Trivia Browser
subdirectory_arrow_right Cooking Mama: World Kitchen (Game), Majesco (Company), Cooking Mama (Collection)
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When PETA released Cooking Mama Kills Animals, a satirical flash game parodying the Cooking Mama franchise, Mama series publisher Majesco responded with a press release condemning the game and stating that Mama, while not a vegetarian, supports humane treatment of animals:
"Mama wants people to know that World Kitchen includes 51 recipes from around the world, ranging from vegetarian fare like miso soup and rice cakes to international delicacies like ginger pork and octopus dumplings. "I would never put rat in my Ratatouille," said a feisty Mama while beating some eggs. "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed." Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes including delicious breakfast, dinner, dessert and snack options. And, while Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals, particularly for her canine protege Max who makes his doggie debut in World Kitchen."
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Chip's Challenge 2 was finished in 1990, two years after the completion of Chip's Challenge and a year after the latter game's release, but due to the IP being sold, it had to wait 25 years to see an official release in 2015, following five years of negotiation over the series' rights.
Company: Too Kyo Games
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Following the completion of the anime series "Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School" and the video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, Danganronpa series writer Kazutaka Kodaka started thinking about how he wanted to create his own development company where he can do new things. He discussed the idea with composer Masafumi Takada and character designer Rui Komatsuzaki, who were also interested in the idea: Takada would be the one to found Too Kyo Games, due to having been involved in the launch of other companies.
Kodaka also invited other people to join the company, including Kotaro Uchikoshi (director and scenario writer of the Zero Escape series), Shimadoriru (Danganronpa illustrator), Takumi Nakazawa (director and co-writer of the Infinity series), and Yoichirou Koizumi (Danganronpa novelist). Kodaka, Takada, Komatsuzaki and Uchikoshi each serve as the core members of the company, with Kodaka serving as both its representative and CEO.
Additionally, the company's name is a wordplay on "Tokyo", where the company is based, and "kyo", the Japanese word for crazy: hence, the company's name literally means "Too Crazy Games".
Kodaka also invited other people to join the company, including Kotaro Uchikoshi (director and scenario writer of the Zero Escape series), Shimadoriru (Danganronpa illustrator), Takumi Nakazawa (director and co-writer of the Infinity series), and Yoichirou Koizumi (Danganronpa novelist). Kodaka, Takada, Komatsuzaki and Uchikoshi each serve as the core members of the company, with Kodaka serving as both its representative and CEO.
Additionally, the company's name is a wordplay on "Tokyo", where the company is based, and "kyo", the Japanese word for crazy: hence, the company's name literally means "Too Crazy Games".
Platform: PlayStation 2
subdirectory_arrow_right Nuon (Platform)
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While DVD video playback was a major selling point for the PlayStation 2, Sony didn't plan to support the feature at first, as they were already intending to manufacture standalone DVD players through their home entertainment department. However, after seeing a demonstration for the Nuon, a DVD player by VM Labs with video game support, Sony Computer Entertainment head Ken Kutaragi demanded that a similar level of multimedia functionality be incorporated into the PlayStation 2. The move was met with resistance from Sony's home entertainment wing, who believed that doing so would cause the console to cannibalize sales of their standalone DVD players. However, Kutaragi won out in the end due to the clout that the PlayStation brand had given him.
Techmoan video on the Nuon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN_XeVSKqSY
Ars Technica article about the Nuon that mentions its impact on Sony:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/06/before-the-ps2-nuon-famously-tried-and-failed-to-combine-dvd-and-game-consoles/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN_XeVSKqSY
Ars Technica article about the Nuon that mentions its impact on Sony:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/06/before-the-ps2-nuon-famously-tried-and-failed-to-combine-dvd-and-game-consoles/
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The ZX Spectrum Popeye game contains exceptionally large and detailed character sprites, a first for the ZX Spectrum. After being requested by copyright holder King Features for the game's graphics to resemble Thimble Theatre comics as closely as possible, programmer Don Priestley designed these graphics by making sets of square sprites and attaching them together. This technique would be reused for other games by the same programmer, including Benny Hill's Madcap Chase and The Trap Door, both based on British TV IPs that may have had similar stipulations.
