Champion Soft

Champion Soft Co., Ltd. (株式会社チャンピオンソフト) is a Japanese computer game developer and publisher headquartered in Kita-ku, Osaka. The company was established in January 1983 in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, by Yoshiki Shiraki, who left a salaried job to pursue game creation, and it was incorporated as a joint-stock company in March of the same year. In its early years Champion Soft produced and sold games for all ages, releasing titles at roughly one per month, with sales initially handled by N.T.L. Sangyo and later by Champion Soft Hanbai. As the home console market grew after the 1983 debut of the Family Computer, many Japanese PC game makers shifted to consoles; Champion Soft instead concentrated on adult games, a segment not served by consoles. In April 1989 the company launched the brand AliceSoft, debuting with Rance and Intruder -Sakurayashiki no Tansaku-. From then on its development staff released games under the AliceSoft name, and the Champion Soft name ceased to be used for new products. The company also established the women-oriented brand Alice Blue in the 1990s, which suspended activities on July 16, 2004. Although AliceSoft is a brand name, all revenue and expenses from AliceSoft activities are accounted for as Champion Soft Co., Ltd. The founder Yoshiki Shiraki stepped down as president to become chairman, and the current president is his eldest son, Yoshinobu Shiraki. Champion Soft's own catalogue includes the "Za" series (The Paddock, The Planetarium, The Successman, The Stars, The Pro Bowling, The Pro Boxing, The Kōba), the Miki-chan series (Sarawareta Miki-chan, Little PRINCESS, Little Vampire), the Keiko-chan series, the Fairies Residence series, the Playmate series, and many other titles such as Attack Hiroko-chan, Gakuen Senki, and Tauheed. In April 2003 AliceSoft announced its "free distribution declaration," under which the covers, manuals, and software of designated past titles may be distributed free of charge; among Champion Soft-era works, Little PRINCESS, Little Vampire, and Gakuen Senki are covered. The company moved its headquarters to the Honey Building in Tenma, Kita-ku, Osaka in April 1995, opened a Tokyo office in spring 2006, and closed it in summer 2014. Today the company continues to operate through the AliceSoft brand, whose official site lists titles such as Rance, Toushin Toshi, Evenicle, Dohna Dohna, and the Choukou Taisen series.

