Difference between revisions of "Steepler"

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A Russian company that dealt in the sale of games in the countries of the former USSR.
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'''Steepler''' was IT distributor in former USSR countries, mainly known from Dendy brand.
  
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== Beginning==
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==History==
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The company started selling Dendy's console in 1992 which quickly became a hit. Steepler also started to release the cartridges in its own packaging. A small shop in Moscow also began to acquire dealers in other parts of Russia. In 1993, the shops in the CIS region and Baltic States were opened. In the same year, the Video-Ace Dendy magazine was created.<ref>http://tv-games.ru/wiki/Companies/Steepler.html</ref>
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===1991-1992===
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[[File:Russia sega offer.jpg|thumb|Steepler offer|200px]]
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The company was established by Andrey Cheglakov, Maxim Selivanov, Vladislav Undeyev and Rustem Ahiyarov in 1991 and was an official HP distributor in the country.
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== Sega and Nintendo ==
 
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In 1994, 1 million copies of Dendy were sold. Sega soon began to look for a distributor of its products. Steepler was running for this position, but [[Forrus]] finally won<ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/10153</ref>. Later the company separated with antoher one name [[Lamport]].Steepeler sell Sega products without Sega agree that were imported from Asia and America. In the same year, the competition appeared: Kenga (created by [[Kenga]] , imported by [[Kenmaster]] and distributed by Lamport), Bitman (by [[Bitman]]) and Subor. No one was able to beat Dendy. At the end, the company signed a contract with Nintendo to distribute their products in all states of the former USSR<ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/94004?query=steepler</ref>. The products were imported from Germany. At the beginning, Nes,Snes and Game Boy  were sold.The company also started selling the 3DO console and Pro-16 bit .
 
  
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== Dendy (company) ==
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In 1991, Victor Savyuk heard about the existence of Nintendo which was the leading video game producer in the world. He decided to import counterfeit consoles from Asia and start marketing them in Russia. In 1992 he started looking for a company in Moscow that would be able to do so. He came across Steepler, whose founders he once knew. The company was doing well then and had the money for such a risky venture. At that time, the first Famicom clones in Russia could be found along with the original NES consoles at local distributors, which is why Savyuk wanted to invent, register and promote his own brand. The new console was named Dendy and the logo was created by Ivan Maximov. At the end of the year, console sales began and its TV advertising began.<ref>https://secretmag.ru/business/trade-secret/nintendo-so-slonom-kak-viktor-savyuk-pridumal-pristavku-dendy.htm</ref>
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In August 1994, Incombank and Steepler set up a joint company - Dendy. It was a chain of sales companies selling games and consoles. The company's goal was to sell consoles and especially Nintendo products in Russia and CIS. The difference between Steepler and Dendy was that the first company dealt with sales in all countries of the former USSR and that it also deal with computers services . Dendy's products had the mark "Dendy" to distinguish them from the unmarke Steepler goods. Dendy also was the exclusive distributor of Nintendo, Konami, Ocean, Acclaim.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoupLDkYAck&list=PLilc6-ICNoeU5Ox5pKypv-A9ObkroT1S6&t=648s&index=15</ref>
 
  
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==End of Steepler==
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===1993-1994===
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In 1994, the Dendy New Reality program was created on Russian television which presented games for various consoles and promoted especially Nintendo products.In 1995 Dendy  became [[Subor]] representative in Russia and CIS. In 1996, Virtual Game Boy was released. This did not improve the situation of a company that went bankrupt the same year.
+
Sales from December and January confirmed expectations and the console sells well, however, in the following months it did worse. First model sold by Steepler was already outdated and more expensive so they presented new model called Dendy Junior and old one was still on sale as Dendy Classic. The company began expansion into other territories of the former USSR, founding resellers for Dendy and for licensed IT products. In Autumn 1993, company celebrated success of new console. The growing popularity of the console contributed to the creation of [[Video Ace Dendy]] magazine.<ref>http://tv-games.ru/wiki/Companies/Steepler.html</ref>
  
