MARS Engineering Corporation

MARS Engineering Corporation (株式会社マースエンジニアリング) is a Japanese company based in Tokyo that designs, manufactures and sells computer and electronic systems for the amusement industry, principally for pachinko and pachislot halls. The original company was founded on 13 September 1974 in Shinjuku, Tokyo, by four engineers who wanted to apply their computer technology experience, and it took the name "MARS" from the Greek and Roman god of war (the planet Mars), adding "Engineering" to signal technical ambition. In its early years it worked on commissioned software and hardware development, including a library lending and return system for a public library in Tanashi (now Nishi-Tokyo), before moving into its own "ME brand" products. The decisive turn came around 1980, when a cold call to a design office led MARS into pachinko prize (景品) management. The company applied its POS know-how to counting and managing pachinko balls and prizes, creating the "Ooiri" prize management system, and this became the foundation of its core business. Over the following decades MARS became a well-known supplier of hall management systems, prepaid card systems, POS systems, ball and medal handling equipment, and data analysis services to pachinko and pachislot operators across Japan. Today the company operates under a holding-company structure. On 1 October 2018 the original MARS Engineering changed its name to MARS Group Holdings Co., Ltd. and moved to a holding-company system; at the same time a new MARS Engineering Corporation was established to carry on the manufacturing DNA, taking over the amusement-related business by company split. In April 2019 part of its amusement equipment division was split off to form MARS Systems Co., Ltd., and in April 2020 the sales function was reorganised into three companies — MARS Systems East Japan, MARS Systems Tokai and MARS Systems West Japan. In April 2026 MARS Systems Tokai was absorbed into MARS Engineering. MARS Engineering's product line is marketed under the EVOALL (エヴォール) series, described as an "EVOLUTION ALL IN ONE SYSTEM", and includes smart units, POS systems and self-exchange solutions, cloud services, customer-service support and smart watches, smart pachislot-compatible units, the strategic CR unit "Unicon", personal PC systems, an air-based banknote transport system, and AI analysis services. Its AI analysis service, built around "AI Unicon", learns from past operating data and predicts sales, gross profit and machine performance to support hall managers. As of the end of August 2026 the company reported 1,351 halls using its prepaid system. MARS Engineering is a member of the MARS Group, whose affiliated companies include MARS Group Holdings, MARS Systems East Japan, MARS Systems West Japan, MARS Wintech, MARS Token Solution, MARS Planning, MARS Techno Factory, and the MARS Garden Wood Gotemba and MARS Garden Hotel Hakata hospitality businesses.

MARS Engineering Corporation was established on 13 September 1974 in Shinjuku, Tokyo, as a company for the design, prototyping, manufacture and sale of various electronic devices. According to the company's own history, four men founded it in a small 12-tsubo office in Shinjuku 1-chome, driven by the desire to test the computer technology experience and know-how they had accumulated. The name "MARS" was chosen after the Greek and Roman god of war (the planet Mars), the guardian deity of Aries, in the hope of receiving martial strength; "Engineering" was added to express high technical capability. The early years were difficult. Orders dried up and the founders struggled with cash flow, at times scrambling for paying work. A turning point came when the company won commissioned software development work from Casio Computer, and one of the founders shifted from engineer to full-time salesman to expand orders. The company also experienced a near-loss on a mandarin-orange sorting and evaluation machine when its estimate for parts and equipment proved wrong. A major break was a proposal to build a book lending and return system for the opening of the Chuo Library in Tanashi City, Tokyo (now Nishi-Tokyo City). The technically minded four founders used then-cutting-edge microcomputer technology and worked day and night for a little over four months to meet the opening deadline; this spirit of commitment is described as living on in the company today. In its third year, as the company moved its head office, both commissioned product development and commissioned software development gained traction. In software it worked on OS and COBOL development and was quick to focus on floppy disks as a convenient recording medium, developing subsystems connectable to various computer systems. In product development it began work on the MC6809 SBC (single-board computer) ahead of others, using it as a main board in commissioned products and succeeding in series development that met users' demand for high-function specifications; sales exceeded 100 million yen, though ordinary profit remained in the six-figure range. The company also developed an environmental monitoring device that displayed analog data for NOx, SOx, Ox concentrations and noise levels numerically on an electronic signboard, reflecting growing environmental concern. In May 1979, at the 54th Business Show, MARS exhibited the MC6809 SBC, a program development support system and a low-cost OCR reader, strongly promoting the originality of the "ME brand". Advertising the ME brand in electronics trade magazines led to a surge of inquiries, sales surpassed 300 million yen and ordinary profit exceeded 10 million yen. In May 1980, confident in its own product development, MARS made a cold call to a design office to sell an office computer. There it was introduced to a pachinko hall prize management system. At the time, hall customers carried pachinko balls to a prize counter, where a ball counter verified them and exchanged them for prizes. MARS proposed installing a prize management system at the end of a pachinko island; when a customer inserted the balls they had won, the number of balls was output on paper tape, processed using the company's POS system. This prize management system, named "Ooiri", became the origin of MARS's core amusement business. Over the following decades MARS grew into a major supplier of systems for pachinko and pachislot halls, including hall management, prepaid card, POS, ball and medal handling, and data analysis products. On 1 October 2018, to further raise corporate value, the company moved to a holding-company structure: the original MARS Engineering changed its name to MARS Group Holdings Co., Ltd., becoming the group holding company, and at the same time a new MARS Engineering Corporation was established as a manufacturer inheriting the MARS DNA. In April 2019 part of the amusement-related equipment division of MARS Engineering was split off to establish MARS Systems Co., Ltd. In April 2020, to respond to diversifying customer needs, the sales of the amusement-related business was changed to a three-company structure: MARS Systems was renamed MARS Systems East Japan, and MARS Systems Tokai and MARS Systems West Japan were established. In July 2024 the company held its 2024 New Product Announcement Exhibition, presenting the new EVOALL (Evolution All In One System) series under the theme "evolution x true value x deepening". In April 2026, part of the amusement-related equipment sales and after-service business of MARS Systems Tokai was succeeded to MARS Systems West Japan by absorption-type company split, MARS Systems Tokai was dissolved, and MARS Engineering, a wholly owned subsidiary, became the surviving company in an absorption-type merger.

