Artoon Co., Ltd. (株式会社アートゥーン Kabushiki-Gaisha Ātūn) was a Japanese video game developer established in 1999. It became a subsidiary of AQ Interactive in May 2004 and became a wholly owned subsidiary in June 2005. The team was primarily affiliated in the United States with Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360 projects, although they had also worked with Hudson Soft and Nintendo on other platforms.

Artoon Co., Ltd.
株式会社アートゥーン
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedAugust 27, 1999[1]
Defunct2010
FateAbsorbed into AQ Interactive (parent company)
HeadquartersYokohama, Japan[2]
Key people
Naoto Ohshima (founder)[1]
OwnerAQ Interactive

Key Artoon personnel include Yoji Ishii, Manabu Kusunoki, Hidetoshi Takeshita, Yutaka Sugano, Masamichi Harada, Takuya Matsumoto and Naoto Ohshima. When the company formed, it drew personnel and talent from several of Sega's development teams, particularly those which worked on Sonic the Hedgehog (created by Ōshima), and Panzer Dragoon.[citation needed] The developer had approximately 85 employees. The company's focus was to create original game content for various consoles.[2] Artoon became defunct when the parent company, AQ Interactive, filed for bankruptcy.

Artoon was situated in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. A secondary studio was maintained in Naha, Okinawa prefecture, Japan.

Artoon, along with feelplus and Cavia, were all absorbed into parent company AQ Interactive.[3]

Games developed

YearTitlePublisher(s)Platform(s)
2001Pinobee: Wings of AdventureHudson SoftGame Boy Advance, PlayStation
2002The King of Fighters EX: Neo-BloodGame Boy Advance
2002Ghost VibrationEidos Japan[4]
Infogrames Europe[5]
PlayStation 2
2002Pinobee and PhoebeeHudson SoftGame Boy Advance
2002Ghost TrapEidos Interactive
2002Blinx: The Time SweeperMicrosoft Game StudiosXbox
2004Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space
2004Yoshi Topsy-TurvyNintendoGame Boy Advance
2005Swords of DestinyMarvelous EntertainmentPlayStation 2
2006Blue DragonMicrosoft Game StudiosXbox 360
2007Vampire RainAQ InteractiveXbox 360, PlayStation 3
2007Yoshi's Island DSNintendoNintendo DS
2008The World of Golden Eggs: Nori Nori Rhythm-keiAQ InteractiveWii
2008Away: Shuffle DungeonNintendo DS
2009The World of Golden Eggs: Nori Nori Uta Dekichatte Kei
2009EchoshiftSony Computer EntertainmentPlayStation Portable
2010Club Penguin: Game Day!Disney Interactive StudiosWii
2010FlingSmashNintendo
2011The Last Story

See also

References