Editing Universal Entertainment (section)

==Universal==
'''Universal Lease Co., Ltd''' was established in December 1969. It later changed its name to '''Universal Ltd''' in Japan. Universal Distributing Company opened as an american subsidiary to sell video games direct to operators, and was later named Universal USA.

They initially earned success with [[arcade video game]]s that cloned popular arcade games. ''Scratch'' (1977) was a ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]'' clone that became the third highest-earning [[1977 in video games|arcade video game of 1977]] in Japan, just below ''[[Speed Race|Speed Race DX]]'' and ''Breakout''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=結果ベスト3|trans-title=Best 3 Results |magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=90|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=15 February 1978|pages=2–3|lang=ja|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19780215p.pdf#page=2}}</ref> ''Scratch'' was again Japan's fourth highest-earning [[1978 in video games|arcade video game of 1978]]. ''Cosmic Monsters'' (1978) was a ''[[Space Invaders]]'' clone that became Japan's sixth highest-earning arcade video game the same year.<ref name="GM113">{{cite magazine|title=人気マシン・ベスト3|trans-title=Popular Machines: Best 3 |magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=113|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=February 1979|pages=2–3|lang=ja|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19790201p.pdf#page=2}}</ref>

Universal eventually moved away from clones and began producing original arcade games. {{nihongo foot|''Get A Way''|ゲッタウェイ|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} (1978)<ref name="GM113"/> was a sit-down [[arcade racing]] game that used a [[16-bit]] [[central processing unit]] (CPU),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Forster |first1=Winnie |title=Computer- und Video-Spielmacher |date=2008 |publisher=Gameplan |isbn=978-3-00-021584-1 |page=341 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHAnAQAAIAAJ |language=de |quote=Sit-Down-Rennspiel Get A Way (1978) mit 16-bit-CPU. |trans-quote=Sit-down racing game Get A Way (1978) with 16-bit-CPU.}}</ref> for which it was advertised as the world's first 16-bit game;<ref>{{cite web |title=Video Game Flyers: Get A Way, Universal (USA) |url=https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=2588 |website=The Arcade Flyer Archive |access-date=25 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Video Game Flyers: Get A Way, Universal (Germany) |url=https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5682 |website=The Arcade Flyer Archive |access-date=25 May 2021}}</ref> it was among Japan's top twenty highest-earning arcade video games of 1978.<ref name="GM113"/>

Universal followed with the hugely influential [[platform game]] ''[[Space Panic]]'' (1980) and the [[maze game]] ''[[Lady Bug (video game)|Lady Bug]]'' (1981). Universal's greatest hit game was ''[[Mr. Do!]]'' (1982), which spawned three sequels in the eventual [[Mr. Do series]]: ''Mr. Do's Castle'', ''Mr. Do's Wild Ride'' and ''Do Run Run''. Cashing-in on the success of [[laserdisc video game]]s, Universal released ''[[Super Don Quix-ote]]'' in 1984, on a new standardized laserdisc video game system they called the Universal System 1. A new game was planned every six months for the Universal System 1, including an unreleased laserdisc adventure game based on ''Mr. Do!'', but the company stopped producing arcade games in 1985, and ''Super Don Quix-ote'' ended up being the only game released for the system. Universal Distributing of Nevada (UDN) was established to begin selling Universal's first slot machines direct to the gaming industry.

Several Universal titles were designed by Kazutoshi Ueda, most notably ''[[Mr. Do!]]'' (1982). He later left Universal and went on to work at [[Tehkan]] (now Tecmo), then became a co-founder of [[Atlus]], where he worked on the ''[[Megami Tensei]]'' series. Ueda's work at Universal inspired the game design style of Tehkan's Michitaka Tsuruta, who went on to create ''[[Guzzler]]'' (1983), ''[[Bomb Jack]]'' (1984), ''[[Solomon's Key]]'' (1986), and the ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'' game series.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Szczepaniak |first1=John |title=Michitaka Tsuruta - a history of Tecmo and classic platform-puzzlers |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JohnSzczepaniak/20150610/245663/Michitaka_Tsuruta__a_history_of_Tecmo_and_classic_platformpuzzlers.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614011801/http://gamasutra.com/blogs/JohnSzczepaniak/20150610/245663/Michitaka_Tsuruta__a_history_of_Tecmo_and_classic_platformpuzzlers.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2015 |access-date=26 April 2021 |work=[[Gamasutra]] |date=June 10, 2015}}</ref>

In January 2005, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Aruze. Aruze Corporation changed its company name to Universal Entertainment Corporation effective November 1, 2009.

On February 2, 2023, Aruze Gaming filed for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] protection in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aruze-gaming-america-inc-announces-004500415.html|title=Aruze Gaming files for bankruptcy|date=February 2, 2023|access-date=February 2, 2023}}</ref>