subdirectory_arrow_right Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Game), Pac-Land (Game), Pac-Man Museum+ (Game), Pac 'n Roll (Game), Pac-Man World Re-Pac (Game), Pac-Man (Franchise), General Computer Corporation (GCC) (Company), AtGames (Company), Ms. Pac-Man (Collection)
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In 2019, AtGames, a company specializing in replica microconsoles containing compilations of retro or retro-styled games, acquired a portion of the rights to Ms. Pac-Man from General Computer Corporation, the company that made the original Ms. Pac-Man game for Midway and Namco - this led to a lawsuit over the IP, with an undisclosed turnout. After this, Ms. Pac-Man would begin to disappear from Pac-Man games, implying that AtGames won the case, with Ms. Pac being replaced by a character named Pac-Mom, who has a visual design resembling Ms. Pac-Man's mother from Pac 'N Roll.Pac-Mom first appeared in the Arcade Archives release of Pac-Land through graphical modification to the original ROM, and would then be named for the first time in Pac-Man Museum+ alongside modifications to other games that originally featured Ms. Pac-Man such as Pac-in-Time, and would appear again in Pac-Man World: Re-Pac in place of Ms. Pac-Man.
Ms. Pac-Man's final appearance in an original title would be on the Pac-Land stage in 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Lawsuit articles:
https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/26/20886032/ms-pac-man-lawsuit-bandai-namco-atgames-rights-royalties
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bandai-namco-atgames-resolve-legal-dispute
Pac-Mom article:
https://www.eurogamer.net/pac-man-world-remake-replaces-ms-pac-man-with-pac-mom
Pac-Master's Wife/Ms. Pac-Man's mom in Pac 'N Roll:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SatrSV4EMW0#t=72
https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/26/20886032/ms-pac-man-lawsuit-bandai-namco-atgames-rights-royalties
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bandai-namco-atgames-resolve-legal-dispute
Pac-Mom article:
https://www.eurogamer.net/pac-man-world-remake-replaces-ms-pac-man-with-pac-mom
Pac-Master's Wife/Ms. Pac-Man's mom in Pac 'N Roll:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SatrSV4EMW0#t=72
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It is often said that Mega Man was once used as Capcom's mascot in the 1980s, in a similar way to how Nintendo and Sega use Mario and Sonic respectively. Like many other statements of platforming characters being used as corporate mascots, this is untrue, as Mega Man has never been used to promote the wider Capcom brand of software outside of his own games or crossovers in which he appears. However, Capcom did have a mascot in the 1980s: the titular hero of Captain Commando - many earlier NES Capcom games were branded as part of the "Captain Commando Challenge Series", including licensed titles such as DuckTales, with game manuals having signed messages "written" by Captain Commando. Despite this, Captain Commando was never released on the NES.Capcom's former community manager Seth Killian addressed Capcom's current lack of a mascot and Mega Man's use as an unofficial mascot on the Capcom-Unity forums in 2009:
"...we don't have an "official" mascot. We have a logo, that’s it.
As far as unofficial mascots go, however, yes, MM would definitely be that. I have actually heard someone discuss this, and I think the reasoning was something akin to Mega Man best embodying the spirit of the company.
So apparently in addition to making great games, Capcom is also here to save the planet from overthrow by evil robot masters (and according to recorded history so far, I'd say we're doing pretty well–2009 and still no overthrows)."
As far as unofficial mascots go, however, yes, MM would definitely be that. I have actually heard someone discuss this, and I think the reasoning was something akin to Mega Man best embodying the spirit of the company.
So apparently in addition to making great games, Capcom is also here to save the planet from overthrow by evil robot masters (and according to recorded history so far, I'd say we're doing pretty well–2009 and still no overthrows)."
Example of a Challenge Series manual:
https://www.thegameisafootarcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Duck-Tales-Game-Manual.pdf
Example of a Challenge Series box:
https://imgur.com/AktT0EB
Seth Killian on Capcom's mascot:
https://nintendoeverything.com/?p=22493
https://www.thegameisafootarcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Duck-Tales-Game-Manual.pdf
Example of a Challenge Series box:
https://imgur.com/AktT0EB
Seth Killian on Capcom's mascot:
https://nintendoeverything.com/?p=22493
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The Tiger Electronics electronic Pokédex toy received major pushback from Nintendo HQ in Japan, which did not want the toy to have any kind of game function as to avoid cannibalizing sales of Pokémon Red & Blue. When two-frame animations of each Pokémon were implemented, they had to be scrapped as Nintendo thought they were "too close to the Game Boy game", despite animated sprites not being introduced until Pokémon Crystal in 2000. Despite this, both Nintendo of America and 4Kids were in favor of the animations.
