Taito

Taito Corporation is a Japanese video game and entertainment company based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It specializes in video games, toys, and amusement arcades. The company was founded by Ukrainian businessman Michael Kogan in 1953 as the Taito Trading Company, importing vodka, vending machines, and jukeboxes into Japan. It began production of video games in 1973. In 2005, Taito was purchased by Square Enix, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary by 2006. Taito is recognized as an important industry influencer in the early days of video games, producing a number of hit arcade games such as Speed Race (1974), Western Gun (1975), Space Invaders (1978), Bubble Bobble (1986), and Arkanoid (1986). It is one of the most prominent video game companies from Japan and the first that exported its games to other countries. Several of its games have since been recognized as important and revolutionary for the industry – Space Invaders in particular was a major contributor to the growth of video games in the late 1970s, and the aliens featured in the games are seen as iconic emblems within the video game industry. The company maintains a chain of arcade centers, known as "Taito Game Stations", across Japan, alongside being a manufacturer of toys, plush dolls and UFO-catcher prizes.