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[dh4niel]

I started to watch GameCenter CX for the first time yesterday and their first episode was on Taito. While watching I realised what a massive impact Taito had made to video games pretty much from the beginning of the medium.

Does it have anything to do with the fact that they predominantly made coin-ops in the beginning? Or the fact that the name was never pushed as a brand in the same way as Nintendo? Their games are pretty well know worldwide and the majority of their arcade games had home console ports.

Does it have something to do with the fact that they are generally a Japanese company first and foremost?

Space Invaders, Bubble bobble, Elevator Action, Arkanoid, Qix, Darius, Rainbow Islands, Operation Wolf, New Zealand Story, etc. All amazing games that still hold up today, so what gives?

 

[AmyS]

They almost had their own game console.

 

[harz-marz]

They never made a home console to get mainstream appeal.

Fantastic back catalogue though!

 

[Nictel]

Lufia 2 for SNES is amazing. That's all I know. What are they up to these days?

 

[jdforge]

Darius, Rainbow Islands and New Zealand Story were played to death on my Amiga.

 

[Jamix012]

Other than space invaders and to a lesser extent bubble bobble, none of those hit the mainstream psyche in the same way that Mario, Zelda and Pokémon did.

 

[Milly Osworth]

Who?

 

[javac]

They almost had their own game console.

wowow!

 

[L Thammy]

I think a lot of people view the NES (and not even the beginning of the NES) as the beginning of the modern era of gaming, because it more directly set the standards for numerous genres, as well as moving gaming away from unending quarter munchers. Taito is more of a relic of an older era.

On top of that, there's the nostalgia for Nintendo's games on the NES and SNES, and the fact that the franchises managed to survive better. Taito didn't build up their brands as well.

 

[Princess Viola]

Because a lot of people probably know the games, but not the company.

(Also really, I think only Space Invaders is their only true cultural hit, at least outside of Japan, since the aliens are still an immediate identifier for 'video games')

 

[SmokedMeat]

Because they're overrated as fuck. Outside of a few true classics most of their games weren't that great.

 

[Platy]

I never heard of half of the games you mentioned but puzzle bubble is awesome!

Taito does have some cool arcade games but she is nowhere the level of Nintendo... A taito smash would be full of unknowns, taito hasn't made any game that has been called the greatest of all time while Nintendo did at least 3, even the dragons which are probably their most famous mascot are nowhere the popularity of the Splatoon squids, let alone Mario/Pikachu level...

What do you mean "like Nintendo" ?

 

[VariantX]

Lufia 2 for SNES is amazing. That's all I know. What are they up to these days?

I thought at the very least SquareEnix owns the company now and Degica games released darius burst CS on ps4

 

[Alphahawk]

Because Nintendo went on to continuly innovate and change. Taito, I don't think ever moved to far from their 80s arcade roots.

 

[Ōkami]

Due to the nature of arcade games, hugely popular for some time and quickly forgotten, they don't have the staying power of console games, especially ones stablished as much as Nintendo's own.

Space Invaders is a classic alright and Densha de Go was hugely popular for a few years before dying off but apart from that there's not much else.

Does anyone remembers Sonic Blast Man?

btw, you're still in the boring era of GCCX, Arino doesn't take over the show for some time still.

 

[Phediuk]

They didn't make consoles.

 

[stuminus3]

Because they were an arcade company, not a home console company, and they didn't adapt.

I will fight anyone who dismisses golden age Taito to the death.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

because the home version of Elevator Action Returns didn't make it overseas until it was too late

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Taito is an arcade king, but outside Japan they don't have much relevance.

 

[L Thammy]

(Also really, I think only Space Invaders is their only true cultural hit, at least outside of Japan, since the aliens are still an immediate identifier for 'video games')

And even then, who remembers anything else from that franchise? Maybe Space Invader's Extreme? I can't really think of anything else.

Taito has released several arcade sequels that built upon the basic design of the original. The first was Space Invaders Part II in 1979;[79][80] it featured color graphics, an attract mode, and new gameplay elements, and added an intermission between gameplay.[81] According to the Killer List of Video Games, this was the first video game to include an intermission.[44][81] The game also allowed the player with the top score to sign their name on the high score table.[82] This version was released in the United States as Deluxe Space Invaders (also known as Space Invaders Deluxe) but featured a different graphical color scheme and a lunar-city background. Another arcade sequel, titled Space Invaders II, was released exclusively in the United States. It was in a cocktail-table format with very fast alien firing and a competitive two-player mode. During the summer of 1985, Return of the Invaders was released with updated color graphics, and more complex movements and attack patterns for the aliens.[8] Subsequent arcade sequels included Super Space Invaders '91, Space Invaders DX, and Space Invaders '95. Each game introduced minor gameplay additions to the original design. Like the original game, several of the arcade sequels have become collector's items, though some are considered rarer.[31] In 2002, Taito released Space Raiders, a third-person shooter reminiscent of Space Invaders.