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The bankruptcy of THQ is often pinned on the uDraw peripheral for the Wii - this is not completely true, as the Wii version of the uDraw was highly successful. However, the HD versions of the uDraw, released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, were a killing blow to the company (even if not the sole cause of it's bankruptcy), as it was heavily overproduced compared to the size of the audience for casual games on those platforms and an even lower amount of uDraw-supported titles on those platforms relative to the Wii. Supposedly, the HD uDraw was greenlit by THQ's family division, PlayTHQ, without proper permission from the main branch of the company without even knowing what games could or would be made on the hardware.
Platform: Sega Saturn
subdirectory_arrow_right PlayStation (Platform)
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In 1992, after the failure of a deal to create a CD-ROM drive for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sony approached Sega of America proposing that they collaborate on a next-generation CD-ROM console to compete with Nintendo. While Sega of America was open to the idea and even started testing the waters between the two companies by having each develop a handful of titles for the Sega CD, Sega of Japan shot down the concept. Consequently, Sony would reorient their efforts towards what would become the PlayStation, while Sega would develop their own next-gen console, the Sega Saturn, in-house. In an interview with Sega-16, Tom Kalinske cited the veto as a factor in his decision to step down as head of Sega of America.
Time Extension article:
https://www.timeextension.com/features/flashback-sega-and-sony-almost-joined-forces-to-battle-nintendo-in-the-90s
Time Extension interview with Kalinske:
https://www.timeextension.com/features/interview-former-sega-president-tom-kalinske-on-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-16-bit-empire
Sega-16 interview with Kalinske:
https://www.sega-16.com/2006/07/interview-tom-kalinske/
https://www.timeextension.com/features/flashback-sega-and-sony-almost-joined-forces-to-battle-nintendo-in-the-90s
Time Extension interview with Kalinske:
https://www.timeextension.com/features/interview-former-sega-president-tom-kalinske-on-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-16-bit-empire
Sega-16 interview with Kalinske:
https://www.sega-16.com/2006/07/interview-tom-kalinske/
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When Super Mario Bros. 35 and Super Mario 3D All-Stars were released, they were criticized for being preemptively planned to be pulled from digital storefronts on March 31, 2021. This, along with the DIC Mario cartoons coincidentally being moved from Netflix to Paramount+ on the same day, spawned an internet meme depicting Mario as receiving a medieval public execution by Nintendo on that date.
Article on March 31 meme:
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-internet-dubs-march-31-the-day-mario-dies
Article on Netflix removal of DIC Mario cartoons:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/03/netflix_joins_marios_doomsday_celebrations_will_remove_super_mario_bros_3_cartoon_on_31st_march
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-internet-dubs-march-31-the-day-mario-dies
Article on Netflix removal of DIC Mario cartoons:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/03/netflix_joins_marios_doomsday_celebrations_will_remove_super_mario_bros_3_cartoon_on_31st_march
subdirectory_arrow_right Chex Quest (Game)
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Chex Quest was based on the engine of Doom. The engine could be officially licensed thanks to the game technically not making a profit of its own as a free game, only profit for the food company General Mills, and the release of Quake rendering the old Doom engine obsolete.
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In January 2023, the game's Steam page was pulled along with a gameplay trailer on YouTube the following month, with developer Fntastic stating that there had been trademark issues surrounding the game's title, with the game being delayed to November of that year as a result. However, the studio's founders revealed that there were already plans to delay the game prior to the trademark disputes, which was intended to be announced as part of a ten minute gameplay trailer. They also defended against claims that the game was a scam, due to being backed by publisher Mytona and evaluated on their progress regularly. They also stated that "we didn't take a penny from people: no crowdfunding, no pre-orders, no donations".
The Day Before delay announcement article:
https://www.gematsu.com/2023-01/the-day-before-for-pc-delayed-to-november-10
Fntastic planned delay article:
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-day-before-devs-say-delay-was-planned-before-trademark-dispute
YouTube trailer removal article:
https://www.thegamer.com/the-day-before-youtube-trademark-issues/
https://www.gematsu.com/2023-01/the-day-before-for-pc-delayed-to-november-10
Fntastic planned delay article:
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-day-before-devs-say-delay-was-planned-before-trademark-dispute
YouTube trailer removal article:
https://www.thegamer.com/the-day-before-youtube-trademark-issues/
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
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Shortly after the Famicom's launch in 1983, Atari approached Nintendo offering to distribute the system outside of Japan as the Nintendo Enhanced Video System. Negotiations for the arrangement stalled when Atari saw a demonstration for the Coleco Adam home computer system that used the ColecoVision port of Donkey Kong as a demo title. Because Atari previously gained the exclusive PC port rights to the arcade game, they assumed that Nintendo was also working with Coleco behind their backs. By the time the misunderstanding was cleared up, the North American video game industry had crashed and Ray Kassar had stepped down as CEO of Atari, causing the agreement to be called off entirely. The Famicom wouldn't reach international shores until 1985, when Nintendo began distributing a revised version in North America themselves as the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Ars Technica article:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/12/time-to-feel-old-inside-the-nes-on-its-30th-birthday/
Classic Gaming article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20051124042223/http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/nes20th/
GameSpy article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040701101711/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/july03/famicom/index11.shtml
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/12/time-to-feel-old-inside-the-nes-on-its-30th-birthday/
Classic Gaming article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20051124042223/http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/nes20th/
GameSpy article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040701101711/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/july03/famicom/index11.shtml
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The Elf Bowling series has been the subject of multiple bizarre and unprofessional Wikipedia edits by individuals involved with the franchise, something considered poor conduct on the website.
