News: Hot-B still (sort of) alive?

December 17, 2006, 02:33 AM

by brandon, via Hot-B -
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Hot-B recently came into my mind again, so I decided to see what they're up to now - they're the ones who made games like Steel Empire, the bizarre Ka Ge Ki: Fists of Steel, and, well...a lot of bass fishing games. (Recap confirms my fears that Ka Ge Ki was actually just ported by Hot-B - but they did make Devilish!) Still, Steel Empire is quite good (check out a scan of the US box), and came out for GBA a while ago, though it's rather expensive if you can find it - there's a euro version as well, but it's equally pricey (for me!) due to the ridiculously weak american dollar. The company has been around since 1988 or so, but at some point in the 2000s got into some trouble and all assets, so far as I know, were purchased by Starfish, who still does some interesting stuff in japan.

Browsing EB recently, I noticed that Grafitti Kingdom bears the Hot-B name and logo. Some further research reveals that Hot-B's american counterpart exists, barely, as a small publisher. Their last game was released in 2005, but since their previous game was released in 2001, it's possible they're still around. The actual logo is quite fun, because the B is green - hard to describe as 'hot.' It's on the Grafitti Kingdom box, but I don't have a picture of it just now. I've sent them a mail to see what's up with the company, so if I hear more, I expect that you will as well.