Tokai Communications


Tokai Communications Corporation Inc is a telecommunications company in Japan providing DSL services as well as network solutions. Its headquarters are located in the Tokai Building in Aoi-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. In North America, the company is best known for its video games during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. In the US, they published games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Nintendo 64, the Sega Genesis, the Sega CD, the Sega Saturn, and the PlayStation.

History

Vic Tokai was founded on March 18, 1977 as Yaizu Cable Vision Co, a CATV service provider. The following year, in 1978, it adopted the name of Vic Tokai. The "Vic" in Vic Tokai's name stood for Valuable Information & Communication. The "Tokai" part is the name of its then parent company, Tokai Corporation, a Japanese natural gas utility founded in 1950.
Vic Tokai began selling data processing services and computer hardware on April 1982, a sector that until then was handled by parent Tokai Corporation. In 1983, it began developing online and graphics applications for office computers.
On April 1987, parent company Tokai corporation handed its remaining computer-related branches, such as electronic calculation and operational sections, to Vic Tokai, thus making the latter company able to handle data processing operations independently. Vic Tokai expanded in 1988 when it acquired another telecommunication company. The company also launched its first system consulting software the same year.
The 1990s saw a number of new products by Vic Tokai available to the Japanese market. In 1993, Vic Tokai introduced the first version of its long running lineup of network solution products called "TOP-VENUS". Later, Vic Tokai released its own Electronic Data Interchange package known as JFT in 1996. Then in 1998 Vic Tokai developed its "Knowledge Stage" lineup, which is dedicated to helping companies develop their Intranet.
In April 2000, Vic Tokai merged with another CATV company that provides Internet connection services. As a result, Vic Tokai itself immediately became an Internet service provider, and a year later, in April 2001, it entered the ADSL market. Vic Tokai would soon establish a partnership with Japanese peer-to-peer Internet exchange company JPIX.
As the company continued to grow, Vic Tokai earned its place in the market listing of the JASDAQ as of June 2002.
By March 2005, Vic Tokai had completed the build-out of its own high-capacity optical fiber network infrastructure between Tokyo and Nagoya to improve network support for its Internet service customers and enterprises. Vic Tokai continued its expansion in October 2005 when it merged again, this time with Tokai Broadband Communications, enabling Vic Tokai to enter the mobile broadband industry.
On April 1, 2011, Vic Tokai and parent company Tokai Corporation jointly created Tokai Holdings Corporation, a new shell entity to oversee the operation of both companies. In October of that year, Vic Tokai was renamed Tokai Communications following its absorption of Tokai Corporation's information and telecommunications business.
In April 2012, the CATV operations of Tokai Communications were spun off into a new company called Tokai Cable Network.

Video games

Vic Tokai was, from 1984 to 1998, a video game developer that manufactured arcade, console and PC games, as well as published games from developers like Kronos Digital Entertainment. The now defunct Vic Tokai Inc division in Torrance, California was tasked with localizing games in North America.
All of Vic Tokai's internally developed video games were created with Sunseibu Entertainment, a sister company from the Tokai Group. Sunseibu also had some involvement with the Aicom-developed Vic tokai game The Mafat Conspiracy.
The Vic Tokai/Sunseibu duo started in 1984 by developing arcade games for Sega. Vic Tokai/Sunseibu expanded in the home market by developing video games for Nintendo consoles and for Sega consoles. In the early 1990s, Vic Tokai, which by then had always self-published video games only for Nintendo consoles, became a Sega licensee for the first time.
TitleDateDeveloperPlatformRegion
Aerostar1991Vic TokaiGame BoyWorldwide
'1986Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment System Commodore 64Worldwide
Aigina's Prophecy1986Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment SystemJapan
All-Pro Basketball 1989AicomNintendo Entertainment SystemNorth America, Japan
Battle Mania 1991, 1992Vic TokaiMega Drive/GenesisJapan, North America
Battle Mania Daiginjou1993Vic TokaiMega Drive/GenesisJapan
Block Gal1987Vic TokaiArcadeJapan
Bump 'n' Jump1988Data East and SAS SakataNintendo Entertainment SystemNorth America
'1987Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment System Commodore 64Worldwide
Clash at Demonhead1989, 1990Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment SystemJapan, North America
Conflict1989, 1990Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment SystemJapan, North America
Columns 31993SegaSega GenesisNorth America
Criticom1995–1997Kronos Digital EntertainmentPlayStation, Sega SaturnWorldwide
Daedalian Opus 1990Vic TokaiGame BoyNorth America, Japan
Dark Rift 1997Kronos Digital EntertainmentNintendo 64, PCWorldwide
Dark Seed1994CyberdreamsMega CD/Sega CDCancelled
Decap Attack1991Vic TokaiMega Drive/GenesisNorth America, Europe
'1995Nova SpringSuper NESNorth America
Flink1994PsygnosisMega CD/Sega CDNorth America
The Gene Machine1996Divide By ZeroDOSNorth America
'1988Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment SystemJapan, North America
Imperium 1992JorudanSuper NESNorth America, Japan
'1994Anco SoftwareMega Drive/GenesisEurope
Kid Kool 1988, 1990Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment SystemNorth America, Japan
'1992Hot-B and Sage's CreationMega DriveNorth America
The Krion Conquest 1990, 1991Vic TokaiNintendo Entertainment SystemNorth America, Japan
Laplace no Ma1995Hummingbird SoftSuper NESJapan
Lock On 1993Copya SystemsSuper NESNorth America
The Mafat Conspiracy 1990AicomNintendo Entertainment SystemNorth America, Japan
Mansion of Hidden Souls1993System SacomMega CD/Sega CD, Sega SaturnNorth America
Psycho Fox1989Vic TokaiMaster SystemNorth America, Europe
S.O.S.1994Human EntertainmentSuper NESNorth America
The Scroll1995Vic TokaiDOSWorldwide
Secret Ties 1991 Graphic ResearchNintendo Entertainment SystemNorth America, Japan
Shien's Revenge1994AlmanicSuper NESNorth America
Shinseiki Odysselya1993Vic TokaiSuper NESJapan
Shinseiki Odysselya 21995Vic TokaiSuper NESJapan
Shinobi Legions1995SegaSega SaturnNorth America
SilverLoad1996Millennium InteractivePlayStation, DOSNorth America
1993, 1994Vic TokaiMega Drive/GenesisNorth America, Japan
Super Conflict1993Vic TokaiSuper NESNorth America
Time Slip1993The Sales CurveSuper NESNorth America
Top Gear 21994Gremlin InteractiveMega Drive/GenesisNorth America
Totsuzen! Machoman1988AicomNintendo Entertainment SystemJapan
Whip Rush1990Vic TokaiMega Drive/GenesisWorldwide