Elf Bowling co-creator Dan "Ferg" Ferguson created a Wikipedia article under the name "Itzaferg" and inserted self-aggrandizing information about his history with the franchise to its page, as well as adding articles that were soon deleted for his company Blockdot and its lesser known, non-Elf Bowling works.
After this, Matthew Lichtenwalter, who bought the rights to Elf Bowling in 2001, attempted to claim that the portable compilation, Elf Bowling 1 & 2 was "unauthorized" using Wikipedia as a platform, writing a signed quote from himself on the Wikipedia article for Elf Bowling, as well as saying that he "created the series [after]" he bought it out.
It seems highly unlikely that the Elf Bowling ports were actually unauthorized, as no legal action was taken, nor did any of the developers or publishers of the release attempt to hide their work on it at any point.
Elf Bowling co-creator Dan "Ferg" Ferguson created a Wikipedia article under the name "Itzaferg" and inserted self-aggrandizing information about his history with the franchise to its page, as well as adding articles that were soon deleted for his company Blockdot and its lesser known, non-Elf Bowling works.
After this, Matthew Lichtenwalter, who bought the rights to Elf Bowling in 2001, attempted to claim that the portable compilation, Elf Bowling 1 & 2 was "unauthorized" using Wikipedia as a platform, writing a signed quote from himself on the Wikipedia article for Elf Bowling, as well as saying that he "created the series [after]" he bought it out.
"The DS and GBA versions were not approved or authorized by NStorm and were extremely poor copies of the code and art by original creators Ferguson and Bielinski. Myself, along with millions of fans all over the world loved the original artwork of Ferguson in all its pixelized glory and this unauthorized release caused sever [sic] harm to the brand that took several years to recover from." ~ Matthew Lichtenwalter, Commotion Interactive
It seems highly unlikely that the Elf Bowling ports were actually unauthorized, as no legal action was taken, nor did any of the developers or publishers of the release attempt to hide their work on it at any point.
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Sunsoft's NES Batman originally had cutscenes using the comic book iteration of Batman, but these had to be scrapped and replaced with digitized renditions of Micheal Keaton's live-action Batman as the game's artist was not aware that the Batman comics and movies were separate licenses. The Joker, however, was always depicted as Jack Nicholson's portrayal, even in prototypes using the comic version of Batman.
Tweet with developer quote:
https://twitter.com/SunsoftHistory/status/1415661343450013698
Batman prototype cutscenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtLVxW0T9HE
https://twitter.com/SunsoftHistory/status/1415661343450013698
Batman prototype cutscenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtLVxW0T9HE
Company: Atari SA
subdirectory_arrow_right Infogrames Entertainment SA (Company)
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In 2001, Infogrames Entertainment SA produced a corporate anthem entitled "Infogrames Rocks My World", which was used at industry events starting with E3 2001 as part of a heavy marketing push to promote their slate of IPs after a series of acquisitions throughout the 1990s. According to YouTuber Larry Bundy Jr. during a video researching the development and release controversies surrounding the game Driv3r, Infogrames' public relations division reportedly spent $50,000 creating the song, but due to the song being relentlessly mocked following its reveal, everyone involved with the song's production was reportedly fired. While Bundy also claimed that the song was first leaked to the Internet by a disgruntled Driv3r developer in 2004, the song was actually distributed by Infogrames to other gaming news outlets as part of digital press kits. The earliest known upload of the song appears to be by software developer Phil Bak to his personal website sometime during or immediately after E3 2001 in May, and the earliest known surviving upload is through a 2001 IGN article covering Infogrames' Gamers' Day press event in August. The song was later uploaded to ZDNET in 2002 on a special article ranking it at #9 on a list of their Top 20 Corporate IT Anthems.
