Clover was a 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...

ese toy

Toy

A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...

 company founded in 1973. It went out of business 10 years later in 1983.

Today it is mainly known as the sponsor of the original Gundam TV-series

Mobile Suit Gundam

is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...

 in 1979. As such, it was responsible for canceling the show early because it didn't sell enough toys. The show was mainly popular among older kids and young adults who didn't buy toys, and sales suffered as a result. Also Clovers designs were not based on the finished version of the show and thus were not very accurate. Gundam ended up being very popular after it was re-edited into a movie-trilogy but Clovers toys were still not a hit.

Instead it was Bandai

Bandai

is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...

 who capitalized on the show by selling model-kits that became extremely popular. Gundam had started the Real Robot

Real Robot

is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....

 trend which changed the focus to "realistic" robots instead of the "super robots" which Clover were used to making. They tried to adapt to the new market by sponsoring shows such as Xabungle, Dunbine

Aura Battler Dunbine

is an anime television series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and produced by Sunrise Studios.Dunbine is set in Byston Well, a parallel world that resembles the countryside of medieval Europe with kingdoms ruled by monarchs in castles, armies of unicorn-riding cavalry armed with swords and crossbows,...

, and Srungle (the first 2 being directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino

Yoshiyuki Tomino

is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...

) but folded in 1983.