Random House

Japan Founded 1983

Not to be confused with the similarly-named American book publisher Random House. Random House Co., Ltd. (株式会社ランダムハウス) was established by programmer Kazuro Morita (森田和郎) on April 15, 1983 in Saitama, Japan after winning Enix's first game programming competition with Morita's Battle Field. Author and game designer Yuto Ramon (羅門祐人), alias Yuhei Yamaguchi (山口祐平) was also a founding member; Ramon left the company in 1986 to establish Artec. The company was unrelated to the American book publisher of the same name. Random House ceased operations in 1999, with all assets and staff being transferred to a new company called Yuki Enterprise. At this point, Morita stepped down as company head, though he continued working with Yuki Enterprise as a programmer. Morita was a devoted board game player, and was highly-ranked in Shogi, Go, and Othello. Fittingly, many of Random House's titles were digital versions of board games, often bearing Morita's name and featuring his own play algorithms; he even published a book about how to design such algorithms, including source code for his Othello game. He passed away in July 2012.

Random House at a Glance

If you are browsing PlayPile looking for information on Random House, you will find a small but distinct catalog from Japan. This company was not the American book publisher but a separate entity founded by programmer Kazuro Morita in Saitama on April 15, 1983. The studio operated until 1999 when it transferred all assets to Yuki Enterprise. Their entire library on our site contains only 15 titles released between 1983 and 1995. The output was heavier in the 1980s with nine games compared to six in the 1990s. The company focused heavily on digital adaptations of board games, reflecting Morita's personal expertise in Shogi, Go, and Othello. Five of their fifteen games fall into the Card & Board Game category, while others include four Adventure titles, four Role-playing games, three Strategy games, and three Sport games. You will find releases for older platforms like the Apple II with five entries and the Commodore C64/128/MAX with four. Other supported systems include the Sharp X1, FM-7, PC-8800 Series, PC-9800 Series, Apple IIGS, Super Famicom, Family Computer, and DOS. Specific releases show their focus on logic and board simulations. Recent titles from 1995 include Let's Explore the Airport and Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shogi 2. The company also released Hayazashi Nidan Morita Shogi in 1993 along with Just Breed and Dungeon Land in December 1992. Most of their board game titles feature algorithms designed by Morita himself, who even wrote a book on the subject before passing away in 2012. The company had only two founding members as Yuto Ramon left in 1986 to start his own firm. Random House produced a modest number of games over its twelve year active period. Their catalog is small and does not cover a wide range of modern genres beyond the specific niche of board game simulations and early adventure titles. The data shows a clear pattern where the developer prioritized Morita's personal interests in strategy games rather than chasing mass market trends. There are no shooter or music titles beyond single entries, and their platform support spans from 8-bit home computers to the Super Famicom without major expansion into later generations of hardware.

Total Games

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Avg Rating

1983

First Release

1995

Latest Release