Infogrames Entertainment SA's PR department - "Infogrames Rocks My World":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA#t=1041
Larry Bundy Jr. video on Driv3r development and release controversies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA
3000 AD forum post of the Phil Bak link to the song days after E3 2001:
https://www.3000ad.com/forum/topic/7001147-infogrames-e3-theme-song/
2001 IGN article and embedded link to the song:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/08/infogrames-state-of-the-union-at-gamers-day
https://pcmedia.ign.com/media/news/sound/infogrames.mp3
2002 ZDNET Top 20 IT Anthems archived article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021004141104/http://www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/2002/it-anthems/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA#t=1041
Larry Bundy Jr. video on Driv3r development and release controversies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEQOv2g0JA
3000 AD forum post of the Phil Bak link to the song days after E3 2001:
https://www.3000ad.com/forum/topic/7001147-infogrames-e3-theme-song/
2001 IGN article and embedded link to the song:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/08/infogrames-state-of-the-union-at-gamers-day
https://pcmedia.ign.com/media/news/sound/infogrames.mp3
2002 ZDNET Top 20 IT Anthems archived article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021004141104/http://www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/2002/it-anthems/
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When Pokémon Sword and Shield were announced, they inspired a slew of memes from British internet users who found humor in the influences their culture provided towards the games. One meme, made by Twitter user Callum O'Dwyer, depicts a PokéMart from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! edited to show the logo of Greggs, a UK bakery chain. After the tweet proved viral, O'Dwyer reached out to Greggs to ask if the tweet was "worth a couple of [steak] bakes" as compensation for the free advertising. In response, Greggs gave him a £10 coupon and told him to "have a steak bake or three on us".
Original tweet:
https://twitter.com/callumjodwyer/status/1100761586661289984
Article on Greggs' response:
https://archive.news.stv.tv/north/1435978-gamer-scores-free-steak-bakes-from-greggs-after-tweet.html
https://twitter.com/callumjodwyer/status/1100761586661289984
Article on Greggs' response:
https://archive.news.stv.tv/north/1435978-gamer-scores-free-steak-bakes-from-greggs-after-tweet.html
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During development of QuackShot, a level was implemented where Donald Duck could club baby seals as enemies. This horrified producers from the Disney side of development, who demanded Sega remove the stage from the final game.
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Chris Hendricks, a former artist and composer for Club Penguin, was originally against the inclusion of the game's main villain Herbert P. Bear, as he felt that Club Penguin was a game that was meant to be "safe and fun" and thus didn't need a villain. However, during development of the PSA missions, it became apparent that it was becoming difficult to put obstacles in the player's way without some sort of villain behind it. The team member who first pitched the idea of adding a villain to the game initially came up with the idea of there being three polar bears: a boss bear, a skinny vegetarian henchman bear, and a big stupid bear who would lift heavy objects and be endearing and lovable. Some staff, however, felt that this was too many bears, and eventually reached a compromise: take all the best attributes of the three bears, combine them into one bear, and give him a lovable sidekick.
Chris, however, was still concerned about the idea of adding a villain, so to both build up mystery and try to appease him, the story was developed so that the villain wouldn't be revealed until the fifth mission: in the third mission, the only evidence of the villain was white fur. This gave them a potential escape route in case players didn't want a villain in the game, as they could have the fourth mission reveal that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and that a white puffle (which hadn't debuted at that point) was to blame. As it would turn out, fans loved the idea of a villain, so the fourth mission would give a shadowy teaser of the villain, before the full reveal of Herbert P. Bear in the fifth mission. Chris would later admit that he was wrong to not want a villain in the game, as Herbert became one of his favorite characters, and led to the introduction of other memorable villains (i.e. Tusk and Ultimate Proto-Bot 10000) as well.
Chris, however, was still concerned about the idea of adding a villain, so to both build up mystery and try to appease him, the story was developed so that the villain wouldn't be revealed until the fifth mission: in the third mission, the only evidence of the villain was white fur. This gave them a potential escape route in case players didn't want a villain in the game, as they could have the fourth mission reveal that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and that a white puffle (which hadn't debuted at that point) was to blame. As it would turn out, fans loved the idea of a villain, so the fourth mission would give a shadowy teaser of the villain, before the full reveal of Herbert P. Bear in the fifth mission. Chris would later admit that he was wrong to not want a villain in the game, as Herbert became one of his favorite characters, and led to the introduction of other memorable villains (i.e. Tusk and Ultimate Proto-Bot 10000) as well.