dB-SOFT Inc. (デービーソフト株式会社) was a Japanese software development company that was in business from 1980 to 2003 based in Sapporo, Hokkaido. They started as a video game developer, releasing titles for various home computer platforms (including the Family Computer), but subsequently left the gaming business to focus solely on programming software and tools as they entered the 1990s.[1][2]
History
The company was founded on May 2, 1980, under the name Computer Land Hokkaido, publishing video games for various home computers under the “7 Turkey” brand name.[3] In 1984, they officially changed their name to dB-SOFT, taking their new name from the decibel (dB) unit.
Some of the company’s most commercially successful video games include Flappy (which has been released in over 20 versions) and Woody Poco. dB-SOFT also published two pornographic games under the Macadamia Soft imprint: Macadam and 177 (the latter was banned from retail by the National Diet due to its controversial premise in which the player’s objective is to pursue and rape a fleeing woman).[4] In addition to gaming software, dB-SOFT also produced programming tools such as dB-BASIC (a BASIC compiler), P1.EXE (a word processor) and HOTALL (a web designing tool).
On August 1, 2001, dB-SOFT ceased operation after being merged into NetFarm Communications (a company founded by Reiko Furuya, Sadayaki Furuya’s wife). Their former office building was sold off in 2002.
Softography
| Title | NEC | Sharp | ASCII | Nintendo | Fujitsu | Hitachi | Refs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC-6001 | PC-8000 | PC-88 | PC-98 | MZ | X1 | X68000 | MSX | MSX2 | Famicom | FM-7 | FM77AV | S1 | ||
| Flappy | 1983 | — | 1983 | — | 1984 | 1983 | — | 1984 | — | 1985 | 1984 | — | 1985 | |
| Volguard | 1985 | — | 1984 | — | 1984 | 1984 | — | 1985 | — | — | — | — | 1984 | |
| Zunō Senkan Galg | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1985 | — | — | — | |
| Laptick | — | 1985 | 1985 | — | — | 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | 1986 | — | |
| Volguard II | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1985 | — | — | — | [5] |
| Cross Blaim | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1986 | — | — | — | — | — | [6] |
| Laptick’2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| LayLa | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1986 | — | — | — | [6] |
| Woody Poco | — | — | 1986 | 1986 | — | 1986 | — | — | 1987 | 1987 | — | 1987 | — | [7] |
| Tetsudō-ō | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1987 | — | — | — | [6] |
| Produce | — | — | 1987 | 1987 | — | 1987 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [5] |
| Konyamo Asanmade Powerful Mahjong | — | — | 1988 | 1988 | — | 1988 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Konyamo Asanmade Powerful Mahjong 2 | — | — | 1989 | 1989 | — | — | 1989 | — | 1989 | — | — | — | — | |
| The Story of Melroon | — | — | 1989 | 1989 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | [8] |
Notes
- ^ “dB-SOFT”. Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- ^ “DB Soft”. GameFAQs. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ Sasaki, Jun (2013). Hachijū Nendai Maikon Daihyakka 80年代マイコン大百科 [Encyclopedia of ’80’s Micro Computers] (in Japanese). Japan: Sogo Kagaku Publishing. ISBN 978-4-88181-832-9. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ W. Lauteria, Evan (2015). Wysocki, Matthew (ed.). Rated M for mature : sex and sexuality in video games. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 31–34. ISBN 9781628925746.
- ^ a b Szczepaniak, 2014. p. 1026
- ^ a b c Szczepaniak, 2014. pp. 1022, 1026
- ^ “Woody Poco Releases”. MobyGames. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ Szczepaniak, 2014. p. 1023
References
- Szczepaniak, John (2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, Volume 1. SMG Szczepaniak. ISBN 978-0-9929260-3-8.
- Tunick, David C. (1991). Computers and the Law. Houston: John Marshall Publishing Co. p. 247. ISBN 9780916081270. OCLC 24170258.
External links
- Official website (Waybacked)
- dB-SOFT[permanent dead link] games available at Project EGG Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- dB-SOFT at Giant Bomb
- DB-SOFT at MobyGames