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== The reasons for the company's downfall ==
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In early 1994, Steepler had already sold 1 million consoles in Russia. They decided that they should move all production to Russia to save costs, which meant that they purchased the Tenzor instrument engineering plant, located in Dubna.  
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The exact reasons for the fall were never given. One of many cited are:
 
  
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1. Poor sales of expensive Super Nintendo
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Later the company separated with antoher one name [[Lamport]]. In the same year, the competition appeared: Kenga (created by [[Kenga]], imported by [[Kenmaster]] and distributed by Lamport), Bitman (distirbuted by [[Bitman]] with support of [[R-Style]]) and [[Subor]], but no one was able to beat Dendy. The sale of Mega Drive (some from an official source, some clones) were also started. Another success was the gaming program called [[Dendy Novaya real'nost']] broadcast from 1994 on 2x2 and later on ORT as [[Novaya Real'nost']].
 +
 
 +
In late 1994, the company signed a contract with [[Nintendo]] to distribute their products in all states of the former USSR countries.<ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/94004?query=steepler</ref>The products were imported with help of Austrian company Stadlbauer Marketing{{fileref|CTW_UK_586_Europe_Supplement.pdf|page=1}} and [[Super Nintendo]], [[Game Boy]] were released. Steepler also had the right to sell the original NES console but it didn't do that, because Nintendo allowed for further distribution of the Dendy console.
 +
 
 +
===1995-1996===
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In 1995, Video Ace Dendy split into [[Velikiy Drakon]] (independent) and [[Dendy Novaya real'nost']] (supported by Steepler.) In 1996, a new television program called [[Mir Dendy (MTK)]] was created, but it wasn't as popular as the predecessor.
 +
 
 +
In late 1996 Steepler went out of business. It is not known why but many gives following reasons:
 +
 
 +
1. Reduction in revenues from the sale of consoles, especially 8-bit consoles. Steepler planned to replace sales of consoles in the future, for sale DVD players and other electronics under his own brand.
  
