Creator / Data East

Data East Corporation was founded in 1976, originally as a Japanese manufacturer of parts for Arcade Game hardware. Data East started to develop their own games in 1979, and the next year introduced the DECO Cassette System, the first scheme to distribute arcade games on interchangeable media (cassette tapes) that could be produced at less cost than circuit boards.

Data East USA in many years published games for more systems than its Japanese parent company, and licensed commando and martial-arts games from other Japanese companies to distribute along with Data East's own. Data East also started a pinball division in the mid-1980s, absorbing some assets and employees from the bankrupt Stern Electronics. By all accounts, their pinball strategy tended towards buying expensive, high-profile properties, then applying them to whatever pinball machines were in development at the time. However, they later shook this problem off and began creating pinball tables that were just as good as the competition; that said, their previous modus operandi meant many of their better tables were, and to an extent still are, overlooked by many.

Data East ran into financial difficulties in the late 1990s, first closing Data East USA and selling Data East Pinball to Sega. Data East stopped producing games for arcades in 1997, and for consoles in late 1999. Data East hung on for a few more years, selling electronic components and licensed out some of its old games before succumbing to bankruptcy in 2003. The rights to its old games were then divided among several companies, primarily Paon and mobile game developer G-Mode. Various Data East arcade games have been made available digitally on the Nintendo Switch under the banner of "Johnny Turbo's Arcade", with the company Flying Tiger Entertainment (headed by Jonathan Brandstetter, who Turbo is based on) heading their conversion efforts.

Various former Data East employees went on to found Technos Japan, TAD Corporation and Idea Factory.

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Games created by Data East include:

• ABC Monday Night Football (SNES)
• Act-Fancer: Cybernetick Hyper Weapon
• Atomic Runner Chelnov
• Bad Dudes
• B-Wings (Arcade, received a Polished Port for the Famicom)
• Bega's Battle (laserdisc game that uses footage from the anime OVA Genma Taisen: Harmageddon)
• Bloody Wolf
• Boogie Wings a.k.a The Great Ragtime Show
• Boulder Dash (arcade and NES versions)
• Bump 'n' Jump
• BurgerTime
• Captain America and the Avengers
• Captain Silver
• The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy
• Cobra Command^note Two completely different games that share the same name, and involve flying a helicopter. The more familiar laserdisc game was released as Thunder Storm in Japan, although "Cobra Command" is still heard during game's atract sequence (the game is fully voiced in English, even in the Japanese release).
• Congo's Caper
• Crude Buster
• Crystal Quest (Game Boy version)
• Dark Seal (also known as Gate of Doom)
  • Dark Seal II (also known as Wizard Fire)
• Death Brade (aka Mutant Fighter in the US)
• Desert Assault
• Dragon Gun
• Express Raider
• Fighter's History
• Garyo Retsuden
• Glory of Heracles
• Heavy Barrel
• High Seas Havoc
• Jake Hunter
• Joe & Mac
• Karate Champ
• Karnov
• Lock 'n' Chase
• Locked 'n' Loaded
• Magical Drop
• Metal Max series (developed by Crea-Tech)
  • Metal Max 2
• Midnight Resistance
• Night Slashers
• Nitro Ball
• Psycho Nics Oscar
• Rampage (NES version)
• The Real Ghostbusters
• Road Blaster^note  Not to be confused with the similarly named 1987 arcade game RoadBlasters by Atari Games. This Laserdisc-based arcade game was later released for consoles under two different names: "Road Prosecutor" (for the Pioneer LaserActive), and "Road Avenger" (for the Sega CD; this version is known as "Road Blaster FX" in Japan), likely for this reason.
• Robocop duology (arcade and NES versions)
• Sengoku Densyo (Super Famicom version)
• Shadowrun (SNES version; developed by Beam Software)
• Side Pocket
• Silent Debuggers
• Skull Fang
• Sly Spy
• Spinmaster
  • Dashin' Desperadoes, which features the same characters, but in different roles.
• Street Slam
• Suiko Enbu
• Tag Team Wrestling (developed by Technos Japan)
• Tattoo Assassins (developed by Data East Pinball, now known as Stern Pinball)
• Trio the Punch
• TumblePop
• Vapor Trail
• Werewolf: The Last Warrior
• Windjammers
• Wolf Fang

Non-Data East games published by Data East USA:

• Commando (Capcom)
• Continuum
• DefCon 5
• Dragon's Lair (SNES version)
• Drakkhen
• Ikari Warriors (computer versions)
• Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
• Kung Fu Master
• Mega Turrican
• OutRunners (Genesis version)
• Panic!
• Ring King
• Shanghai Kid
• Super Hang-On (DOS & Macintosh versions)
• Vigilante

Data East pinballs include:

• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
• Back to the Future
• Batman, based on the 1989 film
• Checkpoint
• Guns N' Roses
• Hook
• Jurassic Park
• Laser War
• Last Action Hero
• Lethal Weapon 3
• Maverick The Movie, the last table by the company.
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Playboy 35th Anniversary
• RoboCop
• Secret Service
• The Simpsons
• Star Trek
• Star Wars
• Tales from the Crypt
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Time Machine
• The Who's Tommy
• WWF Royal Rumble

Tropes associated with Data East:

• Compilation Re-release: "Data East Arcade Classics" on the Wii, which contained Bad Dudes, Bump n' Jump, BurgerTime, Caveman Ninja, Express Raider, Heavy Barrel, Lock n' Chase, Magical Drop III, Peter Pepper's Ice Cream Factory, Side Pocket, Sly Spy, Street Hoop, Super Real Darwin, Two Crude Dudes, and Wizard Fire.

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