 1999 SNK Neo Poke Pro Yakyu 1999 SNK Party Mail 1999 SNK Shōgi no Tatsujin Master of Syougi Color 1999 SNK Dynamite Slugger 2000 SNK a baseball video game with twelve international teams to pick from 11 References Edit a b c d e ADK会社案内 ADK Corporate Information Z channel in Japanese ADK corporation Archived from the original on August 3 2001 Crush Roller at the Killer List of Videogames Exciting Soccer at the Killer List of Videogames What s NEOGEO Arcadia April 2010 Retrieved 19 July 2014 ADK HEROES an ADK fan site Archived from the original on June 11 2009 in Japanese Z channel in Japanese ADK corporation Archived from the original on April 2 2002 SNK Playmore World Heroes Trademark Industrial Property Digital Library 2003 Registration number 4771590 Archived from the original on 2014 07 26 Retrieved 23 July 2014 Search required ADK魂 in Japanese SNK Playmore Retrieved 28 July 2014 Roberts Mike June 1985 Coin Op Connection Computer Gamer No 3 Argus Press pp 18 9 KAC was a company known for supporting SNK in the NES market Dynamite Slugger IGN May 3 2000 Retrieved October 28 2019 External links EditThe History of ADKat Jap Sai com ADK Corporation at MobyGames ADK Official Website in Japanese Archived from the original on 2002 10 01 Retrieved 2014 07 12 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link ADK Game Developer Research Institute Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ADK Corporation amp oldid 1175702559, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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