Difference between revisions of "Hitmaker"

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[[Image:Hitmaker.png|thumb|right|300px|Hitmaker logo]]'''Hitmaker''' (originally '''AM3''') is a former second-party developer for [[Sega|Sega Corporation]]. The development house has produced some popular [[arcade|arcade game]] and video games, including ''Virtual On'', ''Crazy Taxi'', and ''Virtua Tennis''. In 2000, as a part of a restructuring of Sega, they were renamed Hitmaker. Later in 2004, they were merged back with the other "AM teams" into Sega.
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{{CompanyBob
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| logo=Hitmaker Logo.svg
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| width=300
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| founded=2000-04-21{{fileref|IR EN 2003-07-30.pdf|page=3}}
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| defunct=2004-07-01 (as Subsidiary){{fileref|IR EN 2004-05-18.pdf}}, 2005-04-01 (as Division)
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| tseries=
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| mergedwith=
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| mergedinto=[[Sega AM3 (2005-2008)|Sega AM3]]
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| headquarters=Japan
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}}
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'''Hitmaker''' (ヒットメーカー) is a former internal development studio owned by [[Sega]]. It was founded in 2000 largely on the remains of '''Sega Software R&D Dept. 3''' (formerly [[Sega AM3]]), and was one of the 10 that was spun off during the 2000 restructure.
  
==Production history==
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AM3 was a dominant force within Sega throughout the 1990s, however had been very much arcade-orientated by design. With Hitmaker, this focus shifted more towards home consoles, but as the arcade section did not go away, this led to Hitmaker producing a large chunk of Sega games during the 2000-2004 period.
* ''Star Wars Arcade'' (1994)
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* ''[[Sega Rally Championship]]'' (1995) (Saturn Version)
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By far and away the biggest international success for Hitmaker were the ''[[Crazy Taxi]]'' and ''[[Virtua Tennis]]'' games, which defined the Dreamcasts library. But perhaps an even more defining success is changing the Japanese arcade landscape with the titles ''[[World Club Champion Football: Serie A 2001-2002]]'' and
* ''Virtual On'' (1995)
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''[[The Key of Avalon: The Wizard Master]]''. These titles along with the [[Sega AM2]] ''[[Virtua Fighter 4]]'', brought new features and dynamics, with cards and internet usage.
* ''Gunblade NY'' (1995)
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* ''Baku Baku'' (1995)
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In October 2003, [[Sega Rosso]] was merged back into the studio{{fileref|IR EN 2003-07-30.pdf|page=3}}.
* ''Last Bronx'' (1996)
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* ''Manx TT '' (1996)
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Hitmaker even had their own record label, [[Hitmaker Records]], for a short period.
* ''Winter Heat'' (1997)
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* ''The Lost World'' (1997)
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==Members==
* ''Top Skater'' (1997)
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* ''Crazy Taxi'' (1998)
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{{multicol|
* ''Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram'' (1998)
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*[[Junichi Tsuchiya]]
* ''L.A. Machineguns'' (1998)
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*[[Juro Watari]]
* ''Virtua Tennis'' (1999)
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*[[Kenji Kanno]]
* ''Confidential Mission'' (2000)
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*[[Maasaki Ito]]
* ''Virtua Athlete 2000'' (2000)
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*[[Mie Kumagai]]
* ''Crazy Taxi 2'' (2001)
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*[[Nobuyuki Yamashita]]
* ''[[Segagaga]]'' (2001)
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*[[Shinichi Osagawara]]
* ''Segagaga: Limited Edition'' (2001)
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*[[Shoichiri Kanazawa]]
* ''Virtua Tennis 2'' (2001)
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*[[Takeshi Goden]]
* ''Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller'' (2002)
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*[[Tetsu Okano]]
* ''Virtual-On Marz'' (2003)
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|cols=2}}
* ''Astro Boy: Omega Factor'' (2004) (also with Treasure Co. Ltd.)
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* ''Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars'' (2007) (also with [[Sega Rosseo]])
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==Former members==
* ''Virtua Tennis 3'' (2007) (also with [[Sega Rosseo]])
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* ''[[Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'' (2007) (Special Thanks)
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*[[Hisao Oguchi]]
* ''[[Sega Superstars Tennis]]'' (2008) (Very Special Thanks)
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==Softography (arcade)==
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{{multicol|
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===[[NAOMI]]===
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* ''[[Confidential Mission]]'' (2000)
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* ''[[Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram M.S.B.S. Ver. 5.66]]'' (2000)
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* ''[[Crackin' DJ]]'' (2000)
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** ''[[Crackin' DJ Part 2]]'' (2001)  
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* ''[[Derby Owners Club 2000]]'' (2000)  
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** ''[[Derby Owners Club 2]]'' (2002)  
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* ''[[Derby Owners Club World Edition]]'' (2001)  
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* ''[[The Maze of the Kings]]'' (2002)
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* ''[[Virtua Athlete]]'' (2002)
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 +
===[[Hikaru]]===
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* ''[[Air Trix]]'' (2001)
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* ''[[Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force]]'' (2001)
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===[[NAOMI 2]]===
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* ''[[World Club Champion Football: Serie A 2001-2002]]'' (2002)  
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** ''[[World Club Champion Football: Serie A 2002-2003]]'' (2003)  
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** ''[[World Club Champion Football: European Clubs 2004-2005]]'' (2004)  
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*''[[Initial D Arcade Stage: Ver. 3]]'' (2004)
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===[[Triforce]]===
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* ''[[Avalon no Kagi]]'' (2003)  
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** ''[[Avalon no Kagi Ver.1.20: Summon The New Monsters]]'' (2004)
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===[[Chihiro]]===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller]]'' (2003)
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* ''[[The Quiz Show]]'' (2004)
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|cols=2}}
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==Softography (consumer)==
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{{multicol|
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===[[Dreamcast]]===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi 2]]'' (2001)
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* ''[[Confidential Mission]]'' (2001)
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* ''[[Segagaga]]'' (2001) (with [[Thunder Stone]])
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* ''[[Virtua Athlete 2K]]'' (2000)
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* ''[[Virtua Tennis]]'' (2000)
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* ''[[Virtua Tennis 2]]'' (2001)  
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===[[Game Boy Advance]]===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride]]'' (2003) (Supervision)
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* ''[[Astro Boy: Omega Factor]]'' (2003) (with [[Treasure]])
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* ''[[Virtua Tennis (Game Boy Advance)|Virtua Tennis]]'' (2002) (with [[Altron]])
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===[[GameCube]]===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi]]'' (2001)
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===[[PlayStation 2]]===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi]]'' (2001)
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* ''[[Cyber Troopers Virtual-On: Marz]]'' (2003)
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* ''[[Virtua Tennis 2]]'' (2002)
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 +
===[[Xbox]]===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller]]'' (2002)
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===PC===
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi]]'' (2002)
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* ''[[Virtua Tennis]]'' (2002)
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* ''[[Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller]]'' (2004)
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* ''[[Derby Owners Club Online]]'' (2004)
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===Mobile===
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* ''[[Nakayoshi Techo]]'' (2000)
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* ''[[Virtua Tennis (N-Gage)|Virtua Tennis]]'' (2003)
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* ''[[Sega Rally Championship (N-Gage)|Sega Rally Championship]]'' (2004)
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* ''[[The Sumou Kokoro Waza Tai]]'' (2001)
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* ''[[Uchuujinda!]]'' (2001)
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|cols=2}}
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 +
==Magazine articles==
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{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Magazine articles}}
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
*[http://www.hitmaker.co.jp Hitmaker Official websites]
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* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040629001328/http://www.hitmaker.co.jp/site/index.html Hitmaker Official websites (Internet Archive)]
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** [http://web.archive.org/web/20040610032406/http://www.hitmaker.co.jp/site/comphistory.html Production history of the Hitmaker]
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==References==
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<references />
  
