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Tradewest is a now-defunct American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 video game company based in Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana, Texas

Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, Texas, United States. It its located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas....
 that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. The company is best known as the publisher of the Battletoads
Battletoads

Battletoads is a video game created by Rare to rival the List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games series. The first game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and then ported to the Amiga in 1992, Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, and Amiga CD32 in 1994....
 and Double Dragon series in North America and the PAL region
PAL region

The PAL region is a video game publication territory which covers Australia, New Zealand and varying European countries. Most games designated as part of the region will not play on NTSC-U/C or NTSC-J region consoles because of regional lockout....
.

History
Tradewest was founded in 1986 by John Rowe (former Executive Vice President, SNK Corp, Japan's U.S. subsidiary), Leland Cook (banker and rancher) and his son Byron Cook.






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Encyclopedia


Tradewest is a now-defunct American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 video game company based in Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana, Texas

Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, Texas, United States. It its located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas....
 that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. The company is best known as the publisher of the Battletoads
Battletoads

Battletoads is a video game created by Rare to rival the List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games series. The first game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and then ported to the Amiga in 1992, Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, and Amiga CD32 in 1994....
 and Double Dragon series in North America and the PAL region
PAL region

The PAL region is a video game publication territory which covers Australia, New Zealand and varying European countries. Most games designated as part of the region will not play on NTSC-U/C or NTSC-J region consoles because of regional lockout....
.

History


Tradewest was founded in 1986 by John Rowe (former Executive Vice President, SNK Corp, Japan's U.S. subsidiary), Leland Cook (banker and rancher) and his son Byron Cook. Tradewest started out by manufacturing SNK
SNK Playmore

SNK Playmore is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of Shin Nihon Kikaku , Japanese for "New Japan Project"....
's Ikari Warriors
Ikari Warriors

Ikari Warriors is a 1986 arcade game by SNK Playmore, published in the United States and Europe by Tradewest. Known simply as in Japan, this was SNK's first major breakthrough US release and became something of a classic....
 arcade game
Arcade game

An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, typically installed in businesses such as restaurants, public houses, video arcades, and Family Entertainment Centers....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, along with "Victory Road, Alpha Mission and developed their own Redline Racer", John Elway's Quarterback and Ivan "ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road, as the company would shift away from the coin-op arcade game business to concentrate on video games for home consoles
Video game console

A video game console is an game development that produces a video signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machi...
.

In 1987, Tradewest purchased Cinematronics
Cinematronics

Cinematronics Incorporated was a pioneering arcade game video game developer that had its heyday in the era of vector graphics games. While other companies released games based on raster graphicss, early in their history, Cinematronics and Atari released vector-display games, which offered a distinctive look and a greater graphic capability ,...
 (video game developer and manufacturer) of El Cajon, California whose previous games included Dragon's Lair and Space Ace and renamed it The Leland Corporation
Leland corporation

company_name = Leland Corporation, The|company_logo =|foundation = El Cajon, CA, United States|location_city = El Cajon, California|location_country = United States...
. John Rowe was chosen to run the El Cajon office as he already had a successful history in video games as executive vice-president of SNK's Japans, U.S.(American) division.

Tradewest was acquired by WMS Industries (the owners of the Williams
Williams (gaming company)

WMS Industries, Inc. is a long-standing United States electronic gaming and amusement company based in Waukegan, Illinois. WMS traces its roots far back as 1943 as the Williams Manufacturing Company founded by Harry E....
 and Midway
Midway Games

'Midway Games' is an United States video game publisher and video game developer. Midway's legacy includes landmark titles such as Mortal Kombat , Ms....
 brands) in 1994, and renamed Williams Entertainment, Inc., thus signaling the end of Tradewest as a company. Williams Entertainment became WMS's official division and entrance to the video game console
Video game console

A video game console is an game development that produces a video signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machi...
 market. In 1996, WMS was losing interest in video games and, as such, Williams Entertainment was transferred to Midway who renamed the division Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.. Like it was the case with WMS, the division served as Midway's foothold to the home console market, who could now develop and publish video games in-house without having to rely on other publishers. Both the Corsicana, Texas and a new R&D facility in San Diego remained opened within Midway and continued to employ Byron Cook (who became president of Midway Home Entertainment) and John Rowe (who became Vice-Chairman and Director of Product Development) developing and publishing games for Nintendo, Microsoft X Box, Sony Playstation and the PC. In 2001 John Rowe left Midway Games and established a new studio in Carlsbad, California, Sammy Studios which later became High Moon Studios. In 2006 High Moon Studios was acquired by Vivendi-Universal and in 2008 became part of Activision Blizzard the largest video game publisher in the world at that time.