• 2026

  MARS Systems Tokai dissolved; MARS Engineering became surviving company in an absorption-type merger.

• 2026

  Prepaid system reported installed at 1,351 halls as of end of August 2026.

• 2024

  Held 2024 New Product Announcement Exhibition, presenting the EVOALL (Evolution All In One System) series.

• 2020

  Amusement-related sales reorganised into three companies: MARS Systems East Japan, MARS Systems Tokai and MARS Systems West Japan.

• 2019

  Part of the amusement-related equipment division split off to establish MARS Systems Co., Ltd.

• 2018

  Moved to a holding-company structure; original company renamed MARS Group Holdings and a new MARS Engineering Corporation established.

• 1980

  Entered the pachinko prize management business, developing the "Ooiri" prize management system.

• 1979

  Exhibited MC6809 SBC, program development support system and low-cost OCR reader at the 54th Business Show, promoting the "ME brand".

• 1974

  MARS Engineering Corporation founded in Shinjuku, Tokyo, for design, prototyping, manufacture and sale of electronic devices.

Supplier of integrated IT, POS, prepaid and AI analysis systems for pachinko and pachislot halls in Japan.

• EVOALL series

  Evolution All In One System, the company's flagship hall management system series announced in 2024.

• EVOALL smart unit

  Smart unit within the EVOALL series.

• EVOALL POS system & self-exchange solution

  POS and self-service exchange solutions for amusement halls.

• EVOALL cloud

  Cloud service within the EVOALL series.

• EVOALL customer-service support & smart watch

  Customer-service support tools and smart watch for hall staff.

• Smart pachislot-compatible unit

  Unit compatible with smart pachislot machines.

• MARS strategic CR unit "Unicon"

  Strategic CR (card reader) unit.

• Personal PC system

  Personal computer system for hall use.

• Air banknote transport system

  System for transporting banknotes using air.

• AI analysis service (AI Unicon)

  AI service that learns from past operating data and predicts sales, gross profit and machine performance to support hall managers.

• MARS strategic data "MSD"

  Strategic data service.

• Peripheral equipment

  Peripheral devices for hall systems.

1. 1株式会社マースエンジニアリングmars-eng.co.jp
2. 2株式会社マースエンジニアリング | 企業情報 | 沿革mars-eng.co.jp
3. 3株式会社マースエンジニアリング | マースとは？ | マース・ヒストリーmars-eng.co.jp
4. 4株式会社マースエンジニアリング | 製品情報 | AI分析サービスmars-eng.co.jp
5. 5MARS Engineering Corporation (Japan) - Wikidatawikidata.org