 
2. In 1995, the prices of oil fell in which the company invested and many companies broke contracts with Steepler.
 
2. In 1995, the prices of oil fell in which the company invested and many companies broke contracts with Steepler.
  
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3. Problems related to the automation of the Russian State Duma
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3. Problems related to the automation of the Russian State Duma.
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== Further fate of Dendy ==
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Despite the collapse of Steepler, Dendy continued to exist as a distributor of Nintendo. In 1997, it expanded its sales area to include the Baltic States.Dendy labels were used less or some of the goods were without it.Between 1996/1997, a chain of stores called "Dom Dendy" was created, but it did not have such a large territorial range as Dendy. In 1997, [[Bonza]] was one of the last great events. It was a cartridge for Dendy and Sega Mega Drive which simulated a real money machine. There was also a portable version for a special console. Bets of different denominations were issued. Putting them into an adapter or console, everyone could play in the Slot machine using the money from that card as a bet. The result was sent back and it was possible to exchange it for money in the store.<ref>http://www.potroshiteli.ru/Reviews/Game/Bonza.html</ref>In 1998, however, the company collapsed.
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== AOZT Dendy ==
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| logo=Dendy label 1996.jpg
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| founded=1994
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| defunct=1998
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'''AOZT Dendy''' was chain of stores, establish in August 1994 by Incombank and Steepler. Viktor Savyuk became its general director. This division focused on the distribution of video games, unlike Steepler, which had consoles, software and IT technologies in its stores. Already at the beginning, Steepler became a dealer of AOZT Dendy's chain stores. New established company was in its lifespan, the exclusive distributor of [[Nintendo]], [[Konami]], [[Ocean]], [[Acclaim]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoupLDkYAck&list=PLilc6-ICNoeU5Ox5pKypv-A9ObkroT1S6&t=648s&index=15</ref> and [[Subor]] in Russia and CIS. The consoles had a special ''Dendy'' sticker as to recognizable brand of the stores to everyone. Non-Nintendo products always were labled with ''Dendy. Delivered by Steepler'' while Nintendo having ''Dendy. Exclusive distributor'' which may suggest that Steepler supplied AOZT Dendy's network with non-Nintendo products in exchange for AOZT Dendy giving them Nintendo products.
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Steepler's fall in 1996 paralyzed AOZT Dendy. Of the many dealers in Russia and the CIS, at the very end remained only a few stores in Moscow. Most of the time, prices were constantly raised but in a few months the sale were successful. There were some new consoles, but only in small numbers, because various types of toys became an increasingly large part of the assortment at the time. The last game that was largely advertise by AOZT Dendy was [[Bonza]]<ref>http://www.potroshiteli.ru/Reviews/Game/Bonza.html</ref>. It was decided to suspend operations in 1998 during the crisis.
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==Products sold by Steepler/AOZT Dendy==
 +
===8 bit Famicom===
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*Dendy Classic
 +
*Dendy Classic 2
 +
*Dendy Junior
 +
*Dendy Junior II
 +
*Dendy Junior IIP
 +
*Dendy Junior IVP
 +
*Subor SB-225
 +
 +
===Nintendo===
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*Super Nintendo (PAL and NTSC-U)
 +
*Game Boy (PAL and NTSC-U)
 +
*Virtual Boy (NTSC-U)
 +
*Nintendo Entertainment System (only sale rights)
 +
 +
===Sega===
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*[[Pro 16 Bit]],
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*Pro 16 Bit [[KW-503]] version,
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*[[High Quality]]
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*Mega Drive (clone)
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*Mega Drive II (PAL originals and clones)
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*[[Sega Genesis CDX]] (NTSC-U)
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*[[Sega Saturn]]
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===Others===
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*Panasonic 3DO
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*PlayStation
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*Bonza portable
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
 
<references />
 
<references />
  
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[[Category:Companies]]
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[[Category:Third-party distributors]]
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 +
{{MDTMRU}}

Revision as of 06:13, 30 May 2024

https://segaretro.org/images/a/a9/Steepler_logo.jpg

Steepler logo.jpg
Steepler
Founded: 1991
Defunct: 1996
Headquarters:
Russia

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.

Steepler was IT distributor in former USSR countries, mainly known from Dendy brand.

History

1991-1992

The company was established by Andrey Cheglakov, Maxim Selivanov, Vladislav Undeyev and Rustem Ahiyarov in 1991 and was an official HP distributor in the country.

In 1991, Victor Savyuk heard about the existence of Nintendo which was the leading video game producer in the world. He decided to import counterfeit consoles from Asia and start marketing them in Russia. In 1992 he started looking for a company in Moscow that would be able to do so. He came across Steepler, whose founders he once knew. The company was doing well then and had the money for such a risky venture. At that time, the first Famicom clones in Russia could be found along with the original NES consoles at local distributors, which is why Savyuk wanted to invent, register and promote his own brand. The new console was named Dendy and the logo was created by Ivan Maximov. At the end of the year, console sales began and its TV advertising began.[1]

1993-1994

Sales from December and January confirmed expectations and the console sells well, however, in the following months it did worse. First model sold by Steepler was already outdated and more expensive so they presented new model called Dendy Junior and old one was still on sale as Dendy Classic. The company began expansion into other territories of the former USSR, founding resellers for Dendy and for licensed IT products. In Autumn 1993, company celebrated success of new console. The growing popularity of the console contributed to the creation of Video Ace Dendy magazine.[2]

In early 1994, Steepler had already sold 1 million consoles in Russia. They decided that they should move all production to Russia to save costs, which meant that they purchased the Tenzor instrument engineering plant, located in Dubna.