[[Category:Companies]]
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{{clear}}
[[Category:Developers]]
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{{SoJ}}

Revision as of 07:20, 21 August 2018

https://segaretro.org/images/d/dd/Hitmaker_Logo.svg

Hitmaker Logo.svg
Hitmaker
Founded: 2000-04-21[1]
Defunct: 2004-07-01 (as Subsidiary)[2], 2005-04-01 (as Division)
Merged into: Sega AM3
Headquarters:
Japan

Hitmaker (ヒットメーカー) is a former internal development studio owned by Sega. It was founded in 2000 largely on the remains of Sega Software R&D Dept. 3 (formerly Sega AM3), and was one of the 10 that was spun off during the 2000 restructure.

AM3 was a dominant force within Sega throughout the 1990s, however had been very much arcade-orientated by design. With Hitmaker, this focus shifted more towards home consoles, but as the arcade section did not go away, this led to Hitmaker producing a large chunk of Sega games during the 2000-2004 period.

By far and away the biggest international success for Hitmaker were the Crazy Taxi and Virtua Tennis games, which defined the Dreamcasts library. But perhaps an even more defining success is changing the Japanese arcade landscape with the titles World Club Champion Football: Serie A 2001-2002 and The Key of Avalon: The Wizard Master. These titles along with the Sega AM2 Virtua Fighter 4, brought new features and dynamics, with cards and internet usage.

In October 2003, Sega Rosso was merged back into the studio[1].

Hitmaker even had their own record label, Hitmaker Records, for a short period.

Members

Former members

Softography (arcade)

Softography (consumer)

Magazine articles

Main article: Hitmaker/Magazine articles.

External links

References


Timeline of Sega of Japan research and development divisions








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