Some of the many award winning games developed and published by Tradewest and Midway Games includes, Ikari Warriors, John Elway's Quarterback, Magic Johnson's Fastbreak, Super Off-Road, Battletoads, Double Dragon, Mortal Kombat, NFL Blitz, NBA Showtime, Doom 64, Cruisin USA, Ready to Rumble and Hydro Thunder.http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,122934/

Aftermath


  • Midway's head office
    Head Office

    Head Office is a 1985 comedy film. It stars Judge Reinhold, Eddie Albert, Lori-Nan Engler, Jane Seymour , Richard Masur, Michael O'Donoghue, Ron Frazier, Merritt Butrick and was film director and screenwriter by Ken Finkleman....
     in Chicago
    Chicago

    Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
     shut down the Corsicana location and terminated its staff in late 2002.


  • The El Cajon location moved to nearby San Diego, California
    San Diego, California

    San Diego is the second largest city in California and the List of United States cities by population, located along the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast of the United States of the Western United States....
     and is now the only office for Midway Home Entertainment.


  • Byron Cook has left video games for politics
    Politics

    Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporation, academia, and religion institutions....
     at the end of the year 2000. He is a Republican
    Republican Party (United States)

    The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
     State Representative in Texas
    Texas

    Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
     for the Corsicana district
    District

    Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipality, or subdivisions of municipalities....
    .


  • John Rowe was the founder, president and CEO of High Moon Studios
    High Moon Studios

    High Moon Studios , part of Sierra Entertainment, is an American video game developer that started out as Sammy Studios and, after a period as independent studio in 2005 under the current studio name, was acquired by Vivendi Games....
     (formerly Sammy Studios).


  • John Rowe continues to be an award winning photographer who spends much of his time in Africa and Asia photographing disappearing indigenous people and cultures.http://www.johnrowephoto.com/


List of games distributed by Tradewest


Arcade

  • Alpha Mission
    Alpha Mission

    Alpha Mission is a vertical Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters arcade game created by SNK Playmore in 1985. It was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987....
     (1985)
  • Ikari Warriors
    Ikari Warriors

    Ikari Warriors is a 1986 arcade game by SNK Playmore, published in the United States and Europe by Tradewest. Known simply as in Japan, this was SNK's first major breakthrough US release and became something of a classic....
     (1986)
  • Victory Road (1987)


Nintendo Entertainment System

  • Double Dragon
    Double Dragon (arcade game)

    is a 1987 beat-em-up developed by Technos Japan and distributed in North America and Europe by Taito Corporation. The game is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat-em-up, Renegade , but introduced several additions such as two-player cooperative gameplay and the ability to arm oneself with an enemy's weapon after d...
     (June 1988)
  • John Elway's Quarterback Challenge (March 1989)
  • Taboo: The Sixth Sense
    Taboo: The Sixth Sense

    Taboo: The Sixth Sense is a video game developed by Rare and published by Tradewest for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989 that gives users a tarot reading where the "dealer" automatically shuffles the cards....
     (April 1989)
  • Magic Johnson's Fast Break (March 1990)
  • Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road
    Super Off Road

    Super Off Road, also known as Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road, is an arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. Virgin Games produced several home versions in 1990....
     (April 1990)
  • Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
    Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship

    Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship is the third video game in the Jetman series. It was designed and developed by Zippo Games for Rare and released in the US by Tradewest in 1990, and in Europe by Nintendo, for the Nintendo Entertainment System....
     (September 1990)
  • Battletoads
    Battletoads

    Battletoads is a video game created by Rare to rival the List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games series. The first game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and then ported to the Amiga in 1992, Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, and Amiga CD32 in 1994....
     (June 1991)
  • High Speed (July 1991)
  • Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat (August 1992)
  • R.C. Pro-Am II
    R.C. Pro-Am II

    R.C. Pro-Am II is a racing game for the Nintendo Entertainment System released by Tradewest in 1992. The game was developed by Rare as a sequel to R.C....
     (December 1992)
  • Battletoads & Double Dragon
    Battletoads & Double Dragon

    Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team is a 1993 in video gaming beat 'em up developed by Rare and published by Tradewest. It was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and later ported to the Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy....
     (June 1993)


