Difference between revisions of "Bitman"

Latest revision as of 16:11, 20 March 2024

Bitman

Founded: 1994

Defunct: 1997

Headquarters:

Russia

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Bitman was Russian company mostly known from Bitman brand.

History

Bitman was established in November 1994 and quickly began to bring unlicensed 8-bit and 16- bit consoles. They were the only ones in Russia to have UCS (Universal Cartridge System) which was praised by Russian magazines^[1].

Bitman mascot

In January 1996 Bitman became a distributor of Sega products in Russia and CIS with right to still sell 8-bit and 16-bit consoles from it's own brand^[2]. In late 1996, it became an authorized distributor of Sony PlayStation in Russia and the CIS and sold official products from GoldStar, GT Interactive, Acclaim Entertainment, Interplay Productions, Activision, Eidos and Gremlin^[3] in 1996-1997.

On August 11, 1997, a non profit organisation called Anti-Software Piracy Association (RASPA) was found in order to fight piracy in Russia and CIS region and one of it's founders was Bitman^[4]. The company was taken over in December 1997 by R-Style^[5].

Products sold by Bitman

8 bit Nintendo

Bitman
Bitman 2
Bitman Infra

Game Boy

Bitman 3000B

16 bit Sega

Official distribution

GoldStar 3DO
Sega Mega Drive II (PAL)
Sega Saturn (PAL/NTSC-USA)
Sega Pico (PAL)
Sega Mega CD II (PAL)
Mega Drive 32X (PAL)
Sega Game Gear (Region free)
Sony PlayStation (PAL)
Nintendo 64 (NTSC-USA)

Gallery

Bitman poster (before the agreement with Sega)

Bitman catalogue (before the agreement with Sega)

Bitman catalogue (before the agreement with Sega)

Notebook branded by Bitman

Bitman's seal on Sega's official products.This product is distributed on the Russian market by the Bitman company

Bitman Warranty Card for Sega products

TV advert

Print advert in Hard & Soft (RU) #7/95: "07.1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Print advert in Magazina Igrushek (RU) #8: "4/1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Print advert in Magazina Igrushek (RU) #10: "6/1996" (1996-xx-xx)
also published in:

Strana Igr (RU) #6: "Sentyabr 1996" (1996-xx-xx)^[6]

Print advert in Magazina Igrushek (RU) #11: "7-8/1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Print advert in Yunior (RU) #2 (1996-09-xx)

Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #29 (1996-12-01)

Print advert in Strana Igr (RU) #17: "Oktyabr 1997" (1997-xx-xx)
also published in:

Strana Igr (RU) #18: "Noyabr 1997" (1997-xx-xx)^[7]

References

[1] ttp://gamenotes.ru/history/bitman-consoles/

[2] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20161230180542/http://game-exe.org/index.php?n=Exe.Exe008Bitman

[3] Strana Igr 12 page 10-14

[4] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20000816000704/http://www.elspa.ru/start_e.html

[5] ttps://www.crn.ru/numbers/reg-numbers/detail.php?ID=2714

[:File:Strana_igr_06.pdf_p89-6] Strana Igr, "Sentyabr 1996" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 89

[:File:Strana_igr_18.pdf_p39-7] Strana Igr, "Noyabr 1997" (RU; 1997-xx-xx), page 39