Champion Soft was founded in January 1983 in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, by Yoshiki Shiraki, who had decided to leave his salaried job and enter game production. The company was incorporated in March 1983, with Shiraki as president and also involved in production. Initially, sales were handled by N.T.L. Sangyo Co., Ltd., and later by Champion Soft Hanbai Co., Ltd. At the time, Shiraki produced and released software at a pace of about one title per month. Champion Soft's early output was mainly games for all ages, with only a few titles such as Attack Hiroko-chan focusing on sexual expression. Notably for the time, recruitment advertisements in its product ads mentioned royalties and copyright usage fees. Writer Jun Sasaki, commenting on the advertising copy for one of the early "life simulation game" series titles, which described the author as having about 20 years of planning and staff experience at a listed company, speculated that the company was aware from early on that its works had a different flavor. In the same year as its founding, the Family Computer appeared, and the market for all-ages software was taken over by home consoles. This forced PC game makers to choose a direction. Companies such as Enix, known for the Dragon Quest series, and Square, known for Final Fantasy (both predecessors of today's Square Enix), moved from PC games to home consoles. Champion Soft, by contrast, sought recovery by focusing on adult games, which were not sold on home consoles. As it shifted its production focus to adult games, Champion Soft tried various experiments. In May 1986 it launched the disk magazine GRAPHIC Idol Information Magazine ZETA, a set of floppy disks and a magazine. It was a pioneering virtual idol work, creating fictional idols and publishing their profiles and gravure. It ran for five regular issues before concluding. The editing of ZETA involved people who would later be active at AliceSoft, including YUKIMI (then called "Hakase") and Tori. In 1987 TADA joined the company; he would later create flagship titles such as the Rance series and the Toushin Toshi series at AliceSoft. That same year he first worked on Little PRINCESS, the second entry in the Miki-chan series, though it was a port and modification of the first entry, LEMONADE Issue 1: Sarawareta Miki-chan, for MSX, and was not TADA's official first produced work. In 1988 he produced Little Vampire, the third Miki-chan title, which was his first produced work. In 1989 Champion Soft established the PC game production brand AliceSoft. According to TADA, around 1987 the then-president had declared to various parties that the company would stop developing adult games and make software on a different line, so there was a need to develop adult games under a separate brand. Thereafter, the company's production staff made and announced game software under the AliceSoft name, and the Champion Soft name was no longer used. In the 1990s the company also established the women-oriented game production brand Alice Blue, but on July 16, 2004, it suspended activities in order to review the profitability of its "high risk, moderate return" situation. Because AliceSoft is a brand name, all sales and expenses from activities under the AliceSoft name are accounted for as Champion Soft Co., Ltd. Founder Yoshiki Shiraki stepped down as president and became chairman, and the current president is his eldest son, Yoshinobu Shiraki. In April 1995 the company moved its headquarters to the Honey Building at 3-12-3 Tenma, Kita-ku, Osaka. On April 15, 2003, it announced the "free distribution declaration." Under this, the covers, manuals, and software bodies of past works covered by the declaration may be distributed free of charge. Some works produced during the Champion Soft era are included among the free distribution works: Little PRINCESS, Little Vampire, and Gakuen Senki. Most other works made during the Champion Soft era, beginning with the first Miki-chan title Sarawareta Miki-chan, have not yet been declared free distribution. Apart from the three above, Champion Soft works can currently only be obtained secondhand, but because they are quite old they rarely circulate; even when they do, they are expensive and hard to obtain. For Wedding Lace, a program listing for the FM-7 version was published in the spring 1983 issue of Oh!FM (the second issue). The company opened a Tokyo office in spring 2006 and closed it in summer 2014. Today it continues to operate through the AliceSoft brand, whose official site lists titles such as Rance, Toushin Toshi, Evenicle, Dohna Dohna, and Choukou Taisen, and which runs events, goods sales, and collaborations.

• Champion Soft founded in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture.

• Incorporated as Champion Soft Co., Ltd.

• Launched disk magazine GRAPHIC Idol Information Magazine ZETA.

• TADA joined the company.

• TADA produced Little Vampire, his first produced work.

• Brand AliceSoft established.

• Debuted with Rance and Intruder -Sakurayashiki no Tansaku-.

• User club established.

• Headquarters moved to Honey Building, Tenma 3-12-3, Kita-ku, Osaka.

• Announced the "free distribution declaration."

• Alice Blue suspended activities.

• Tokyo office opened.

• Tokyo office closed.

A long-established Japanese PC game maker that pivoted from all-ages software to adult games and now operates through its AliceSoft brand.

• Za series (The Paddock, The Planetarium, The Successman, The Stars, The Pro Bowling, The Pro Boxing, The Kōba)

• Miki-chan series (Sarawareta Miki-chan, Little PRINCESS, Little Vampire)

• Keiko-chan series (Keiko-chan no Himitsu, Sonogo no Keiko-chan Nurse-hen, OL-hen, Niizuma-hen)

• Fairies Residence series

• Playmate series (Afternoon, California Window, Flower Night)

• Attack Hiroko-chan

• Gakuen Senki

• Tauheed

• GRAPHIC Idol Information Magazine ZETA (all 5 issues)

• OMEGA (all 3 issues)

• LEMONADE (all 2 issues)

1. 1アリスソフト 公式サイトalicesoft.com
2. 2著作権ガイドライン | アリスソフト 公式サイトalicesoft.com
3. 3Champion Soft - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4チャンピオンソフト - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
5. 5アリスソフト 公式サイトalicesoft.com