 Logo used since 2025 | |
 Headquarters in theKudan-Kaikan Terrace building inChiyoda, Tokyo, Japan | |
Native name | 株式会社クリーチャーズ |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Kurīchāzu |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | |
| Predecessor | Ape Inc. |
| Founded |
|
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Kudan-Kaikan Terrace, 1-6-5 Kudanminami, Chiyoda, Tokyo ,Japan |
Number of locations | 1 studio (2019) |
Key people |
|
| Products | Games |
| Brands | |
Number of employees | 274 (2025) |
| Divisions | Pokémon CG Studio |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3] | |
Creatures Inc.[a] is a Japanese video game company affiliated withGame Freak andNintendo and is one of the owners of thePokémon franchise.[2] It was founded byTsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, with the assistance of then-president ofHAL Laboratory,Satoru Iwata,[4] as a successor toShigesato Itoi's companyApe Inc.[5]
Alongside Game Freak and Nintendo, Creatures jointly ownsThe Pokémon Company. It is best known for developing thePokémon Trading Card Game and designingPokémon toys. Creatures operates the Pokémon CG Studio, which focuses on the 3D modelling and animation of Pokémon models in allPokémon games. Creatures has also developedPokémon spin-off titles and various non-Pokémon titles.[6] The company has its headquarters inChiyoda, Tokyo, in proximity toKudanshita Station.[2][7]
Ape Inc. was founded in March 1989 withShigesato Itoi as itschief executive officer (CEO). Nintendo presidentHiroshi Yamauchi had wanted to support new talent in game design. Liking Itoi's work, he proposed the idea of the company to Itoi and invested in it. Ape's staff includedTsunekazu Ishihara, who later becameThe Pokémon Company's president, and Ashura Benimaru Itoh, a renowned illustrator. They began working onMother, which was released on 27 July 1989. Its music was composed byHirokazu Tanaka, who later became the second CEO of Creatures.[8] The team went on to developMother 2, which would be known in the Western world asEarthBound. When development of this game began to falter,Satoru Iwata ofHAL Laboratory was brought in to help the project. The game was released in Japan on 27 August 1994. Ape's game development activities ceased in 1995.
Ape also produced a line of official guidebooks for Nintendo, in co-operation with Nintendo andShogakukan. They began withEncyclopedia Mother in October 1989, and ended withNintendo Official Guidebook—Pocket Monsters: Red, Green, Blue (Complete Compatibility, Revised Edition) on 10 January 1997. Shogakukan assumed Ape's role and continues to produce Nintendo Official Guidebooks in their stead.
Creatures Inc. was established on 8 November 1995,[2] with Tsunekazu Ishihara as CEO, and consisting of former staff from Ape.[8] In 2000,Hirokazu Tanaka, a.k.a. Hip Tanaka, a formerNintendo composer and sound designer, who joined Creatures in 1999, became President of the company as Ishihara went to become the President of The Pokémon Company in 2000, while still holding his CEO position in Creatures.
At one point, Creatures had its headquarters on the 7th floor of the Nintendo Kanda Building (任天堂神田ビル,Nintendō Kanda Biru) inSudachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo.[9] They later moved to the fifth floor annex of the Kawasakiteitoku Building (川崎定徳ビル,kawasakiteitoku Biru) inNihonbashi,Chūō, Tokyo,[10] and again to the 10th floor of the Gorbanchō-ku Building (五番町KUビル,gobanmachi KU Biru) inGobanchō in 2007. They moved into the 23rd floor of the Iidabashi Grand Bloom (飯田橋グラン・ブルーム,īdabashi guran Burūmu) building inFujimi in 2017, and once again moved to the 9th floor the Kudan-Kaikan Terrace (九段会館テラス,kudankaikan Terasu) building located inKudanminami in 2022.
