Video System Co., Ltd. (ビデオシステム株式会社?) was a software company that was founded and ran by software designer Koji Furukawa in Kyoto, Japan in December 1984. It was best known for making video game titles for the arcades and other different platforms, including the Super Nintendo, Neo-Geo and Nintendo 64.
They released various types of arcade games throughout Japan and the U.S., such as Tail to Nose, the F1 Grand Prix series, Karate Blazers, Tao Taido, Rabbit Punch (known as Rabio Lepus in Japan), Turbo Force, Super Volleyball, and most notably, the Aero Fighters series.
Although Video System's main headquarters opened in Japan, they eventually opened a U.S. branch office. Sometime in 1992, Video System's U.S. office changed its name to McO'River, Inc., and was given the licensing rights to distribute Aero Fighters arcade machines throughout the U.S. In 1993, McO'River was supposed to publish 3 titles of arcade games in the U.S. that were ported over to the Super Famicom in Japan. While Video System developed and published numerous titles in Japan, McO'River would only able to publish 2 of them in the U.S.: Hyper V-Ball in June, 1994; and Aero Fighters in November, 1994.
The third title, F-1 Grand Prix 2, was never released in the U.S. for reasons unknown. McO'River would never publish another title under that name. Video System, meanwhile, released Aero Fighters 2 and 3 for the Neo-Geo, sequels which secured the shooter's success. In 1997, McO'River, Inc. changed its name to Video System U.S.A., Inc. Under that name, the company released Aero Fighters Assault, and F-1 World Grand Prix for the Nintendo 64. A sequel to the latter game, F-1 World Grand Prix II, was only released in Europe. Shortly before Video System closed its U.S. office sometime between 1999 and 2000 and closed all of its doors around 2001, the specific staff of Aero Fighters would go on to form their own company, Psikyo.
Famous quotes containing the words video and/or system:
“It is among the ranks of school-age children, those six- to twelve-year-olds who once avidly filled their free moments with childhood play, that the greatest change is evident. In the place of traditional, sometimes ancient childhood games that were still popular a generation ago, in the place of fantasy and make- believe play . . . today’s children have substituted television viewing and, most recently, video games.”
—Marie Winn (20th century)
“Columbus stood in his age as the pioneer of progress and enlightenment. The system of universal education is in our age the most prominent and salutary feature of the spirit of enlightenment, and it is peculiarly appropriate that the schools be made by the people the center of the day’s demonstration. Let the national flag float over every schoolhouse in the country and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)