Native name | |
---|---|
Japanese name | |
Kanji | 株式会社ウエストン·ビット·エンタテインメント |
Formerly |
|
Founded | May 1986 |
Founders | Ryuichi Nishizawa Michishito Ishizuka |
Defunct | October 1, 2014 |
Fate | Bankruptcy liquidation |
Headquarters | , Japan |
Website | westone.co.jp |
Westone Bit Entertainment Inc. (株式会社ウエストン·ビット·エンタテインメント, Kabushiki-gaisha Uesuton Bitto Entateinmento) was a video game developer founded in May 1986, based in Mukoujima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo. They were most famous for the Wonder Boy/Monster World series. Originally called Escape (エスケープ, Esukēpu), the company was renamed to Westone as the word Escape made them sound unreliable.[1] The company's name was changed yet again to Westone Bit Entertainment in April 2000.[2] The chief publisher was Ryuichi Nishizawa. The company went bankrupt and entered the liquidation process on October 1, 2014.[3]
The Westone name is derived from the first characters of the names of company founders, Ryuuichi Nishizawa (Nishi = West) and Michishito Ishizuka (Ishi = Stone).[1]