Creatures has a division called Pokémon CG Studio that is dedicated solely to making Pokémon 3D models and animations. They only make the models and animations for the Pokémon themselves, as human characters are modeled and animated in-house at Game Freak. The studio as of 2017 had 22 full time3DCG artists, however according to studio director Atsuko Ujiya they wanted to double it in the following years. She states that during its peak workload they have around 100 employees (including temporary contractors) to work on the creation of models and animations.[11][12] In 2019, the division moved out from its office from the 3rd floor of the Fujimi Duplex Biz (富士見デュープレックスビズ,Fujimi de~yūpurekkusubizu) in Fujimi back to Creatures' main headquarters.
On 16 October 2020, Creatures announced the acquisition ofAmbrella, the developer of a number ofPokémon spin-off games. Creatures acquired all property rights of Ambrella, and Ambrella disbanded, with its employees becoming part of Creatures.[13]
In April 2023, Creatures announced that Tsunekazu Ishihara has stepped down at his position as CEO and executive director, and Hirokazu Tanaka has stepped down as president and executive director. Ishihara continues as the President of The Pokémon Company, and will continue to commit to the management of the company as a founder, while Tanaka will remain as Creative fellow. Yuji Kitano assume Creatures as CEO and President; meanwhile, Tomotaka Komura will step into the role of Executive vice president.[14][15]
Ape/Creatures has developed or has contributed to the development of the following games.
| = developer | |
| = co-developer | |
| = assistant developer |
| Year | Title | Platform | Developer | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Mother | NES | Nintendo Tokyo R&D Products | Co-developer | Initially Japan only. Re-released worldwide in 2015 asEarthBound Beginnings. | |
| 1993 | Monopoly | SNES | CreamSoft | Japan only. | ||
| Sanrio World Smash Ball! | Tomcat System | |||||
| 1994 | EarthBound | HAL Laboratory | Released asMother 2 in Japan. | |||
| 1995 | Mario's Picross | Game Boy | Jupiter | |||
| Tamori's Picross | SNES | Jupiter[16] | Series of small games distributed over theSatellaview network, coinciding with a radio show by Japanese celebrityTamori. Japan only.[16][17] | |||
| The Monopoly Game 2 | Tomcat System | Japan only. | ||||
| Mario's Super Picross | Jupiter | |||||
| 2003 | Mother 1+2 | Game Boy Advance | Pax Softnica, HAL Laboratory | Porting | Compilation cartridge ofMother andMother 2. Japan only.[18] |
| Year | Title | Platform | Developer | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Picross 2 | Game Boy | Jupiter[19][20][21] | Co-developer[22] | Japan only.[23] | |
| 1997 | Mini Yonku GB: Let's & Go!! | Jupiter[24][25] | Co-developer[26] | Based onmini yonku racing and a related manga and anime. Published byASCII Corporation. Japan only.[27] | ||
| 1998 | Game Boy Camera | Nintendo R&D1,Game Freak, Jupiter[28][29] | Software co-development. | |||
| Pocket Monsters Stadium(Japanese version) | Nintendo 64 | Nintendo EAD | Pokémon modeling.[30] | Japan only. | ||
| Hey You, Pikachu! | Ambrella | Pokémon modeling.[30] | ||||
| Pokémon Trading Card Game | Game Boy Color | Hudson | Planning, game design, card design.[30] | |||
| 1999 | Super Smash Bros. | Nintendo 64 | HAL Laboratory | Pokémon modeling, opening design.[31] | ||
| Pokémon Snap | Part of 2D illustrations, Pokémon modeling.[31] | |||||
| Pokémon Stadium(international version) | Nintendo EAD | Part of 2D illustrations, Pokémon modeling.[31] | Upgraded version of the originalPokémon Stadium. Released in Japan asPokémon Stadium 2. | |||
| 2000 | Pokémon Stadium 2 | Pokémon modeling.[32] | Released in Japan asPokémon Stadium Gold Silver. | |||
