Video System

Japan Founded 1984 Website

Video System Co., Ltd. was a game development company that was founded in Japan in December 1984 and ceased operations in 2001. It was responsible for making numerous video games consoles , mainly for the Super Nintendo, Neo Geo, and Nintendo 64. Its founder and director was software designer Koji Furukawa . In 1992, they opened a branch in the United States which was named McO'River, Inc., they obtained the licenses to publish the three Aero Fighters Arcade games America in North and also published the titles Hyper V-Ball and Aero Fighters for SNES. The company released several games in the Japan and United States regions, such as F-1 Grand Prix , Karate Blazers, Tao Taido , Rabbit Punch Turbo Force, Super Volleyball, and its biggest hit, Aero Fighters. The Aero Fighters staff would later split to form their own company, Psikyo. In 1997, McO'River, Inc. changed its name to Video System USA, Inc. Under this new name they released the game Aero Fighters Assault and F-1 World Grand Prix for the Nintendo 64, the latter receiving a published sequel only in Europe. The United States offices closed their doors around 2000 and the Japanese company closed permanently in 2001.

Video System at a Glance

Video System was a Japanese developer and publisher active from 1985 through 2000 before closing its doors permanently in 2001. The company produced 30 titles listed on PlayPile, with the majority of work occurring during the 1990s when they released 24 games compared to just five in the 1980s and a single entry in the 2000s. Their output was heavily concentrated in arcade hardware, which accounts for 17 of their releases. They also saw significant activity on the Super Famicom with six titles and the Neo Geo CD with four games, along with smaller portfolios for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo 64. The studio built a reputation primarily around shooter and racing genres. Sixteen of their games fall into these two categories alone, including the popular Aero Fighters series and various F-1 racing titles. They also ventured into sports simulations, card and board games, and quiz trivia. The company operated an American branch called McO'River starting in 1992 to handle North American publishing duties for titles like Aero Fighters and Hyper V-Ball on the Super Nintendo. This office later rebranded as Video System USA in 1997 before shutting down around the year 2000. Quality assessments from IGDB show a generally positive reception for their work. The average rating across five rated titles stands at 74.2 out of 100. Their catalog contains one title rated as great and four rated as good, with no mixed or poor scores recorded in the dataset provided. The highest-rated entry is Aero Fighters from 1992, which holds a score of 80.6. This was followed by its sequel, Aero Fighters 2, at 77.7, and later entries like Sonic Wings Special and F-1 World Grand Prix II also landed in the good range between 70 and 73. Video System ceased operations after releasing F1 Racing Championship in April 2000. The studio was led by founder Koji Furukawa and is known for developing hardware consoles as well as software for major platforms like the Super Nintendo and Neo Geo. Some of their key staff eventually left to form Psikyo, while their legacy remains tied to the arcade shooter titles they defined during the mid-to-late 1990s.

Total Games

74.2

Avg Rating

1985

First Release

2000

Latest Release