NTDEC

Nintendo Electronic Co.
任天堂電子有限公司
Private
Industry Video games
Fate Nintendo's lawsuit
Founded 1983
Defunct 1993
Headquarters Taipei, Taiwan

Nintendo Electronic Co. (Chinese: 任天堂電子有限公司) or NTDEC was a Taiwanese manufacturer of video game cartridges, accessories and original games for the NES and Famicom. They also manufactured Famicom to NES converters to play Famicom games on the NES. The company was founded in 1983 (according to the Asder official website), but in the 80's its activities were and are still today unknown.

History

Copyright infringement

NTDEC pirate copy of Life Force/Salamander

NTDEC produced a large number of unlicensed copies of games between 1989 and 1991, which were sold in Asia and in the USA via mail order. Unusual among counterfeit cartridge manufacturers, NTDEC cartridges are often identifiable by the company logo on the cartridge and the in-game copyright noticed modified to read "NTDEC", as well as the rear label featuring a green "QUALITY GUARANTY" (sic) stripe. Legal action was brought against the company by Nintendo in 1993 for its activities in the US,[1] as well as its use of the "Nintendo" trademark in its company name.[2]

Original games

Between 1991 and 1993, NTDEC published a number of original games in Asia, some of which were distributed in parts of South America and Europe. Many of these games are credited to Mega Soft, a California-based company which was listed in Nintendo of America, Inc. v. NTDEC as NTDEC's North American distribution arm.[3][4] Six games previously released by NTDEC/Mega Soft in 1991 were compiled on the Caltron 6 in 1 cartridge in 1992, which was distributed in the US - since this cartridge contains only NTDEC/Mega Soft games and carries the same CN-xx ID as the previous original NTDEC games, Caltron is believed to be the same company as NTDEC.

List of titles developed as NTDEC

# Title Original release Notes
1 Pokey 1989 1) 4 minigames in 1: Bingo, Hi-Lo Poker, Puzzler, and Kentucky Derby.
2) All his four minigames were later included separately in Asder 20-in-1, made by Asder (the NTDEC's company successor) in 1993.
2 Adam & Eve 1991 1) Game included later in Caltron 6 in 1 in 1992.
2) A clone of Balloon Fight.
3 Bookyman 1991 1) Game included later in Caltron 6 in 1 in 1992.
2) A hack of Hwang Shinwei's game Brush Roller.
4 Destroyer 1992
5 Go! Benny! 1992
6 Tank 1992[5] Similar to Battle City.
7 Fighting Hero III 1993
8 Master Shooter 1993
9 Chik Bik Ji Jin - Saam Gwok Ji Unknown Also known as Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliff (Sānguó Zhì - Chìbì Zhī Zhàn).

List of titles developed as Mega Soft

# Title Original release Notes
1 Balloon Monster 1991 1) Game included later in Caltron 6 in 1 in 1992.
2) A clone of Pang.
2 Cosmos Cop 1991 1) Game included later in Caltron 6 in 1 in 1992.
2) A clone of Space Harrier.
3 Fighting Hero 1991 Similar to Street Fighter.
4 Hit Marmot 1991
5 Magic Block 1991
6 Magic Carpet 1001 1991 Game included later in Caltron 6 in 1 in 1992.
7 Porter 1991 1) Game included later in Caltron 6 in 1 in 1992.
2) A clone of Sokoban.
8 War in the Gulf 1991
9 Sea of Dreamland 1992

List of titles developed as Caltron

# Title Original release Notes
1 Caltron 6 in 1 1992 6 games in 1: Cosmos Cop, Magic Carpet 1001, Balloon Monster, Adam & Eve, Porter, and Bookyman.
2 Skate Boy 1992

Unreleased games

Asder

Asder Electronic Co., Ltd
亞斯德科技有限公司
Private
Industry Video games (1993–1994)
Educational software
Founded 1983 (as NTDEC's foundation year)
1993 (as NTDEC's successor)
Headquarters 3F-1, No. 22 SEC. 2 Keelung Road, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Key people
 Kenny Hsu (Vice General Manager)
Products A.Smart, and various Kids Computer
Slogan Key to Enlighten Minds
Website http://www.asder.com/

Following the legal action of 1993, the company appears to have ceased operations under the NTDEC name. Another Taiwanese company, Asder Electronic Co., Ltd (Chinese: 亞斯德科技有限公司), has released educational computer systems and TV game joypads containing Mega Soft games, and several original Famicom titles continuing NTDEC's CN-xx numbering. However, it is unknown whether this company is in fact NTDEC under a new name, or a separate company that obtained the rights to NTDEC's past titles.

List of games

# Title Original release Notes
1 Asder 20-in-1 1993 A multi-cartridge containing: all Caltron 6 in 1 games, all Pokey minigames, four NTDEC/Mega Soft games, three exclusive Asder original games, and two exclusive hacks (Turbo Magic Carpet 1001 and Master Shooter).
2 Benico 1993 An original Asder game included only in Asder 20-in-1.
3 Dream Fighter 1993
4 JP Ronny 1993 An original Asder game included only in Asder 20-in-1.
5 Top Hunter 1993 An original Asder game included only in Asder 20-in-1.
6 Cobra Mission 1994
7 Zhēn Běn - Xīyóu Jì 1994
8 Asder PC-95 1995 An Asder's PC dumped ROM containing: all Caltron 6 in 1 games, Hit Marmot by NTDEC/Mega Soft, and various educational games.
9 Huángdì Unknown Also known as Emperor: The War (Huángdì - Zhuō Lù Zhī Zhàn).
10 Sānguózhì: Qúnxióng Zhēngbà Unknown Also known as The Romance of Three Kingdoms: The Fight of Heroes' Pleiades.

Note: The Hacker game Master Shooter, included only in Asder 20-in-1, is the hack of the game of the same name (listed in the same compilation as Shooter: Part1).

References

  1. ↑ "Nintendo Awarded $24 Million In Suit Over Pirated Video Games". Associated Press. 24 May 1993. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Companies to pay $24 Million in Nintendo piracy case New York Times, Dated May 25, 1993
  3. ↑ "51 F3d 281 Nintendo of America Inc v. Ntdec". Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Policy and Regulation IN NEW MEDIA". Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Gluk: Los Juegos del Naranjito

External links

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