Company:Mages
Native name | 株式会社メージス |
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Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Mējisu |
Formerly | 5pb. Inc. (2005–2011) |
Type | |
Industry |
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Founded | April 6, 2005 Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan |
Headquarters | Shibuya, Tokyo , Japan |
Key people | Chiyomaru Shikura (Former Executive Director and Chairman) |
Parent |
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Website | {{{1}}} |
Mages Inc. (株式会社メージス Kabushiki gaisha Mējisu, stylized "MAGES.inc"), formerly 5pb. Inc. (株式会社5pb. Kabushiki gaisha 5pb., short for "The Five powered & basics"), is a Japanese video game developer and record label for video game and anime music. It was formed on April 6, 2005,[1] after Chiyomaru Shikura left Scitron to begin the company as its executive director, a position he formerly held until January 2023. The company is divided into two parts, 5pb. Games for the manufacturing of video games, and 5pb. Records for the record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the TYO Group until Shikura purchased the remaining rights from the TYO Group on April 15, 2009.[2] Shikura co-owns 5pb. with AGOne, an affiliate of Dwango Japan.[3] Staff members include scenario writer Naotaka Hayashi, artist Yukihiro Matsuo, and producer Tatsuya Matsuhara.
In April 2011, a group of companies consisting of Arkray, Seed Project, Dwango Creative School, Animelo Summer Life, 5pb. Records, and 5pb. Games merged under the parent company Mages. Inc. led by executive director Chiyomaru Shikura.[4]
In July 2019, Mages was acquired by Shikura's concept studio Chiyomaru Studio, with the goal of being more flexible and fast in its decisions as a company independent from their parent company Dwango and from the Kadokawa group. With that said, while Mages would no longer be a part of Kadokawa Group following the management buyout, it still expected to maintain the same favorable relationship with the Group that it had so far. Along with this buyout, the company intended to strengthen its branding by consolidating the 5pb. brand into Mages.[5]
In March 2020, Colopl acquired Mages from Chiyomaru Studio for ¥1.612 billion (approximately US$14.92 million).[6]
In December 2022, it was reported that Mages would enter insolvency as a result of financial losses of ¥613 million (approximately $4.6 million).[7][8]
In January 2023, Chiyomaru Shikura announced via Twitter that he would resign as company Chairman and Executive Director,[9] but stated that he would still be part of Mages as an Executive Producer.[10]
Artists
Previously called 5pb. Records, since 2019 the brand does not exist anymore, with the Mages brand being the only one used for everything.
Video games
5pb. Games was a division of Mages, which dealt with video game development. The brand was originally named Five Games Kid, or 5gk. for short, but the name was changed in December 2007 to coincide with the name of 5pb's record label 5pb. Records. Some of 5pb. Games' developers arrived from KID, Tonkin House and Scitron, such as with Takeshi Abo in December 2006. Since 2019, the 5pb. Games brand is not used anymore, with the Mages brand being the only one used for everything.
Year[lower-alpha 1] | Title | Platform(s) |
---|---|---|
2007 | Que: Fairy of Ancient Leaf | PS2 |
Memories Off 5: Encore | PS2, PSP | |
Umishō | PS2 | |
2008 | Your Memories Off: Girl's Style | PS2, PSP |
Night Wizard! The Video Game: Denial of the World | PS2 | |
Prism Ark: Awake | ||
Chaos;Head | Windows | |
Memories Off | PSP | |
Memories Off 2nd | ||
Ghost Hound DS | DS | |
Kanokon Esuii | PS2 | |
L no Kisetsu 2: Invisible Memories | ||
Memories Off | PSP | |
Omoide ni Kanata Kimi | ||
Memories Off 6 | PS2, iOS, PSP, X360 | |
Monochrome Factor: Cross Road | PS2 | |
2009 | Memories Off 5 | PSP |
Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai | PS3, PS Vita, Windows | |
DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Black Label Extra | X360 | |