Game Boy

  • Double Dragon
    Double Dragon (arcade game)

    is a 1987 beat-em-up developed by Technos Japan and distributed in North America and Europe by Taito Corporation. The game is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat-em-up, Renegade , but introduced several additions such as two-player cooperative gameplay and the ability to arm oneself with an enemy's weapon after d...
     (August 1990)
  • Sneaky Snakes
    Sneaky Snakes

    Sneaky Snakes is a 1991 video game designed by Rare released on the Nintendo Game Boy. It is the sequel to the NES game, Snake Rattle 'n' Roll....
     (June 1991)
  • Battletoads (November 1991)
  • Jack Nicklaus Golf (May 1992)
  • Super Off Road
    Super Off Road

    Super Off Road, also known as Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road, is an arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. Virgin Games produced several home versions in 1990....
     (November 1992)
  • Battletoads in Raganarok's World
    Battletoads

    Battletoads is a video game created by Rare to rival the List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games series. The first game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and then ported to the Amiga in 1992, Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, and Amiga CD32 in 1994....
     (June 1993)
  • Battletoads & Double Dragon
    Battletoads & Double Dragon

    Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team is a 1993 in video gaming beat 'em up developed by Rare and published by Tradewest. It was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and later ported to the Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy....
     (December 1993)


Sega Genesis

  • Championship Pro-Am (May 12, 1992)
  • Battletoads
    Battletoads

    Battletoads is a video game created by Rare to rival the List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games series. The first game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and then ported to the Amiga in 1992, Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear both in 1993, and Amiga CD32 in 1994....
     (July 13, 1992)
  • Pro Quarterback (September 1992)
  • Fun 'N' Games (August 2, 1993)
  • Battletoads & Double Dragon (December 1993)
  • Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
    Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls

    Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls is a 1994 in video gaming American-produced sequel to Technos Japan's Double Dragon series. Unlike the previously produced Double Dragon games, Technos had little or no credited involvement in the development of the game outside of licensing the series' name to publisher Tradewest ....
     (August 5, 1994)
  • Troy Aikman NFL Football
    Troy Aikman NFL Football

    Troy Aikman NFL Football is an Atari Jaguar, Super NES and Sega Mega Drive American football video game where players can play exhibition matches, season matches, playoff matches, make their own plays for use on the field, and even pays salaries to his players....
     (August 1994)


Super Nintendo Entertainment System

  • Super Off Road
    Super Off Road

    Super Off Road, also known as Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road, is an arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. Virgin Games produced several home versions in 1990....
     (December 1991)
  • Jack Nicklaus Golf (May 1992)
  • Pro Quarterback (September 1992)
  • Super Double Dragon
    Super Double Dragon

    Super Double Dragon is the fourth game in Technos Japan Corporation Double Dragon of beat-em-ups. Unlike the previous Double Dragon, which were all originally released as arcade games and then adapted to the Nintendo Entertainment System , Super Double Dragon was produced exclusively for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System w...
     (October 15, 1992)
  • Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
    Battletoads in Battlemaniacs

    Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is a game released by Tradewest in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a sequel to Battletoads....
     (June 1993)
  • Super Baseball 2020
    Super Baseball 2020

    is a future baseball video game. It was first released in Japan for the Neo Geo in 1991, and then it was later released in North America for the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993....
     (July 1993)
  • Plok
    Plok

    Plok was a Super Nintendo Entertainment System game developed by Software Creations and published by Tradewest Games in 1993 in the United States, and later by Nintendo in Europe and Activision in Japan....
     (September 1993)
  • Super Off Road: The Baja (September 1993)
  • Battletoads & Double Dragon
    Battletoads & Double Dragon

    Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team is a 1993 in video gaming beat 'em up developed by Rare and published by Tradewest. It was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and later ported to the Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy....
     (December 1993)
  • Fun 'N' Games (August 1994)
  • Troy Aikman NFL Football
    Troy Aikman NFL Football

    Troy Aikman NFL Football is an Atari Jaguar, Super NES and Sega Mega Drive American football video game where players can play exhibition matches, season matches, playoff matches, make their own plays for use on the field, and even pays salaries to his players....
     (August 1994)
  • Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
    Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls

    Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls is a 1994 in video gaming American-produced sequel to Technos Japan's Double Dragon series. Unlike the previously produced Double Dragon games, Technos had little or no credited involvement in the development of the game outside of licensing the series' name to publisher Tradewest ....
     (August 5, 1994)


External links

  • profile on MobyGames
    MobyGames

    MobyGames is a website devoted to cataloging Video game, both past and present. The site contains an extensive database of video game information....