HOT・B

was a Japanese video game company.

History

HOT・B was established in as an independent project section among advertising agencies. A short time later, when the home computer boom occurred, HOT・B started developing and selling software under the label. The company originated the fishing game genre with The Black Bass series.

In 1984, HOT・B released Psychic City, an early cyberpunk role-playing game (RPG), for the FM-7 and NEC PC-8801 computer platforms. In contrast to the fantasy theme used in other early RPGs such as Hydlide and The Black Onyx, Psychic City was a science fiction RPG set in a post-apocalyptic New York devastated by World War III and where the protagonist fights using psychic/telepathic abilities. Psychic City had a scenario expansion system that could used by other companies to create mods like the Kaleidoscope series. However, HOT・B's technical skills lagged behind those of other companies at the time, and so it became known for always being slow to produce games.

In 1987, HOT・B began development on the Famicom. As the company's technical skills hadn't improved, its 2nd title, Hoshi wo Miru Hito, is still considered to be legendary among .

After that, the company began development on the PC Engine, Mega Drive, Super Famicom, and arcade games. At this point, HOT・B began to be used as the brand name instead of the label.

In , the company refocused its development efforts on arcade games and the Super Famicom. However, the same year, it fell into insolvency and went bankrupt the day after its last game, Bazoo! Mahou Sekai, was released on July 23.

Following bankruptcy, HOT・B's remaining arcade games, Schmeiser Robo and Play Girls 2, were released. They were powered by Data East's DECO32 arcade system board. Titles that didn't make it to completion, including Steel Empire 2 and Cuby Bop, were delayed mid-development due to the staff being pulled onto Bazoo! Mahou Sekai, and were shelved being only a few screens away from completion.

Super Black Bass 2 for the Super Famicom, announced prior to bankruptcy, was completed and released by Starfish, a company formed by former HOT・B staff members. Starfish continues to release new games in HOT・B's game series, including a Game Boy Advance port of Steel Empire. HOT・B USA Inc. has outlasted its Japanese parent, although it currently exists only as a publisher of other companies' games, its latest release being Graffiti Kingdom in 2005.

Major works

• Insector X
• Kageki
• Kaleidoscope
• Ginga
• Steel Empire
• Psychic City
• The Black Bass
  • The Black Bass II
  • Super Black Bass
  • Hyper Black Bass
• Shanghai Dragon's Eye
• Seibu no Nariagari
• Takeda Shingen
  • Takeda Shingen 2
• Detonator Orgun
• Hoshi wo Miru Hito
• Bazoo! Mahou Sekai
• Palamedes
• Priton
• President no Sentaku
• Lalipappa Yakyuudan
• Youkiden
• WWF Superstars

Related articles

• Starfish

External links

• Official North American HOT・B website

ja:ホット・ビィ