is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese developer of console

Video game console

A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...

 and computer games

Computer Games

"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...

, currently based in Tsukishima

Tsukishima

Tsukishima is a place located in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. It is an island formed of reclaimed land completed in 1892, using earth from the dredging work performed to create a shipping channel in Tokyo Bay. At this time, it was designated an area for iron-working in accordance with the Fukoku Kyōhei...

, Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.

By far Artdink's biggest international success was the award-winning A-Train

A-Train

is a series of Arcade train simulation video games, originally developed and published by Japanese game developer Artdink in Japan. The first game in the series was published in 1985. The first release in the United States was Take the A-Train II, published in 1989 by the Seika Corporation under...

(known in Japan as A Ressha de Ikou, or "Take the A-Train") strategy game released for the PC

IBM PC compatible

IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...

 and Amiga

Amiga

The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

, which was published by SimCity

SimCity

SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...

creators Maxis

Maxis

Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...

. An NES

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

 version was also developed, but it never saw release outside of Japan. Artdink have released several sequels to this game, the most recent being A-Train HX for the Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 and Windows.

A few other Artdink titles have seen US and PAL release from various publishers, including Aquanaut's Holiday

Aquanaut's Holiday

Aquanaut's Holiday is an early PlayStation game by Artdink, in which the player assumes the role of an overworked marine explorer who returns to the water for pleasure after having brought harmony to the world's oceans...

(Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

), Carnage Heart

Carnage Heart

Carnage Heart is a video game for the PlayStation, developed by Artdink. Its gameplay is a mecha-based, turn-based strategy game, where the player takes the role of a commander in a war fought by robots...

(Sony), Turnabout (Natsume

Natsume Co., Ltd

is a Japanese video game developer and publisher in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan founded on October 20, 1987. Its American branch, Natsume Inc., is located in Burlingame, California...

/Zoo Digital), Tail of the Sun

Tail of the Sun

is a 3D action and role-playing game developed by Artdink and released on the PlayStation.The player's ultimate objective is to build a tower of mammoth tusks that reaches the sun...

(Sony), AIV Global: Evolution (Sony) and No One Can Stop Mr. Domino (Acclaim

Acclaim Entertainment

Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...

/JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

) for the PlayStation

PlayStation

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

. Despite critical acclaim, none of these titles have achieved mainstream success due to their unconventional nature.

Recently the European publisher Midas Interactive has obtained the rights to some of Artdink's PlayStation 2 games and published versions localised in English and other languages in PAL

PAL

PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...

 countries. Games released by Midas include Golful Golf (Mr. Golf), The Seed, Buchigire Kongou (Battle Construction Vehicles), and A Ressha de Ikou 6 (A-Train 6).

The company is currently working with CyberConnect2 on .hack//frägment, an online game in the .hack

.hack

.hack is a Japanese multimedia franchise that encompasses two projects; Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate. Both projects were primarily created/developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai...

 series. Their latest project has been shown in an issue of famitsu

Famitsu

is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...

. Macross

Macross

is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...

 Ace Frontier for the PSP

PlayStation Portable

The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

 , this is based on the Gundam

Gundam

The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....

 Battle series game engine.

External links

• Artdink
• Artdink profile on MobyGames
  MobyGames
  -Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
  
  
• Artdink company page at GameFAQs
  GameFAQs
  GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...