Tokai Communications Corporation Inc (known as Vic Tokai Corporation until 2011) is a telecommunications company in Japan providing DSL services and network solutions. Its headquarters are in the in Aoi-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. In North America, it is best known for its video games during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. In the US, they published games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Nintendo 64, the Sega Genesis, the Sega CD, the Sega Saturn, and the PlayStation.

History Vic Tokai was founded on as Yaizu Cable Vision Co, a CATV service provider. The following year, in 1978, it adopted the name of Vic Tokai. The "Vic" in Vic Tokai's name stood for Valuable Information & Communication. The "Tokai" part is the name of its then parent company, Tokai Corporation, a Japanese natural gas utility founded in 1950.

Vic Tokai began selling data processing services and computer hardware in April 1982, a sector that until then was handled by parent Tokai Corporation. In 1983, it began developing online and graphics applications for office computers.

In April 1987, parent company Tokai corporation handed its remaining computer-related branches, such as electronic calculation and operational sections, to Vic Tokai, thus making the latter company able to handle data processing operations independently. Vic Tokai expanded in 1988 when it acquired another telecommunication company. The company also launched its first system consulting software the same year.

The 1990s saw a number of new products by Vic Tokai available to the Japanese market. In 1993, Vic Tokai introduced the first version of its long running (and still existing) lineup of network solution products called "TOP-VENUS". Later, Vic Tokai released its own Electronic Data Interchange package known as JFT (Java File Transfer) in 1996. Then in 1998 Vic Tokai developed its "Knowledge Stage" lineup, which is dedicated to helping companies develop their Intranet.

In April 2000, Vic Tokai merged with another CATV company that provides Internet connection services. As a result, Vic Tokai itself immediately became an Internet service provider, and a year later, in April 2001, it entered the ADSL market. Vic Tokai would soon establish a partnership with Japanese peer-to-peer Internet exchange company JPIX.

As the company continued to grow, Vic Tokai earned its place in the market listing of the JASDAQ as of June 2002.

By March 2005, Vic Tokai had completed the build-out of its own high-capacity optical fiber network infrastructure between Tokyo and Nagoya to improve network support for its Internet service customers and enterprises. Vic Tokai continued its expansion in October 2005 when it merged again, this time with Tokai Broadband Communications, enabling Vic Tokai to enter the mobile broadband industry.

On April 1, 2011, Vic Tokai and (then) parent company Tokai Corporation jointly created Tokai Holdings Corporation, a new shell entity to oversee the operation of both companies (as well as other subsidiaries). In October of that year, Vic Tokai was renamed Tokai Communications following its absorption of Tokai Corporation's information and telecommunications business.Tokai Corporation Company profile Retrieved on November 14, 2012.

In April 2012, the CATV operations of Tokai Communications were spun off into a new company called Tokai Cable Network.

Video games

Vic Tokai was, from 1984 to 1997, a video game developer for home and arcade video games. The company also published games from developers like Kronos Digital Entertainment. The now defunct Vic Tokai Inc division in Torrance, California was tasked with localizing games in North America.

All of Vic Tokai's internally developed video games were created with Sunseibu Entertainment, a sister company from the Tokai Group. Sunseibu also had some involvement with the Aicom-developed Vic tokai game The Mafat Conspiracy.

The Vic Tokai/Sunseibu duo started in 1984 by developing arcade games for Sega. Vic Tokai/Sunseibu expanded in the home market by developing video games for Nintendo consoles (published by Vic Tokai) and for Sega consoles (published by Sega themselves). In the early 1990s, Vic Tokai, which by then had always self-published video games only for Nintendo consoles, became a Sega licensee for the first time.

Title Date Developer Platform(s) Region(s) Aerostar 1991 Vic Tokai Game Boy Worldwide Aigiina no Yogen: From the Legend of Balubalouk 1986 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64 Worldwide Aigina's Prophecy 1986 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System Japan All-Pro Basketball (Zenbei!! Pro Basketball in Japan) 1989 Aicom Nintendo Entertainment System North America, Japan Battle Mania (Trouble Shooter in North America) 1991, 1992 Vic Tokai Mega Drive/Genesis Japan, North America Battle Mania Daiginjou 1993 Vic Tokai Mega Drive/Genesis Japan Block Gal 1987 Vic Tokai Arcade Japan Bump 'n' Jump 1988 Data East and SAS Sakata Nintendo Entertainment System North America Chester Field: Ankoku Shin e no Chosen 1987 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64 Worldwide Clash at Demonhead 1989, 1990 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System Japan, North America Conflict 1989, 1990 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System Japan, North America Columns 3 1993 Sega Sega Genesis North America Criticom 1995–1997 Kronos Digital Entertainment PlayStation, Saturn Worldwide Daedalian Opus (Bouken! Puzzle Road in Japan) 1990 Vic Tokai Game Boy North America, Japan Dark Rift (Space Dynamites in Japan) 1997 Kronos Digital Entertainment Nintendo 64, Windows Worldwide Dark Seed 1994 Cyberdreams Mega CD/Sega CD Cancelled Decap Attack 1991 Vic Tokai Mega Drive/Genesis North America, Europe Diggers 2: Extractors 1995 Nova Spring Super NES North America Flink 1994 Psygnosis Mega CD/Sega CD North America The Gene Machine 1996 Divide By Zero MS-DOS North America Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode 1988 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System Japan, North America Imperium (Kidou Soukou Dion in Japan) 1992 Jorudan Super NES North America, Japan Kick Off 3: European Challenge 1994 Anco Software Mega Drive/Genesis Europe Kid Kool (Kakefu Kun no Jump Tengoku in Japan) 1988, 1990 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System North America, Japan King Salmon: The Big Catch 1992 Hot-B and Sage's Creation Mega Drive\Genesis North America The Krion Conquest (Magical Kids Doropie in Japan) 1990, 1991 Vic Tokai Nintendo Entertainment System North America, Japan Laplace no Ma 1995 Hummingbird Soft Super NES Japan Lock On (Super Air Diver in Japan) 1993 Copya Systems Super NES North America Lucle 1994 Vic Tokai Game Boy Europe, Japan The Mafat Conspiracy (Golgo 13 The Riddle of Icarus in Japan) 1990 Aicom Nintendo Entertainment System North America, Japan Mansion of Hidden Souls 1993 System Sacom Mega CD/Sega CD North America Psycho Fox 1989 Vic Tokai Master System North America, Europe S.O.S. 1994 Human Entertainment Super NES North America The Scroll 1995 Vic Tokai MS-DOS Worldwide Secret Ties (Master Thief Sugar in Japan) 1991 (unreleased) Graphic Research Nintendo Entertainment System North America, Japan Shien's Revenge 1994 Almanic Super NES North America Shinseiki Odysselya 1993 Vic Tokai Super NES Japan Shinseiki Odysselya 2 1995 Vic Tokai Super NES Japan Shinobi Legions 1995 Sega Saturn North America SilverLoad 1996 Millennium Interactive PlayStation, MS-DOS North America Socket: Time Dominator 1993, 1994 Vic Tokai Mega Drive/Genesis North America, Japan Super Conflict 1993 Vic Tokai Super NES North America Time Slip 1993 The Sales Curve Super NES North America Top Gear 2 1994 Gremlin Interactive Mega Drive/Genesis North America Totsuzen! Machoman 1988 Aicom Nintendo Entertainment System Japan Whip Rush 1990 Vic Tokai Mega Drive/Genesis Worldwide

References

External links (current) Official website (former)