Later the company separated with antoher one name Lamport. In the same year, the competition appeared: Kenga (created by Kenga, imported by Kenmaster and distributed by Lamport), Bitman (distirbuted by Bitman with support of R-Style) and Subor, but no one was able to beat Dendy. The sale of Mega Drive (some from an official source, some clones) were also started. Another success was the gaming program called Dendy Novaya real'nost' broadcast from 1994 on 2x2 and later on ORT as Novaya Real'nost'.

In late 1994, the company signed a contract with Nintendo to distribute their products in all states of the former USSR countries.[3]The products were imported with help of Austrian company Stadlbauer Marketing[4] and Super Nintendo, Game Boy were released. Steepler also had the right to sell the original NES console but it didn't do that, because Nintendo allowed for further distribution of the Dendy console.

1995-1996

In 1995, Video Ace Dendy split into Velikiy Drakon (independent) and Dendy Novaya real'nost' (supported by Steepler.) In 1996, a new television program called Mir Dendy (MTK) was created, but it wasn't as popular as the predecessor.

In late 1996 Steepler went out of business. It is not known why but many gives following reasons:

1. Reduction in revenues from the sale of consoles, especially 8-bit consoles. Steepler planned to replace sales of consoles in the future, for sale DVD players and other electronics under his own brand.

2. In 1995, the prices of oil fell in which the company invested and many companies broke contracts with Steepler.

3. Problems related to the automation of the Russian State Duma.

AOZT Dendy

https://segaretro.org/images/d/d4/Dendy_label_1996.jpg

Dendy label 1996.jpg
Steepler
Founded: 1994
Defunct: 1998
Headquarters:
Russia

AOZT Dendy was chain of stores, establish in August 1994 by Incombank and Steepler. Viktor Savyuk became its general director. This division focused on the distribution of video games, unlike Steepler, which had consoles, software and IT technologies in its stores. Already at the beginning, Steepler became a dealer of AOZT Dendy's chain stores. New established company was in its lifespan, the exclusive distributor of Nintendo, Konami, Ocean, Acclaim[5] and Subor in Russia and CIS. The consoles had a special Dendy sticker as to recognizable brand of the stores to everyone. Non-Nintendo products always were labled with Dendy. Delivered by Steepler while Nintendo having Dendy. Exclusive distributor which may suggest that Steepler supplied AOZT Dendy's network with non-Nintendo products in exchange for AOZT Dendy giving them Nintendo products.

Steepler's fall in 1996 paralyzed AOZT Dendy. Of the many dealers in Russia and the CIS, at the very end remained only a few stores in Moscow. Most of the time, prices were constantly raised but in a few months the sale were successful. There were some new consoles, but only in small numbers, because various types of toys became an increasingly large part of the assortment at the time. The last game that was largely advertise by AOZT Dendy was Bonza[6]. It was decided to suspend operations in 1998 during the crisis.

Products sold by Steepler/AOZT Dendy

8 bit Famicom

  • Dendy Classic
  • Dendy Classic 2
  • Dendy Junior
  • Dendy Junior II
  • Dendy Junior IIP
  • Dendy Junior IVP
  • Subor SB-225

Nintendo

  • Super Nintendo (PAL and NTSC-U)
  • Game Boy (PAL and NTSC-U)
  • Virtual Boy (NTSC-U)
  • Nintendo Entertainment System (only sale rights)

Sega

Others

  • Panasonic 3DO
  • PlayStation
  • Bonza portable

References

  1. ↑ https://secretmag.ru/business/trade-secret/nintendo-so-slonom-kak-viktor-savyuk-pridumal-pristavku-dendy.htm
  2. ↑ http://tv-games.ru/wiki/Companies/Steepler.html
  3. ↑ https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/94004?query=steepler
  4. ↑ File:CTW_UK_586_Europe_Supplement.pdf, page 1
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoupLDkYAck&list=PLilc6-ICNoeU5Ox5pKypv-A9ObkroT1S6&t=648s&index=15
  6. ↑ http://www.potroshiteli.ru/Reviews/Game/Bonza.html


Timeline of Mega Drive trademark owners in Russia









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