CES: 8 New Third Party Licensees Plus Every Game Announced At The Show
Nintendo has been doing a phenomenal job of acquiring third party partners to create new games for its NES. It’s the hottest toy around and commands 70% of the video game market, so naturally everyone wants a piece of the pie. The new licensees include: GameTek, Jaleco, Milton Bradley, Mindscape, Tengen, Tradewest, Ultra, and Vic Tokai.
Interestingly enough, Tengen is actually a subsidiary of Atari! I guess if you can’t beat’em, join’em! Then there’s Ultra, which is actually a new company formed by Konami. Why would they do such a thing, you might ask? Well, Nintendo has a strict limit in place on how many games each third party can release in a given year. Konami wants to circumvent that rule so they created a brand new publishing company!
The CES floor was packed with demo stations and plenty of games to play. However, in many cases the companies that had product to show were still showcasing games that had already released. So, just because we have lists of games in development, doesn’t mean they were even present at this year’s show. That being said, here’s a rundown of every game currently in the works that the game companies were willing to share at this point in time. We were told that some of these names could change, so we’ll keep you updated on that front. Also, keep in mind there’s another CES in June where many publishers show off their holiday titles – so this isn’t an end-all be-all list for 1988.
Acclaim
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Bandai
Aerobics
Dragon Power
Capcom
1943
Bionic Commando
Gunsmoke
Speed Rumbler
Wings
Data East
Karnov
FCI
Dr. Chaos
Hydlide
Ultima
GameTek
Hollywood Squares
Jeopardy!
Password
Wheel of Fortune
Jaleco
Bases Loaded
City Connection
Konami
Contra
Jackal
LJN
Major League Baseball
Town & Country Surfing & Skateboarding
Mindscape
Bad Street Brawler
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Nintendo
Dragon Warrior
Ice Hockey
R.C. Pro-Am
Return of Donkey Kong
Super Mario Bros. 2
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
SNK
Fighting Golf
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
TNK 3
Sunsoft
Freedom Force
Xenophobe
Taito
Bubble Bobble
Renegade
Tecmo
Tecmo Baseball
Tecmo Football
Star Force II
Tengen
Gauntlet
R.B.I. Baseball
Tradewest
Double Dragon
Super Dodge Ball
Quarterback Touchdown
Ultra
Metal Gear
Skate or Die
Vic Tokai
Aigina’s Prophecy
Chesterfield
Golgo 13
Terra Cresta
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