Kemeko Deluxe! DS: Yome to Mecha to Otoko to Onna | DS | |
KimokawaE! | ||
11eyes CrossOver | X360, PSP, iOS | |
Chaos;Head Noah | X360, PS3, PSP, iOS, Android, PS Vita | |
Hakushaku to Yōsei: Yume to Kizuna ni Omoi o Hasete | PS2 | |
Hyakko: Yorozuya Jikenbo! | ||
Skip Beat! | ||
Memories Off After Rain | PSP | |
Lucian Bee's: Resurrection Supernova | ||
Memories Off 6: Next Relation | PS2, X360, PSP | |
Item Getter: Bokura no Kagaku to Mahō no Kankei | DS | |
Steins;Gate | X360, PS3, Windows, PSP, iOS, PS Vita, Android, PS4 | |
Taishō Baseball Girls | PSP | |
L no Kisetsu W pocket | ||
Tayutama | X360 | |
2010 | Chaos;Head Love Chu Chu! | X360, PS3, PSP, PS Vita |
Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi Extra | X360 | |
Lucian Bee's: Evil Violet | PS2, PSP | |
Lucian Bee's: Justice Yellow | ||
W.L.O. Sekai Renai Kikō | X360 | |
Memories Off | ||
Corpse Party | PSP, iOS, Nintendo 3DS , PS4, Switch, XONE | |
Sharin no Kuni: The Girl Among the Sunflowers | X360 | |
Lucian Bee's: Resurrection Supernova | PSP | |
Pastel Chime Continue | ||
2011 | Bullet Soul | X360 |
Memories Off | Windows, PSP | |
Phantom Breaker | X360 | |
Steins;Gate | X360, PS3, PSP, PS Vita, PS4, Switch, iOS | |
Dunamis 15 | X360, PS3, PSP | |
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows | PSP | |
Steins;Gate: Variant Space Octet | Windows | |
Muv-Luv | X360, PS3, PS Vita | |
Muv-Luv Alternative | ||
Ever 17 | X360 | |
Beyond the Future: Fix the Time Arrows | PS3, PSP | |
2012 | Robotics;Notes | PS3, X360 |
Corpse Party: Sachiko's Game of Love Hysteric Birthday 2U | PSP | |
Bravely Default[lower-alpha 2] | Nintendo 3DS | |
2013 | Phantom Breaker | X360, PS Vita, Windows |
Steins;Gate | PS3, X360, PS Vita, iOS, PS4, Switch | |
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san Meijoshigatai Game no Yona Mono | PS Vita | |
Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi Extra | PS3 | |
Disorder 6 | PS3, X360 | |
Phantom Breaker: Extra | ||
Hero X Battle Princess | PS3 | |
Eiyuu*Senki | ||
Liberation Maiden Sin | PS3 | |
2014 | Bullet Soul Infinite Burst | X360 |
Corpse Party: Blood Drive | PS Vita | |
Robotics;Notes Elite | PS Vita, PS4, Switch, Windows | |
Chaos;Child[11] | XONE, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, iOS, Windows, Android | |
Infinite Stratos: Versus Colors | Windows | |
2015 | Psycho-Pass | XONE, PS4, PS Vita, Windows |
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive | PS4, Switch | |
Steins;Gate 0[12] | PS3, PS4, PS Vita, XONE, Switch, Windows | |
2016 | If My Heart Had Wings: Cruise Sign | PS3, PS Vita |
Plastic Memories[13] | PS Vita | |
2017 | New Game! The Challenge Stage[14] | PS4, PS Vita |
Kamaitachi no Yoru: Rinne Saisei[15] | PS Vita, Windows | |
Chaos;Child Love Chu Chu!! | PS4, PS Vita | |
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World | PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Windows | |
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Judgment on this Greedy Game! | ||
Occultic;Nine[16] | PS4, PS Vita, XONE | |
2018 | Steins;Gate Elite | PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Windows, iOS |
2019 | Judgement 7 - Our World is Ended | PS4, Switch |
Robotics;Notes DaSH | PS4, Switch, Windows | |
2020 | Ogre Tale | PS4, XONE, Switch, Windows |
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love for this Tempting Attire | PS4, Switch | |
2021 | Memories Off Historia Vol. 1 | |
Memories Off Historia Vol. 2 | ||
Quintessential Quintuplets ∬: Summer Memories | ||
SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky | PS4, Switch, Windows | |
Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir | Switch | |
Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind | ||
Miyamoto Mathematics Classroom KENKEN - The World's Most Exciting Math and Logic Puzzle - | ||
TIMINGooo![17] | ||
Yuru Camp△: Have a nice day! | PS4, Switch | |
2022 | Phantom Breaker: Omnia | PS4, XONE, Switch, Windows |
The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie: Five Memories of My Time with You | PS4, Switch | |
