Choice Provisions

"Gaijin Games" redirects here. For the Hungarian company, see Gaijin Entertainment.

Choice Provisions Inc.
FormerlyGaijin Games Inc. (2007–2014)
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2007; 16 years ago
HeadquartersSanta Cruz, California
Key people
Alex Neuse & Mike Roush
ProductsBIT.TRIP series
Tharsis (video game)
Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story
Woah Dave!
Websitechoiceprovisions.com

Choice Provisions Inc., formerly known as Gaijin Games Inc. prior to June 2014, is an American independent video game development studio, best known for their Bit.Trip series of video games. The studio was founded in 2007 by Alex Neuse, Mike Roush, and Chris Osborn and is located in Santa Cruz, California.

History

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Gaijin Games initially emerged in 2004. The founder, Alex Neuse, had been employed at LucasArts since 1997, but after the project he had been working on was cancelled, Neuse decided that he wanted greater creative freedom, which spurred him to create his own studio. However, the company was unable to acquire sufficient funds or support from a publisher, and all of its development endeavors were halted indefinitely when Neuse was offered the position of creative director at Santa Cruz Games.

At Santa Cruz Games, Mike Roush, Alex Neuse and Chris Osborn formed a friendship. Neuse, Roush and Osborn were involved in the development of several games tied into licensed properties, but they became dissatisfied with the restrictions on their creativity. Osborn, with his love for Chiptunes, Neuse with his affinity for Atari 2600 and Roush with his aesthetic and drive for unique experiences, shared the same philosophies of game design. Subsequently, the trio quit their jobs at Santa Cruz to start up Gaijin Games again.[1]

Neuse had a variety of game ideas that he had sketched out in a notebook, which he pitched to Roush and Osborn. Eventually, they settled on their favorite six concepts and formed the idea of a series called '8-Bit: A series of six new classics in the 8-bit style for humans who enjoy fun'. Gaijin signed a publishing deal with Aksys Games, then ditched the previous title in favor of BIT.TRIP and began development on the first title. Danny Johnson joined Gaijin during the fifth game in the series. Between the fifth and sixth games, Gaijin collaborated with Different Cloth to bring an iPhone/iPod Touch game, lilt line, to the WiiWare service. After all six games in the series were completed, Osborn left Gaijin Games to form another independent studio known as Tracer. After Osborn's departure, Roush and Neuse took on the monikers of Co-Founders and Co-Creators of all Gaijin projects and creative endeavors.

Following the climax of the BIT.TRIP series, Gaijin Games announced that they are very interested in developing games for the Nintendo 3DS and have since obtained development kits for the handheld device. Their first 3DS title was released in 2011 and was revealed to be a compilation of the six BIT.TRIP games called Bit.Trip Saga.[2] In February 2011, the studio also absorbed the small-time developer Robotube, founded by Jason Cirillo[3] - Roush explained this move as an effort to branch out into "more experimental, casual games." After the studio was rebranded as Choice Provisions in June 2014, the Robotube subsidiary was also rebranded as "Minivisions." The first game released under the Minivisions label was Woah Dave!, which initially released on October 30, 2014.[4]

After almost a 2-year development cycle, Gaijin Games completed the hit sequel to RUNNER, Runner2 on February 26, 2013. It sold over 1 million units within the first year.[5]

In June 2014, the company announced it would be changing its name to Choice Provisions. The studio decided to change their name due to the arguably negative connotations of the term "gaijin" ("foreigner" in Japanese).[6]

Games

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Bit.Trip series

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Game title Release Platform(s) Notes
Bit.Trip Beat March 16, 2009 Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch Switch version released on December 25, 2020
Bit.Trip Core July 6, 2009 Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo Switch Switch version released on December 25, 2020
Bit.Trip Void October 27, 2009 Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo Switch Switch version released on December 25, 2020
Bit.Trip Runner May 14, 2010 Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Nintendo Switch Switch version released on December 25, 2020
Bit.Trip Fate October 25, 2010 Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo Switch Switch version released on December 25, 2020
Bit.Trip Flux February 25, 2011 Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo Switch Switch version released on December 25, 2020
Bit.Trip Saga[7] September 13, 2011 Nintendo 3DS Enhanced compilation of the six original Bit.Trip games
Bit.Trip Complete[8] September 13, 2011 Wii Enhanced compilation of the six original Bit.Trip games
Runner2[9] February 26, 2013[10] Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Wii U (eShop), Xbox 360 (XBLA), PlayStation 3 (PSN), PlayStation 4 (PSN), PlayStation Vita, iOS, Nintendo Switch An HD sequel to Runner, Switch version released on February 29, 2024
The Bit.Trip[11] December 5, 2015 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita Enhanced compilation of the six original Bit.Trip games
Runner3 May 22, 2018 Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo Switch
Bit.Trip Rerunner September 19, 2023 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S Remake of Runner with a level editor, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions released on May 22, 2024 and May 28, 2024 respectively

Other games

[edit]
Game title Release Platform Notes
Lilt Line December 13, 2010 WiiWare Published WiiWare version, developed by Different Cloth
Bloktonik June 15, 2011 iPad Published iOS version, developed by Robotube Games
Woah Dave! October 30, 2014 Microsoft Windows, iOS, Mac, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Linux, Android Developed under the MiniVisions label
Destructamundo December 10, 2014 iOS, Android, Windows Developed under the MiniVisions label
Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria April 9, 2015 Microsoft Windows, Mac, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Linux Published Steam, Wii U & 3DS versions, developed by Muteki
Shutshimi August 25, 2015 Microsoft Windows, Mac, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Linux Developed by Neon Deity Games
Laserlife September 22, 2015 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Tharsis January 12, 2016 Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4
Drive!Drive!Drive! December 13, 2016 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita Developed by Different Cloth
Space Dave! January 25, 2018 Nintendo Switch Developed under the MiniVisions label
Bubsy: Paws on Fire! May 16, 2019 PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story November 16, 2021 PC, Nintendo Switch

Further reading

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  • "Growing Santa Cruz company Gaijin Games releases "Runner 2," its most ambitious game to date". Santa Cruz Sentinel. March 9, 2013.

References

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  1. ^ Wahlgren, Jon. "The History of BIT.TRIP, Part 1". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  2. ^ JC Fletcher on (April 28, 2011). "Bit.Trip Saga brings all six of CommanderVideo's adventures together on 3DS". Joystiq. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  3. ^ North, Dale (February 24, 2011). "Gaijin Games acquires Robotube Games".
  4. ^ "Woah Dave! on Steam". Steam. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2 turns one, passes 1 million sales, goes on sale". vg247. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Wawro, Alex (June 5, 2014). "Gaijin Games tackling new projects as Choice Provisions". Gamasutra. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  7. ^ Tiny Cartridge. "Bit.Trip Saga announced for Nintendo 3DS,... - Tiny Cartridge - Nintendo 3DS, DSi, & DS News, Media, Videos, Imports, Homebrew, & Retro Junk". Tiny Cartridge. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  8. ^ Klepek, Patrick. "Bit.Trip Saga, Bit.Trip Complete Get Bit.Trippy in September". Giant Bomb.
  9. ^ "Bit.Trip Runner is getting a strange-looking HD sequel". Destructoid. October 9, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  10. ^ Jackson, Perry (August 3, 2012). "Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2 slides into 2013". xblafans.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  11. ^ Ben Davis. "Review: The Bit.Trip". Ben Davis. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
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