BPS, Inc. (株式会社ビーピーエス Kabushiki-gaisha Bī Pī Esu), short for Bullet-Proof Software, Inc., was a video game developer and publisher based in Japan. It was established and owned by Henk Rogers, who would become close friends with Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov.
History[]
Henk Rogers established Bullet Proof Software on August 10, 1983 in Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanto, Japan.[1] BPS had acquired the rights to publish home computer versions of Tetris in Japan from Sphere, Inc. as well as the rights to publish a Famicom version[2] of Tetris from Tengen.
By 1994, BPS had sold 3 million Tetris units in Japan while Nintendo had sold 23 million Tetris units worldwide.[3]
In 1996, BPS became the Japanese subsidiary of Blue Planet Software, a company also established by Rogers that shared Bullet Proof Software's initials. Bullet Proof Software was shut down on March 31, 2001.[4]
BPS sub-licensed the handheld rights to Tetris to Nintendo, resulting in Nintendo releasing a Game Boy version.
Games published[]
- Tetris (Famicom)
- Hatris
- Tetris S
- Tetris 4D
Games developed[]
- Wordtris
- Tetris S
- Super Tetris 3
References[]
- ↑ "Profiles" - bps.co.jp
- ↑ "The Story of Tetris: Henk Rogers (Part 3) - sramanamitra.com
- ↑ Focus Japan. Japan External Trade Organization. 1994. p. 11. https://books.google.com/books?id=vca_lrMsT7QC. "BPS has since sold some three million copies of the game in Japan. Nintendo, meanwhile, licensed the game from BPS and has moved a staggering 23 million units world-wide"
- ↑ "ビーピーエスが日本法人閉鎖を正式に発表……" - SoftBank Games (2/22/2001)