Anonymous;Code[18] | PS4, Switch, Windows | |
2023 | Summer Time Rendering: Another Horizon[19][20] | PS4, Switch |
2024 | Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion | TBA |
TBA | Mystereet ~Yasogami Kaoru no Chousen!~[21] | PS4, XONE, XSXS |
Steins;Gate 0 Elite | TBA | |
Steins;??? |
Chiyomaru Studio
The studio's planetarium projector logo represents how entertainment is the projection of people's dreams.[22] | |
Chiyomaru Studio | |
Native name | 千代丸スタジオ |
Romanized name | Chiyomaru Sutajio |
Formerly | Chrome Edge |
Key people | Chiyomaru Shikura |
Products |
|
Subsidiaries | Mages (2019–2020) |
Website | chiyomaru-studio |
Chiyo St. Inc., doing business as Chiyomaru Studio (Japanese: 千代丸スタジオ Hepburn: Chiyomaru Sutajio), is a multimedia concept studio led by Chiyomaru Shikura,[22] the representative director and president of Mages.[23] The company, which was originally named Chrome Edge (クロウムエッジ Kuroumu Ejji), was founded separately from Mages for the purpose of managing the copyrights to the media projects Shikura works on, including the Science Adventure franchise and the Occultic;Nine novel series, and for creating stories for use in various media.[22] In July 2019, Chiyomaru Studio made a management buyout of Mages, acquiring all shares held by its former parent company Dwango;[5] the following year, Chiyomaru Studio sold all Mages shares to Colopl.[6]
While the concept work is done by Chiyomaru Studio, they work together with Mages to develop video games using the concepts, and with Kadokawa Corporation to print books and produce anime and manga.[22] The studio includes staff members from Mages, who communicate through instant messaging; as of 2015, Shikura was the only on-site staff.[24]
The first new intellectual property developed by Chiyomaru Studio, not based on Shikura's previous works, is the upcoming video game Anonymous;Code, which is developed together with Mages' video games division 5pb. Games,[25][26] and is together with Occultic;Nine part of a media franchise referred to internally as Science Visual Novel.[27][28] Chiyomaru Studio has also developed the Science Adventure game Robotics;Notes DaSH.[29] Since 2017, the studio organizes live music events where they also release updates on their media projects, called "Chiyo-ST Live".[30][31]
See also
- Kaga Create, whose former subsidiary CyberFront was acquired by 5pb.
- KID, whose assets 5pb acquired as part of CyberFront.
Notes
References
- ↑ "5pb. company information" (in ja). 5pb.. http://5pb.jp/company/index.html.
- ↑ "Error: no
|title=
specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ja). 5pb.. 2009-04-15. http://5pb.jp/news/20090415.html. - ↑ "Outline - Corporate" (in ja). Dwango. http://info.dwango.co.jp/english/corp/outline.html.
- ↑ "Visual Novel Publisher 5pb Becomes Mages, 5pb Director Is Head Of The Company". Siliconera. April 21, 2011. http://www.siliconera.com/2011/04/21/visual-novel-publisher-5pb-becomes-mages-5pb-director-is-head-of-the-company/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Romano, Sal (2019-07-26). "Mages goes independent from Kadokawa Group, 5pb. to consolidate into Mages". https://gematsu.com/2019/07/mages-goes-independent-from-kadokawa-group-5pb-to-consolidate-into-mages.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Romano, Sal (2020-03-30). "Colopl acquires Mages". https://www.gematsu.com/2020/03/colopl-acquires-mages.
- ↑ rawmeatcowboy (2022-12-26). "STEINS;GATE dev 'MAGES' entering insolvency" (in en). https://gonintendo.com/contents/14309-steins-gate-dev-mages-entering-insolvency.
- ↑ Kiwami, Soul (2022-12-27). "MAGES. Enters Insolvency, Reports Massive Financial Losses in 2022" (in en-US). https://finalweapon.net/2022/12/26/mages-enters-insolvency-due-to-massive-financial-losses/.
- ↑ "Chiyomaru Shikura steps down as MAGES. chairman and executive director" (in en-US). 2023-01-04. https://www.gematsu.com/2023/01/chiyomaru-shikura-steps-down-as-mages-chairman-and-executive-director.
