.svg){kind=logo} Logo as Sega/Gremlin, used from 1981 to 1982[note 1] | |
| Formerly | Gremlin Industries, Inc. (1971–1982) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | February 3, 1971; 54 years ago (February 3, 1971) |
| Founder |
|
| Fate | Manufacturing division sold toBally Manufacturing and merged intoBally/Midway, library absorbed intoSega. Active as ashell corporation |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California |
| Products | Arcade game |
| Parent | Sega Enterprises Inc. (1978–1983) |
Gremlin Industries was an Americanarcade game manufacturer active from 1970 to 1983, based inSan Diego, California. It was acquired bySega in 1978, and afterwards was known asGremlin/Sega orSega/Gremlin. Among Sega/Gremlin's most notable games areBlockade andHead On, as well as being the North American distributors forFrogger andZaxxon. The company's name was subsequently changed toSega Electronics in 1982, before its operations were closed in 1983.
Sega later released emulated and playable version of some of Sega/Gremlin games as vault material for theSega Ages andSega Genesis Collection series.
Gremlin was founded in 1970 as a contract engineering firm by Harry Frank Fogleman and Carl E. Grindle.[1] The company was intended to be named "Grindleman Industries" as a portmanteau of their last names, but an employee of the Delaware Secretary of State's office misheard the name over the phone, so the company was incorporated as Gremlin instead.[2] In 1973, Gremlin became a manufacturer of coin-operated wall games with their first releasePlay Ball (1973).[3] Gremlin joined thevideo game industry in 1976 by releasing its first video arcade game entitledBlockade (1976).[4]
In 1977, Gremlin released ahome computer under a subsidiary, Noval, Inc. Called theNoval 760, the computer was built into a woodenoffice desk, with the computer portion of the desk's top able to pivot in and out of view. It sold poorly and was discontinued in 1979.[5]
In 1978, Gremlin was acquired bySega Enterprises Inc. and their games acquired the label of Gremlin/Sega or Sega/Gremlin.[6] Following the Sega purchase, Gremlin released games from both Sega and otherJapanese companies. Among these video games wereNamco'sGee Bee (1978),Nichibutsu'sMoon Cresta (1980) andSuper Moon Cresta (1980),Nintendo'sSpace Firebird (1980), andKonami'sFrogger (1981).
In 1981, Gremlin leased the first building inRancho Bernardo's Technology Park, which they moved into in 1982 as their main manufacturing facility. The estimated cost of the building wasUS$10 million and was the plant where games likeZaxxon (1982),Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator (1983), andCongo Bongo (1983) were manufactured.[7][8][9]
In 1982, the name of the company was changed to Sega Electronics to better strengthen the Sega brand name in the United States.[10] However, the company entered a rapid decline beginning in mid-1982, due to overproduction issues which ended thegolden age of arcade video games.[11]
In August 1983, the arcade manufacturing assets of the company were sold toBally Manufacturing. Through the purchase,Bally/Midway acquired Sega's technology forlaserdisc video games, principallyAstron Belt as well as later gamesGalaxy Ranger (1983) andAlbegas (1983). Bally gained the right of first refusal to publish arcade games by the Japanese Sega Enterprises, Ltd. in the United States for two years, and released games such asUp 'N Down,Future Spy, andFlicky.[12]
The sale did not include other assets owned by Sega Enterprises Inc., such as their American research and development arms populated by former Sega Electronics staff.[13] These development offered arcade games to Bally for publishing, though they were never released.[14] Sega Enterprises Inc's home division continued releasing games including ports of arcade games licensed from Bally likeTapper (1983) andSpy Hunter (1983).
In 1984, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. was bought out in a management buyout by Sega executivesDavid Rosen andHayao Nakayama with backing fromCSK Corporation. This included the rights to the Sega/Gremlin video game back catalog, which was later released in several game compilations. The wall game catalog was later marketed by a new firm in Las Vegas called Gremlin Industries, with the participation of several former Gremlin staff.[15][16]
After the sale of arcade manufacturing assets, Sega Electronics became a shell company (holding only Gremlin brand trademarks in several countries).[17][18][19] It was renamed to Ages Electronics in 1985 and later used as production company related toThe Maury Povich Show. The corporate entity is currently part ofCBS Media Ventures.[1]
All games developed by Gremlin Industries unless otherwise noted.
Sega released emulated and playable versions of some of the Sega/Gremlin arcade games as vault material in theSega Ages compilation series for theSega Saturn,PlayStation 2,Xbox 360, andPlayStation 3 andSega Genesis Collection for thePlayStation 2 andPlayStation Portable.
Deep Scan was included as a bonus game in theSega Saturn version ofDie Hard Arcade.[20]
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