| 2001 | Chee-Chai Alien | Game Boy Color | Creatures | Developer | Japan only. | |
| Pokémon Card GB2: GR-dan Sanjo! | Hudson | Planning, game design, card design.[33] | Japan only. Subtitle is often translated asHere Comes Team GR!,[34] and sometimes asThe Invasion of Team GR![35] | |||
| Super Smash Bros. Melee | GameCube | HAL Laboratory | Character, stage, and figure modeling. Opening movie design.[33] | |||
| 2003 | Pokémon Colosseum | Genius Sonority | Pokémon modeling.[36] | |||
| 2005 | Nonono Puzzle Chailien | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo[37] | Co-developer | Japan only.Chailien is sometimes spelledChairian.[38] | |
| Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness | GameCube | Genius Sonority | Pokémon modeling.[39] | |||
| 2006 | Pokémon Ranger | Nintendo DS | HAL Laboratory | Assistant developer.[40] | ||
| Project Hacker: Kakusei | Red Entertainment | Assistant developer.[40] | Japan only. | |||
| Pokémon Battle Revolution | Wii | Genius Sonority | Pokémon modeling.[40] | |||
| 2007 | Pokémon Battrio | Arcade | Tomy,AQ Interactive[41] | Pokémon modeling, cabinet design.[42] | Arcade cabinet. Japan only. | |
| 2008 | Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia | Nintendo DS | Creatures | Developer | ||
| Personal Trainer: Walking | Nintendo NSD, Engines | Software co-development. | ||||
| 2009 | PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure | Wii | Creatures | Developer | ||
| 2010 | Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs | Nintendo DS | ||||
| 2011 | Pokémon Card Game: How to Play DS | Zener Works[43] | Co-developer | Instructional game on how to play thePokémon Trading Card Game, included with a deck kit called the Beginning Set. Japan only.[44] | ||
| Pokédex 3D | Nintendo 3DS | Creatures[45] | Developer | Free app.[46] Discontinued after October 1, 2012.[47] | ||
| PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond | Wii | Creatures | ||||
| 2012 | Pokémon Dream Radar | Nintendo 3DS | Game Freak[48][49] | Co-developer | ||
| Pokédex 3D Pro | Creatures[50] | Developer | Upgraded version ofPokédex 3D. Paid app, unlike its precursor.[50] | |||
| Pokédex for iOS | iOS | Creatures[51] | Discontinued on November 30, 2015.[52] | |||
| 2013 | Pokémon X andY | Nintendo 3DS | Game Freak | Pokémon modeling.[53] | ||
| 2014 | Pokémon Omega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire | |||||
| 2015 | Pokkén Tournament | Arcade,Wii U | Bandai Namco Studios | |||
| 2016 | Great Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Duo | Nintendo 3DS | Creatures | Developer | ||
| Pokémon Duel | iOS,Android | Heroz | Pokémon modeling.[53] | Discontinued on October 31, 2019. | ||
| Pokémon Go | iOS,iPadOS, Android | Niantic | ||||
| Pokémon Sun andMoon | Nintendo 3DS | Game Freak | ||||
| 2017 | Pokkén Tournament DX | Nintendo Switch | Bandai Namco Studios | |||
| 2018 | Detective Pikachu | Nintendo 3DS | Creatures | Developer[53] | ||
| Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! andLet's Go, Eevee! | Nintendo Switch | Game Freak | Pokémon modeling.[53] | |||
| 2019 | Pokémon Sword andShield | |||||
| 2022 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus | |||||
| Pokémon Scarlet andViolet | ||||||
| 2023 | Detective Pikachu Returns | Creatures | Developer[53] | |||
| 2024 | Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket | iOS, Android | DeNA | Co-developer[54] |
| 2000 | Mother 3: The End of the Pig King | Nintendo 64 | HAL Laboratory | Character modeling.[55] | Canceled in 2000.[56] Restarted development without the participation of Creatures as theGBA gameMother 3. |
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東京都中央区日本橋3-2-5川崎定徳ビル別館5F.
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