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Native name | 株式会社カルチャーブレーン |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki Gaisha Karuchā Burēn |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 5 October 1980 [1] |
| Headquarters | Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan |
| Total equity | ¥192 million (2007) [1] |
| Website | Official website |
Culture Brain Inc. (株式会社カルチャーブレーン, Kabushiki-gaisha Karuchā Burēn) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded on October 5, 1980.[1][2] In 2016, it was renamed Culture Brain Excel.[3]
Culture Brain was founded in 1980 as Nihon Game Corporation. In 1981, a subsidiary to handle the sales operations of the company was established. Its first video games were arcades games, with titles such as Shanghai Kid and Chinese Hero that were manufactured under "Taiyo Systems" trademark. In 1987, it transitioned from arcade to console video games and renamed itself "Culture Brain". The company has also alternatively used the brand "Micro Academy" in the mid-1980s.
In North America, Culture Brain is mostly known for its six video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and its three for the Super NES. Three of those NES games, Baseball Simulator 1.000, The Magic of Scheherazade and Flying Warriors, were strongly redesigned from their Japanese source to better appeal North American consumers.[4]
Culture Brain was distinct for its innovative gameplay by incorporating multiple genres in its games.[5] However, like many other Japanese video game companies, Culture Brain ceased its operations in the United States in the 1990s. Ever since the demise of Culture Brain USA, video games developed by the parent company have rarely made it in America. An exception of the latter situation is the Nintendo 64 version of Flying Dragon which was published by Natsume Inc. in the United States.
In 2016, the company was renamed Culture Brain Excel and the website's URL was changed to the new name.[3] The longtime Culture Brain logo was instantly dropped with the intent of launching a new logo in the following year.[3]
On September 7, 2021, Culture Brain Excel was renamed as Nihon Game once again, returning back to its original name from 1980.[6]
Culture Brain also ran until 2003 a professional school, the Culture Brain Art Institute.[7][8]
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Main article: List of Nintama Rantarō video games |
These baseball titles included some form of "Super League" where pitchers and batters would have special abilities.
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Main article: Hiryū no Ken |
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Main article: Super Chinese |
In this list are series which were originally released as "Chinese Hero", but became better known as Super Chinese, but with the exception of "Kung-Fu Heroes", these titles were released in North America as the "Ninja Brothers" series.
A Japan-only series of games for the GBA (with two DS versions) about fashion and dressing up. The games feature a wide range of clothes, shoes, accessories and makeup to be used in different combinations. There are 5 GBA games and 2 DS games.
A Japan-only series of games formally about care-taking ferrets, and later about care-taking hamsters. The illustrations of the Hamster Monogatari ones were heavily inspired by Ritsuko Kawai's children's storybook series, Hamtaro.
A Japan-only series of games about catching, training and battling insects. First released with Super Chinese Labyrinth both in Volume 3 of Culture Brain's Twin Series, a series of two-in-one Game Boy Advance games.
