Steepler
From Sega Retro
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| Steepler | ||
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| Founded: 1991 | ||
| Defunct: 1996 | ||
Headquarters:
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A Russian company that dealt in the sale of games in the countries of the former USSR.
Contents
Beginning
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.[1]
Sega and Nintendo
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[2]. 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[3]. 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 .
Dendy (company)
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.[4]
End of Steepler
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.
The reasons for the company's downfall
The exact reasons for the fall were never given. One of many cited are:
1. Poor sales of expensive Super Nintendo
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
Further fate of Dendy
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.[5]In 1998, however, the company collapsed.