Bolded the titles.

 

[AmyS]

wowow!

Heh, yeah!

Here's EGM's 'Behind The Screens' article on Taito from late 1990 / early 1991.

 

[rpmurphy]

They've stayed pretty much the same for a very long time, and few of the games ever really got evolved for modern console gaming.

Gotta give a nod to Front Line while I'm posting here.

 

[J3ffro]

Because while I loved Bubble Bobble and a handful of others, none of them are Mario. Or Zelda. Or Metroid. Or a half dozen other Nintendo properties.

And you know, the lack of a console.

 

[bryehn]

They almost had their own game console.

Wow I've never seen this. Neat.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Nintendo evolved better than a lot of those companies that were their peers in the 80s did. Think about where Nintendo would be if the SNES and N64 never happened.

 

[Jiguryo]

I'm slightly heartbroken to think that Taito ALMOST released a console. They had a quite respectful catalog of games.

Glad that some of their hits came out on the NES and the MSX (and its contemporaries, of course).

 

[Omega Kirby]

Because they're overrated as fuck. Outside of a few true classics most of their games weren't that great.

We're not talking about sega

Spoiler

also agree somehwat

 

[blu]

They are, to me.

 

[massoluk]

Come on man, I'll have to think a bit if I want to put them at Hudson level, nevermind Nintendo

 

[AmyS]

Wow I've never seen this. Neat.

More about it:

Wowow: The 1990s Taito Console That Never Was
In the early 1990s, Japanese gaming giant Taito was working Wowow: an innovative console that streamed games via satellite...

http://www.denofgeek.com/us/games/taito/248383/wowow-the-1990s-taito-console-that-never-was

Interview with Yukiharu Sambe, R&D manager of the unreleased Taito WOWOW

https://www.unseen64.net/2015/08/10/interview-taito-wowow-console/

 

[yurinka]

I want to see new sequels of their classic IPs: new Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Elevator Action, Arkanoid, New Zealand Story

 

[Shahed]

Taito? Honestly I've never heard of them.

EDIT: Space Invaders? Oh cool. Didn't know who it was made by

 

[Dee Dee]

Thanks to the article that Amy S posted I now have remembered Flipull and how it consumed my life during summer vacation.
Thank you, Taito.

PS: This magazine's layout is horrible however.

 

[Nocturno999]

I agree OP. They are very underrated and ignored considering their massive achievements and contributions.

 

[jholmes]

This is such a weird question. That's like saying Taito made Space Invaders and Nintendo made Donkey Kong so they're equal. Space Invaders was a colossus, but really in the grand scheme of things Donkey Kong is a footnote in the history of Nintendo. Nintendo has done a lot in the last 30 years, Taito not so much.

Mad respect for Taito though, to an extent the entire Japanese side of the industry is built on Space Invaders.

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

Haven't played many of their games other than the biggest classics (Space Invaders, Arkanoid, Elevator Action) but I enjoyed Legend of Kage 2 on DS.

 

[HideyoshiJP]

WOWOW, indeed! Wait, that's something else...

Edit: I should also mention that I love Battle Gear...

 

[O Canada Our Home and Native Land]

Companies before famicom don't have enough cheerleaders and if you don't keep up with trends you get forgotten.

 

[Rncewind]

Something dont just become "revered" by just quality, especially in the day before internet

 

[Hello? This is Hailun!]

80s to the early 90s were their heyday. They stagnated into the 16bit area and remained focused on arcades and arcade style gameplay where as Nintendo started to pivot towards games that focused on home console play instead.

 

[SmokedMeat]

We're not talking about sega

Spoiler

also agree somehwat

Sega kicks Nintendo's ass as well. Taito is C tier. Just above D tier like Data East.

 

[Celine]

Taito is definitely revered among retrogamers.
Taito games usually carry premium prices.

 

[1upsuper]

Arcade presence only does so much. Taito is no doubt one of the greats but they didn't transition to the home console scene as well as others.

But at the same time, the "Who?" posts in this thread are...frustrating.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I used to play this shit all the time:

 

[SmokedMeat]

Elevator Action is for me their greatest game. I'd buy it over and over if I could.

Arkanoid and Qix are both great.

 

[Eumi]

I don't even know who Taito are. Not sure if that's an explanation of why or an example of what, though.

 

[Celine]

I don't even know who Taito are. Not sure if that's an explanation of why or an example of what, though.

Just for curiosity how old are you?

 

[Dylan]

Thread title should just be "Why isn't Taito revered"?


When you start comparing companies to Nintendo it ceases to be fair.


Taito were pioneers, no doubt, but that's about all they were.

 

[Eumi]

Just for curiosity how old are you?

20, which probably explains it. Obviously I do know about a lot of what they made, but never actually heard the company name.

 

[8-Bit Sunset]

AmyS delivering above and beyond as usual.
I never even knew the Wowow console was a thing.
Now I want one