Confusing Frogger?

[SoulBlazer]

Silly question time --

Some magazines, websites, and people I have talked to say that Frogger was originaly a Sega game, since they were the ones that released it in the arcades.

Others claim that it was a Konami game, as the version of it released by them on the GBA does'nt have any mention of Sega anywhere, not even in fine print.

Plus both companies have released the game themselves over the last twenty years.

So which company actually produced the games and has the rights to it? O_O

(Yes, I know the coin-op version was REALLY licenced from Gottlib, but hardly anyone knows that. :D )

[Cauterize]

....errr well, im confused now too LOL LOL LOL

[videogameking26]

Well on my Frogger Beyond for GameCube it has on the gamebox that Konami made it..so not really sure x_x

[digitalpress]

It was more popular back in those days to have separate developer and publisher for coin ops (much like today's home game industry).

Konami is the creator/developer of Frogger.

Sega/Gremlin was the publisher/distributor.

It's as simple as that, really!

[SoulBlazer]

Okay, DP, that makes some sence.

But if Konami was actually was the creator of Frogger, why did'nt they release it themselves in the arcade instead of licencing it to another company? And why did they wait till the mid 90's before releasing their own version of it? Did Sega have the rights for the game for that long?

And then there were the home versions that Parker Brothers and other companies made....REALLY complicated history on this sucker. x_x

[ddockery]

I'm guessing it's easier to sell the distribution rights for a gae than to lear the distribution busniess for themselves, and that Parker Brothers simply ported to the consoles and distributed the game. Am I right?

[digitalpress]

But if Konami was actually was the creator of Frogger, why did'nt they release it themselves in the arcade instead of licencing it to another company?

Well without getting into the heads or history of Konami, there's one really likely possibility. If YOU were a great game designer and had "the ultimate arcade game", would you pitch the idea to a huge company willing to manage the distribution and pay you royalties or would you dive into manufacturing and distribution? Konami was fairly new to the arcade scene in 1980.

As I mentioned before, this wasn't at all unusual for the time. Look at all of the games Namco licensed out to Atari back then, for some more clear examples.



And why did they wait till the mid 90's before releasing their own version of it?

There were no more Frogger arcade games through the 80's and 90's, but if they wanted to I'm sure they could have. I think the direction Konami took in their formative 80's years was a good one. There were plenty of original ideas to be explored first, maybe a sequel just didn't fit in before the likes of Gyruss, Super Cobra, Track & Field, Gradius, Contra, etc.


Did Sega have the rights for the game for that long?

That I do not know, but I'd imagine Sega/Gremlin's contract with Konami ended shortly after Frogger. I believe it was the first and last arcade game licensed by Konami.


And then there were the home versions that Parker Brothers and other companies made....REALLY complicated history on this sucker. x_x

Well sure, this still happens all the time. Some companies have the rights to the PC version or the GBA version but not the home console version. A fairly recent example using Namco again: Hasbro owned the PC rights to Namco's Pac-Man franchise but the home games were published by Namco.

Bottom line: there's nothing that mysterious about it. Like a lot of good publishers, Konami started out as a developer first and moved into self-publishing later.

[SoulBlazer]

It makes sence, DP, thanks. I forgot that Konami back in the early 80's tended to licence more of their games out then publish them in the arcades themselves. They did the same thing with Gyruss and Time Pilot as well as Frogger.

Now I just have to retrain my mind to accept that Frogger is REALLY a Konami game and not Sega. After 20 years, that's going to be hard. :P

[Mayhem]

They did the same thing with Gyruss and Time Pilot as well as Frogger.

Time Pilot, Gyruss and Track&Field all went to Centuri. Scramble and Super Cobra went to Stern. Anyone know what the first arcade machine Konami published themselves in the West was?

[digitalpress]

Time Pilot, Gyruss and Track&Field all went to Centuri. Scramble and Super Cobra went to Stern. Anyone know what the first arcade machine Konami published themselves in the West was?

Their frst game was a simple paddle game called "Block Game" in 1978. That same year they published a Space Invaders clone called "Space King".

[Mayhem]

I guess I wasn't trying to be literal there ;)

I meant, after doing all this licensing to other arcade manufacturers in the early 80s, what was the first one they did themselves? Pooyan went to Stern as well didn't it? Juno First?

[digitalpress]

Um, wha?

They didn't license out the two games I listed above, they're developed and manufactured by Konami. Thus, the above still stands as your answer unless I'm still totally missing the question.

[Mayhem]

I meant they did this licensing in the early 80s to other companies such as Stern, Sega and Centuri etc. What was the first game POST this period that they went back to publishing themselves...?

[digitalpress]

I meant they did this licensing in the early 80s to other companies such as Stern, Sega and Centuri etc. What was the first game POST this period that they went back to publishing themselves...?

OH! I didn't realize it was a specific span of years you were looknig at.

Thing is, Konami did some of their own publishing as well as license the games out during the time span you're interested in. For example, games like Jungler and Super Cobra were manufactured by Stern in 1981, whereas Video Hustler was a Konami manufactured product that same year.