Banpresto
| Banpresto | |
|---|---|
| |
| Founded | April 1977 |
| Defunct | March 31, 2008 |
| First Super Mario game | Būbū Mario |
| Latest Super Mario game | Super Mario Attack |
| Current president | Shuichiro Nishiya |
Banpresto Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社バンプレスト, "Kabushiki-gaisha Banpuresuto") was a Japanese video game developer, toy manufacturer, and amusement park operator. Founded in 1977 as Hoei International Co., Ltd, it was renamed to Coreland Technology in 1982 and became a contractor company for other developers, such as Sega. Bandai majority-acquired the company in 1989 and renamed it Banpresto, becoming Bandai's arcade division and focusing heavily on character licenses such as Gundam and Sailor Moon. Banpresto is best known for creating the Super Robot Wars series of tactical RPGs. In 2006, Banpresto became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings, and in 2008 it was folded into Bandai Namco Entertainment (then Namco Bandai Games). Banpresto's toy and merchandiser game divisions was spun-off into a separate company of the same name, which produced model figures and toys for mechanical prize-winning machines. In 2019, it was folded into Bandai Spirits, with Banpresto now being used as a brand for Bandai's arcade game prizes.
Banpresto created the arcade games Būbū Mario (1993), Mario Undōkai (1993), and Super Mario Attack (1996), which were redemption games targeted towards children. The company has also produced a wide variety of Mario toys, apparel, household goods and plushes, most of which were produced for Japanese UFO catchers and other merchandiser machines. Some of these toys were released outside Japan by other companies, such as PopCo Entertainment.
