Natsume Atari
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Private K.K. |
| Industry | Video game |
| Founded | 20 October 1987 |
| Headquarters | Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan[1] |
Key people | Takashi Matsumoto (CEO, Natsume-Atari) |
| Products | Power Rangers Medarot |
| Revenue | 719,000,000 yen |
Number of employees | 150[1] |
| Website | www |
Natsume Atari Co., Ltd. (Japanese: ナツメアタリ株式会社) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, known for developing licensed titles and mobile games.
The company was founded as Natsume Co., Ltd. (Japanese: ナツメ株式会社)in 1987. In 1995, its American division Natsume Inc. split to become an independent company. The name "Natsume" was retained by both companies in their respective countries. In 2013, Natsume Co., Ltd. renamed itself Natsume Atari following a merger with its subsidiary Atari Inc. (a pachinko company, not to be confused with the American game company) that year.[2] The company adopted its current name, Winning Entertainment Group Inc. (Japanese: Winning Entertainment Group株式会社; WEG), on January 1, 2026.[3]
Products
During the NES and SNES era, Natsume Co., Ltd developed numerous titles, often licensed, such as Power Rangers. Natsume Inc published a wide range of titles, including those developed by Natsume Co. Ltd., such as S.C.A.T., Wild Guns[4], Shadow of the Ninja and Pocky & Rocky. Natsume Co., Ltd also developed the Medarot games up until the end of the GBA era, and Natsume Inc. published some of them outside of Japan.
A sizeable amount of Natsume Co., Ltd products were video games it developed for other publishers. Some of its biggest clients over the years included Imagineer, Bandai, THQ and Taito. Most of Natsume's video games, as a sub-contractor, were original titles, but it occasionally developed some ports as well.
Corporate divisions
Natsume Co., Ltd. was founded in Japan on October 20, 1987.[1] It became the parent company of Natsume Inc., founded in May 1988. Natsume Inc. started publishing video games in 1990.[5] By 1995, Natsume Inc. had broken away into its own company and is separately owned and operated.[6]
In October 2002, Natsume Co., Ltd. founded the pachinko company Atari Inc. (not to be confused with the American game company) in Osaka, which specialized in developing slot and pinball machines. On May 6, 2005, Natsume Solution began operation in Shinjuku. This division specializes on web site development, providing mobile solutions/services and developing web systems. On March 1, 2006, Natsume Solution was merged with Evolve.
Natsume Co., Ltd. changed its name to Natsume Atari in October 2013, and it is not directly connected to Natsume Inc. or its subsidiary Natsume Inc. Japan. Despite their corporate split off, Nastume-Atari and Natsume Inc. continued to collaborate on a number of occasions.[7][8] Composed of veteran developers with an average age of 54 (as of 2022), its permanent members are composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, designer Shunichi Taniguchi, and programmer Toshiyasu Miyabe.[9] Its works include Wild Guns Reloaded, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors and Pocky & Rocky Reshrined. Within the company exists Tengo Project, an internal development team established as early as 2008 for the production of Omega Five, which has shifted its focus to modern revivals of classic video games.[10]
The company again changed its name to Winning Entertainment Group on January 1, 2026, to "mark a fresh chapter".[3] Natsume-Atari continues to be the name for the international operations in Europe and the Middle East, notably Bahrain where the company has an office.[11] Natsume Inc. still remains an affiliate company.[12]
Works
Pre-split Natsume
These are games produced while Natsume Inc., was still operating as a subsidiary of Natsume Co., Ltd. Natsume Inc. would publish only Natsume Co., Ltd.'s games until becoming independent in the mid-90s.
