Entertainment Software Publishing
Encyclopedia
Entertainment Software Publishing (エンターテインメント・ソフトウェア・パブリッシング), or ESP, is a computer game publisher. It was created in 1997, primarily as a support company for the developer studios that made up GD-NET (Game Developers Network). ESP took the burdens of public relations
and sales out of the hands of game studios.
The companies that participated in financing ESP's creation include many GD-NET member companies: Game Arts
, Treasure Co. Ltd
, Alfa System
, Quintet, Sting, Neverland Company, CSK Research Institute
, Bits Laboratory, Japan Art Media
, and Onion Egg, and also Kadokawa Shoten
, MediaWorks
, Bandai
and CSK Venture Capital.
There were two considerations in the background of ESP's creation:
The first consideration was that after the debut of the 'next generation consoles' - the Sega Saturn
and the Sony PlayStation
, factors such as increased visual detail and higher quality music resulted in a sudden increase in costs to developing studios. This mainly burdened studios that only had mid-level funding. The GD-NET companies proposed a plan that would allow them to focus their resources on development rather than production and promotion. They created ESP as a sales and public relations outlet.
The second consideration was a factional predicament. ESP was created with the objective of "suppling original works for the Sega Saturn platform", but Square's (now Square Enix
) move to the PlayStation, Enix
's setbacks in Saturn development, and the withdrawal of third-party support symbolized by the breakup of Time Warner Interactive, brought the Saturn's already poor position into the foreground.
Grandia
, which ESP released in 1997, (developed by Game Arts) was the 1st third-party Saturn title to breach 500,000 units in sales. Afterwards, ESP released titles including Giren's Ambition (Bandai) and Baroque (Sting), later extending footholds into the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2
platforms with titles like Record of Lodoss War: The Advent of Cardis
(Neverland Company) and Abarenbo Princess (Alpha System).
After Sega pulled out of the home console business and the CSK Group put Sega up for sale, Game Arts bought all shares of ESP.
ESP was acquired by D3 Publisher
in 2004, who ran it as a subsidiary until 2010 when it was disbanded and merged into D3 according to the company's former homepage.
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
and sales out of the hands of game studios.
The companies that participated in financing ESP's creation include many GD-NET member companies: Game Arts
Game Arts
is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, they have since expanded their enterprise to produce for a number of game console and handheld systems...
, Treasure Co. Ltd
Treasure Co. Ltd
is a Japanese video game developer, founded by former employees of Konami on June 19, 1992. Treasure is best known for classic-style action games that employ innovative gameplay systems...
, Alfa System
Alfa System
Alfa System is a Japanese game development company that plans, develops and markets game software for consoles and personal computers. Alfa System is based out of Kumamoto City, Kyūshū...
, Quintet, Sting, Neverland Company, CSK Research Institute
CRI Middleware
CRI Middleware Co., Ltd. is a Japanese developer providing middleware for use in the computer and video game industry. From the early nineties, CRI was a video game developer, but shifted focus in 2001...
, Bits Laboratory, Japan Art Media
Japan Art Media
Japan Art Media, or JAM, is a Japanese video game development studio founded in 1989. The studio began developing games for the Game Boy, but soon branched out to develop games on many other platforms, mainly Super Nintendo and PlayStation...
, and Onion Egg, and also Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
, MediaWorks
MediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
, 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...
and CSK Venture Capital.
There were two considerations in the background of ESP's creation:
The first consideration was that after the debut of the 'next generation consoles' - the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and the Sony PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, factors such as increased visual detail and higher quality music resulted in a sudden increase in costs to developing studios. This mainly burdened studios that only had mid-level funding. The GD-NET companies proposed a plan that would allow them to focus their resources on development rather than production and promotion. They created ESP as a sales and public relations outlet.
The second consideration was a factional predicament. ESP was created with the objective of "suppling original works for the Sega Saturn platform", but Square's (now Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
) move to the PlayStation, Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
's setbacks in Saturn development, and the withdrawal of third-party support symbolized by the breakup of Time Warner Interactive, brought the Saturn's already poor position into the foreground.
Grandia
Grandia
Grandia is a console role-playing game series created by Game Arts. Games in the Grandia series have been published on Sega and Sony consoles, and Game Boy Color. The Grandia games have been published by Sega, Ubisoft, Enix and Hudson Soft...
, which ESP released in 1997, (developed by Game Arts) was the 1st third-party Saturn title to breach 500,000 units in sales. Afterwards, ESP released titles including Giren's Ambition (Bandai) and Baroque (Sting), later extending footholds into the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
platforms with titles like Record of Lodoss War: The Advent of Cardis
Record of Lodoss War
is a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based around the work he originally created for a world called Forcelia for role-playing games . There have since been multiple manga, anime and computer game adaptations, several of which have been translated into English...
(Neverland Company) and Abarenbo Princess (Alpha System).
After Sega pulled out of the home console business and the CSK Group put Sega up for sale, Game Arts bought all shares of ESP.
ESP was acquired by D3 Publisher
D3 Publisher
D3Publisher is a Japanese video game publisher founded on February 5, 1992. Current CEO and president is Yuji Ito, and It is known for its Simple series of low-priced console games. Their games have been released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2,...
in 2004, who ran it as a subsidiary until 2010 when it was disbanded and merged into D3 according to the company's former homepage.
Notable works published
- Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
- Magic School Lunar!Magic School Lunar!is a Japanese console role-playing game developed by Studio Alex in association with Game Arts and published by ESP Software and Kadokawa Shoten for the Sega Saturn in 1997...
- GrandiaGrandiaGrandia is a console role-playing game series created by Game Arts. Games in the Grandia series have been published on Sega and Sony consoles, and Game Boy Color. The Grandia games have been published by Sega, Ubisoft, Enix and Hudson Soft...
(Game Arts) - Radiant SilvergunRadiant Silvergunis a vertically scrolling shooter video game, developed by Treasure. It was released in arcades on the ST-V platform in 1998 and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn, with added cutscenes by noted animation studio Gonzo...
(Treasure) - Mobile Suit Gundam: Giren's AmbitionGundamThe is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
(CRI) - Silhouette MirageSilhouette MirageSilhouette Mirage is a side-scrolling video game that was developed by Treasure. Initially published by ESP for the Sega Saturn on September 10, 1997 in Japan , the game was later ported to the PlayStation on July 23, 1998 in Japan. In 1999 Working Designs translated and published the game in...
(Treasure) - Baroque (Sting)
- Code R (Quintet)
- Bangai-OBangai-OBangai-O in its Dreamcast Western release, or in the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast Japanese versions, is a multi-directional shooter video game developed by Treasure.It was first released on the Nintendo 64 only in Japan with a limited 10,000 unit production run...
(Treasure) - Abarenbo Princess (Alfa System)
- Chaos Seed (Neverland Company)
- Record of Lodoss War (DC)Record of Lodoss Waris a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based around the work he originally created for a world called Forcelia for role-playing games . There have since been multiple manga, anime and computer game adaptations, several of which have been translated into English...
(Neverland Company) - IkarugaIkarugais a shoot 'em up video game developed by Treasure. It was released in the arcades in 2001 on the Sega NAOMI, subsequently released on Dreamcast in Japan and then worldwide on the Nintendo GameCube, and was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 9, 2008...
(Treasure) - Hajime no Ippo game series - known in North America as Victorious Boxers
- Garouden Breakblow & Garouden Breakblow - Fist or Twist (Goshow)
External links
- ESP's official page - Now redirects to parent D3 Publisher.
- Explanation of GD-NET and ESP on Quintet's site.