Artoon
Encyclopedia
Artoon is a computer and video game third-party developer established in 1999. The team was primarily affiliated in the United States
with recent and current Microsoft
Xbox
and Xbox 360
projects, although they had also worked with Hudson Soft
and Nintendo
on other platforms. Key Artoon personnel include Yoji Ishii, Manabu Kusunoki, Hidetoshi Takeshita, Yutaka Sugano, Masamichi Harada, Takuya Matsumoto and Naoto Ōshima. When the company formed, it drew personnel and talent from several of Sega
's development teams, particularly those which worked on Sonic the Hedgehog
(created by Ōshima), and Panzer Dragoon
. The developer had approximately 85 employees. The company's focus was to create original game content for various consoles.
Artoon was situated in Yokohama
, Kanagawa prefecture
, Japan
. A secondary studio was maintained in Naha, Okinawa prefecture, Japan
Artoon along with feelplus and Cavia were all absorbed into parent company, AQ Interactive .
Game Boy Advance
Nintendo DS
PlayStation 2
Xbox
Xbox 360
Wii
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with recent and current Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and 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...
projects, although they had also worked with Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
on other platforms. Key Artoon personnel include Yoji Ishii, Manabu Kusunoki, Hidetoshi Takeshita, Yutaka Sugano, Masamichi Harada, Takuya Matsumoto and Naoto Ōshima. When the company formed, it drew personnel and talent from several of Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's development teams, particularly those which worked on Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog series
Sonic the Hedgehog is the best selling video game series released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character, Sonic the Hedgehog...
(created by Ōshima), and Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon
is a rail shooter video game released for the Sega Saturn in 1995; and later released on PC, PlayStation 2, and as a bonus in its sequel Panzer Dragoon Orta for Xbox...
. The developer had approximately 85 employees. The company's focus was to create original game content for various consoles.
Artoon was situated in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Kanagawa prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, 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...
. A secondary studio was maintained in Naha, Okinawa prefecture, 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...
Artoon along with feelplus and Cavia were all absorbed into parent company, AQ Interactive .
Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
- Pinobee: Wings of AdventurePinobee: Wings of AdventurePinobee: Wings of Adventure, known is Japan as Pinobee no Daibouken , is a platformer for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Artoon and published by Hudson Soft. The game was released as a launch title for the system, on March 21, 2001 in Japan and June 11, 2001 in North America...
(2001) - Pinobee and Phoebee (2002)
- Ghost Trap (2002)
- The King of Fighters EX: Neo-Blood (2003)
- Yoshi's Universal Gravitation (2004)
Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
- Yoshi's Island DS (2006)
- Away: Shuffle DungeonAway: Shuffle Dungeonis an action role-playing game developed by Artoon and Mistwalker for the Nintendo DS. The story involves a curse called "Away", which causes a person to mysteriously vanish from a village each year...
(2008) - The World of Golden Eggs: Nori Nori Rhythm-kei (2009)
PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
- Ghost Vibration (2002)
- Swords of Yi (Cancelled)
- Swords of Destiny (2005)
XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
- Blinx: The Time SweeperBlinx: The Time SweeperBlinx: The Time Sweeper is a platform game developed by Artoon and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox on October 7, 2002...
(2002) - Blinx 2: Masters of Time and SpaceBlinx 2: Masters of Time and SpaceBlinx 2: Masters of Time and Space is a 3D third-person platform game developed by Artoon and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
(2004)
Xbox 360Xbox 360The 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...
- Blue Dragon (2006)
- Vampire Rain (2007)
- Robotics;NotesRobotics;Notesis an upcoming Japanese visual novel developed and published by 5pb.. The game will be released on the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 video game consoles in spring 2012. The game is described as an and is the third entry in the science adventure series....
(2012) (co-developed with 5pb.5pb.is a Japanese video game manufacturer and record label for video game and anime music. 5pb. formed on April 6, 2005 after Chiyomaru Shikura left Scitron to begin the company as its executive director, the position he still holds. The company name is derived from the phrase "The Five powered &...
)
WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
- The World of Golden Eggs: Nori Nori Rhythm-keiThe World of Golden EggsThe World of Golden Eggs is an anime series made by PLUS heads inc.. The World of Golden Eggs #1 was ranked 9th out of the top 20 anime DVDs sold in Japan in 2007, with 59,000 copies sold...
(2008) - Club Penguin: Game Day! (2010)
- FlingSmash (2010)