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{CompanyBob
-| logo=Bitman logo2.jpg
+| logo=Bitman logo2.png
 | founded=1994
 | defunct=1997
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 | headquarters=Russia
 }}
-{{stub}}A Russian company operating in the years 1994-1997
+{{stub}}
+'''Bitman''' was Russian company mostly known from Bitman brand.
+== History==
+Bitman was established in November 1994 and quickly began to bring unlicensed 8-bit and 16- bit consoles. They were the only ones in Russia to have UCS (Universal Cartridge System) which was praised by Russian magazines<ref>http://gamenotes.ru/history/bitman-consoles/</ref>.
 [[File:Bitman logo.png|thumb|Bitman mascot|200px]]
+In January 1996 Bitman became a distributor of Sega products in Russia and CIS with right to still sell 8-bit and 16-bit consoles from it's own brand<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20161230180542/http://game-exe.org/index.php?n=Exe.Exe008Bitman</ref>. In late 1996, it became an authorized distributor of [[Sony PlayStation]] in Russia and the CIS and sold official products from GoldStar, GT Interactive, Acclaim Entertainment, Interplay Productions, Activision, Eidos and Gremlin<ref>Strana Igr 12 page 10-14</ref> in 1996-1997.
+On August 11, 1997, a non profit organisation called Anti-Software Piracy Association (RASPA) was found in order to fight piracy in Russia and CIS region and one of it's founders was Bitman<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20000816000704/http://www.elspa.ru/start_e.html</ref>. The company was taken over in December 1997 by [[R-Style]]<ref>https://www.crn.ru/numbers/reg-numbers/detail.php?ID=2714</ref>.
+==Products sold by Bitman==
+===8 bit Nintendo===
+*Bitman
+*Bitman 2
+*Bitman Infra
-== History==
+===Game Boy===
-In November 1994, the "Bitman Company" company was established in Russia. Aleksiej Semenov became the general director. The company quickly began to bring consoles. The company started selling 8 bit consoles . The company has also started copying [[Sega Mega Drive]]. That's how Super Bitman and Turbo Bitman were created.The company's products began to be presented by the press as counterfeit, which made the company's profits start to fall.Bitman decided to cooperate with Sega. In 1996  became a distributor of Sega in Russia and CIS. In 1997, the company also took up the fight against piracy in Russia with other companies.Bitman was taken over in December 1997 by [[R-Style]].All stores have been taken over by this company.<ref>http://gamenotes.ru/history/bitman-consoles/</ref>
+*Bitman 3000B
-== Products==
+===16 bit Sega===
+*Super Bitman [[KW-501]] version,
+*Super Bitman [[KW-503]] version ,
+*[[AT-168|Turbo Bitman]],
+*[[Gun Fighter]],
+*[[Bitman Turbo Joypad]],
+*[[Bitman Super 6 Button Joystick]],
+*[[Bitman Remote Joypad]],
+*[[Third-party AC adaptors]],
+*[[Mega Drive region converter cartridges|Bitman Mega Key]]
-bit clones:
+===Official distribution===
-*Bitman,
+*GoldStar 3DO
-*Bitman 2,
+*[[Sega Mega Drive]] II (PAL)
-*Bitman Infra,
+*[[Sega Saturn]] (PAL/NTSC-USA)
-bit clones:
+*[[Sega Pico]] (PAL)
-*Super Bitman -[[KW-501]] and [[Songa II]] version ,
+*[[Sega Mega CD]] II (PAL)
-*Turbo Bitman,
+*[[Mega Drive 32X]] (PAL)
-[[Game Boy]] clone:
+*[[Sega Game Gear]] (Region free)
-*Bitman 3000B,
+*[[Sony PlayStation]] (PAL)
+*[[Nintendo 64]] (NTSC-USA)
 == Gallery==
-<gallery>
+{{gitem|Bitman Poster RU.jpg|Bitman poster (before the agreement with Sega)}}
-Bitman Advert.mp4
+{{gitem|Bitman offer.jpg|Bitman catalogue (before the agreement with Sega)}}
-Bitman offer.jpg|Bitman offer
+{{gitem|Bitman offer 2.jpg|Bitman catalogue (before the agreement with Sega)}}
+{{gitem|Bitman Notebook.jpg|Notebook branded by Bitman}}
+{{gitem|Bitman Sega Seal.png|Bitman's seal on Sega's official products.''This product is distributed on the Russian market by the Bitman company''}}
+{{gitem|Notavailable.svg|Bitman Warranty Card for Sega products}}
+{{gitem|Bitman Advert.mp4|TV advert}}
+{{gitem|Bitman advert 1995.png|Print advert in Hard & Soft (RU) #7/95: "07.1995" (1995-xx-xx)}}
+{{galleryPrintAd
+|migr|8|91|
+}}
+{{galleryPrintAd
+|migr|10|100
+|stranaigr|6|89
+}}
+{{galleryPrintAd
+|migr|11|121|
+}}
+{{gitem
+|Bitman advert 1996.jpg|Print advert in Yunior (RU) #2 (1996-09-xx)
+}}
+{{gitem
+|Bitman RU PrintAdvert.jpeg|Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #29 (1996-12-01)
+}}
+{{galleryPrintAd
+|stranaigr|17|66
+|stranaigr|18|39
+}}
-</gallery>
 ==References==
 <references />
 [[Category:Third-party distributors]]