- ↑ "【お知らせ】エグゼティブプロデューサー就任のお知らせ" (in ja). 2023-01-04. https://mages.co.jp/topics/%e3%81%8a%e7%9f%a5%e3%82%89%e3%81%9b/20230104/post-338.
- ↑ "Chaos;Child PlayStation versions and anime confirmed". Gematsu. March 28, 2015. http://gematsu.com/2015/03/chaoschild-playstation-versions-and-anime-confirmed.
- ↑ "Steins;Gate 0 announced". Gematsu. March 28, 2015. http://gematsu.com/2015/03/steinsgate-0-announced.
- ↑ "5pb. announces Plastic Memories game". Gematsu. April 19, 2016. http://gematsu.com/2016/05/5pb-announces-plastic-memories-game.
- ↑ "First Screens Of New Game! The Challenge Stage! Show Aoba, Hifumi, Kou, And Shizuku". Siliconera. July 20, 2016. http://www.siliconera.com/2016/07/20/first-screens-new-game-challenge-stage-show-aoba-hifumi-kou-shizuku/.
- ↑ "Kamaitachi no Yoru remake announced for PS Vita [Update"] (in en-US). 2016-11-15. https://www.gematsu.com/2016/11/kamaitachi-no-yoru-remake-announced-ps-vita.
- ↑ "Occultic;Nine game announced". Gematsu. March 28, 2015. http://gematsu.com/2015/03/occulticnine-game-announced.
- ↑ "TIMINGooo!". 27 October 2021. https://www.gematsu.com/games/timingooo.
- ↑ "5pb. announces Anonymous;Code". Gematsu. March 28, 2015. http://gematsu.com/2015/03/5pb-announces-anonymouscode.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (September 6, 2022). "Summer Time Rendering: Another Horizon confirmed for PS4, Switch". https://www.gematsu.com/2022/09/summer-time-rendering-another-horizon-confirmed-for-ps4-switch.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (October 18, 2022). "Summer Time Rendering: Another Horizon debut trailer". Gematsu. https://www.gematsu.com/2022/10/summer-time-rendering-another-horizon-debut-trailer.
- ↑ MAGES. "ミステリート~八十神かおるの挑戦!~ 公式サイト" (in Japanese). http://mystereet-f.jp/.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 (in ja)Famitsu (Enterbrain): 1. 2015-03-28. https://www.famitsu.com/news/201503/28075207.html. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- ↑ "Mages.Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg L.P.. https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=208543277.
- ↑ Fushimachi, Yuzuru (2015-03-30). "志倉千代丸「ADVをゲームとは思ってない」…その真意と「CHIYOMARU STUDIO」の正体とは" (in ja). IID, Inc.. https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2015/03/30/86357.html.
- ↑ "Anonymous;Code Visual Novel's 1st 2 Characters Revealed". 2016-03-07. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-03-07/anonymous-code-visual-novel-1st-2-characters-revealed/.99475.
- ↑ Ishaan (2015-03-29). "Anonymous;Code Is 5pb's Next Sci-Fi Visual Novel". Curse, Inc.. http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/29/anonymouscode-5pbs-next-sci-fi-visual-novel/.
- ↑ Token (2016-07-03). "【5pb.祭り2016】「ANONYMOUS;CODE」ステージでは"セーブ&ロード"を用いる新システム「ハッキングトリガー」が明らかに!" (in ja). Ixll Co.. http://www.gamer.ne.jp/news/201607030022/.
- ↑ "本作のトリガーは"ハッキングトリガー"!? 『アノニマス・コード』の見どころについて志倉千代丸氏が語る【5pb.祭り2016】" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). 2016-07-03. http://www.famitsu.com/news/201607/03109939.html. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
- ↑ "東京ゲームショウ2017にて『ロボティクス・ノーツ ダッシュ』の映像が公開【TGS2017】" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). 2017-09-21. https://www.famitsu.com/news/201709/21142294.html. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- ↑ (in ja)Famitsu (Enterbrain). May 28, 2017. https://www.famitsu.com/news/201705/28134044.html. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ↑ "おなじみの楽曲から一夜限りのスペシャルコラボまで! 濃密過ぎる3時間!! "科学アドベンチャーライブ2018-SINGULARITY-"リポート" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). April 30, 2018. https://www.famitsu.com/news/201804/30156676.html. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
External links