| Year | Title | Publisher(s) | Platform(s) | Details | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Touhouken Bunroku | Natsume | Famicom | Japan only | |
| 1989 | Idol Hakkenden | Towa Chiki | Famicom | Japan only | |
| Mitsume ga Tooru: The Three-Eyed One Comes Here | Natsume | MSX | Japan only | ||
| Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements | Natsume/Taito | NES | |||
| Abadox: The Deadly Inner War | Natsume/Milton Bradley | NES | |||
| 1990 | Amazing Penguin | Natsume | Game Boy | ||
| Power Blade | Taito | NES | Co-developed with Taito | ||
| Dragon Fighter | Towa Chiki/SOFEL | NES | |||
| S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team | Natsume/Infogrames | NES | |||
| Shadow of the Ninja | Natsume/Taito | NES | |||
| 1991 | Chōjin Sentai Jetman | Angel | Famicom | Japan only | |
| Ninja Gaiden Shadow | Tecmo | Game Boy | |||
| Spanky's Quest | Taito (GB), Natsume (SNES) | Game Boy, Super NES | |||
| Tail 'Gator | VAP/Natsume | Game Boy | |||
| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance | Pony Canyon | NES | |||
| Shatterhand | Angel/Jaleco | NES | |||
| Chaos World | Natsume | Famicom | Japan only | ||
| 1992 | The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper! | Taito/Mattel | NES | ||
| Mitsume ga Tōru | Tomy | Famicom | Japan only | ||
| Pocky & Rocky | Natsume | Super NES | |||
| Power Blade 2 | Taito | NES | Co-developed with Taito | ||
| Sagaia | Sega[a] | Master System | Europe and Brazil only; based on the Sega Genesis port | ||
| Special Criminal Investigation | Sega[a] | Master System | Europe and Brazil only | ||
| 1993 | Renegade | Sega[a] | Master System | Europe, Brazil and Australia only | |
| Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling | Masaya | Super Famicom | Japan only | ||
| Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling Dash: Sekai Saikyō Tag | Masaya | Super Famicom | Updated version; Japan only | ||
| Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body | Banalex | Super Famicom | Japan only | ||
| 1994 | Pocky & Rocky 2 | Natsume/Ocean Software | Super NES | ||
| Wild Guns | Natsume/Titus Software | Super NES | |||
| Natsume Championship Wrestling | Natsume | Super NES | Heavily based on Zen-Nippon Wrestling Dash | ||
| The Ninja Warriors | Taito/Titus | Super NES | |||
| Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | Bandai | Super NES |
Post-split
Since splitting from Natsume Inc., WEG has mostly acted as a developer - although it has also published some games, notably in the Medarot series.
Tengo Project
| Year | Title | Publisher(s) | Platform(s) | Details | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Omega Five | Hudson Soft | Xbox 360 | ||
| 2016 | Wild Guns Reloaded | Natsume Co. (JP), Natsume Inc. (WW) | PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch | Based on Wild Guns (1994) | |
| 2019 | The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors | Taito (JP and PC), ININ Games (WW) | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows | Based on The Ninja Warriors (1994) | |
| 2022 | Pocky & Rocky Reshrined | Taito (JP), Natsume Inc. (WW), Natsume Atari (PC), ININ Games (Xbox) | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox Series X/S | Based on Pocky & Rocky (1992) | |
| 2024 | Shadow of the Ninja Reborn | Natsume Atari (JP), ININ Games (WW) | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S | Based on Shadow of the Ninja (1990) |
Note
References
- ^ a b c INC., NATSUME ATARI (December 18, 2017). "ゲーム遊技機開発のナツメアタリ株式会社｜ナツメアタリ株式会社". ナツメアタリ株式会社.
- ^ INC., NATSUME ATARI (December 18, 2017). "ゲーム遊技機開発のナツメアタリ株式会社｜ナツメアタリ株式会社". ナツメアタリ株式会社.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (December 25, 2025). "Natsume Atari to change name to Winning Entertainment Group on January 1, 2026". Gematsu. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
- ^ "Wild Guns - Instructions manual" (PDF). Natsume Inc.
- ^ "Natsume - Serious Fun!". March 3, 2005. Archived from the original on March 3, 2005.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Fragments of Silicon - Live & Recorded Episodes". www.talkshoe.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ^ "[Industry Interviews] Taka Maekawa from Natsume Inc". November 22, 2017.
- ^ "The Classic SNES Shooter Comes to PlayStation 4 This Fall" (PDF).
- ^ "TENGO PROJECT - About". Natsume Atari. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
- ^ "Tengo Project". Gematsu. October 18, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
- ^ "NatsumeAtari". www.natsumeatari.co.jp.
- ^ "Winning Entertainment Group Inc. | Game Development, IP Production & Global Entertainment". 株式会社.
- ^ "Dragon Dance". IGN. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ Romano, Sal (April 12, 2022). "Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising launches May 10". Gematsu. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Sal (December 1, 2023). "Penny Blood roguelike companion game Penny Blood: Hellbound announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Romano, Sal (February 21, 2024). "FuRyu and Natsume Atari announce Shibuya-set action RPG REYNATIS for PS5, PS4, and Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
External links
- Natsume Atari homepage (Japanese)
- Natsume Co., Ltd. homepage (Japanese, old)
- Natsume Solution/evolve Co., Ltd. homepage (Japanese)