1-Up Studio facts for kids
Logo since 2013
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Native name
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1-UPスタジオ株式会社
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Romanized name
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1-Up Sutajio Kabushiki gaisha |
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Formerly
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Brownie Brown Inc. (2000–2013) |
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| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | Video game development |
| Founded | 30 June 2000 in Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | Kanda Square, 2-2-1 Kandanishiki-cho,
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Japan
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Number of locations
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1 studio (2020) |
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Key people
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Gen Kadoi (President) |
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Number of employees
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88 (2024) |
| Parent | Nintendo |
1-Up Studio Inc. (also known as "1-UP STUDIO.") is a Japanese company that makes video games. It was started on June 30, 2000, in Tokyo, Japan. The company was first called Brownie Brown Inc., .
Shinichi Kameoka and Kouji Tsuda, who worked on the Mana game series, founded the company. Brownie Brown created games for both Nintendo and Square Enix. Some of their early games include Magical Vacation and Sword of Mana.
On February 1, 2013, the company changed its name to 1-Up Studio. This happened because they started working closely with Nintendo. At that time, Shinichi Kameoka left to start a new company called Brownies.
Since the 2010s, 1-Up Studio has mostly helped Nintendo EPD make games. Their team includes artists who design characters and game worlds, game designers, and programmers.
How 1-Up Studio Started
The company began on June 30, 2000, as Brownie Brown. Many of its first artists used to work at Square. Founders Shinichi Kameoka and Kouji Tsuda had experience with the Mana series. They worked on these games for the Game Boy and Super NES. They left Square because they had different ideas about making games.
The name "Brownie Brown" came from Brownies. These are helpful, hardworking fairies from Scottish stories. Kameoka felt this name fit his team's style. He wanted to make games for the Game Boy Advance, which led to Brownie Brown being created.
Games They Made
Early Games as Brownie Brown
Brownie Brown's first game was Magical Vacation. It came out in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance only in Japan. Another well-known game they developed was Sword of Mana. This game was a new version of the first Seiken Densetsu game. It was published by Square Enix.
The company also helped make Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. They worked with Shigesato Itoi and HAL Laboratory on this project. They also developed Magical Starsign for the Nintendo DS. Brownie Brown was interested in making Mother 3 available on the Nintendo DS. They hoped fans around the world could enjoy it.
Even though they mostly made handheld games, Brownie Brown announced a game for the GameCube. It was called Gofuku and was planned for 2005.
Later, Brownie Brown released Blue Dragon Plus for the Nintendo DS. They worked with Mistwalker on this game. In 2009, they entered the downloadable game market with A Kappa's Trail. This was a DSiWare game. They also helped with Professor Layton's London Life. This was a bonus game in Professor Layton and the Last Specter. They also worked on Fantasy Life for the DS and 3DS.
Games as 1-Up Studio
On February 1, 2013, Brownie Brown officially changed its name to 1-Up Studio. This change happened because they started working very closely with Nintendo. 1-Up Studio became a support studio for Nintendo. After these changes, Shinichi Kameoka left to create his own company, Brownies. He wanted to make new original games. In the same year, Yoshiaki Koizumi joined the company's board of directors.
In 2020, 1-Up Studio moved its main office. It is now in the new Nintendo Tokyo Office building. Other game companies like Nintendo EPD Tokyo and HAL Laboratory are also in this building.
As 1-Up Studio, they have helped Nintendo with many popular games. They often help with game design, level design, and programming.
Here are some of the games 1-Up Studio has worked on:
- Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, 2013) - They helped with design, level design, and sound.
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U, 2014; Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, 2018) - They helped with design, level design, and sound.
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch, 2017) - They helped with design, level design, and programming for computer graphics tools.
- Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo Switch, 2019) - They helped with design, planning, and programming.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch, 2020) - They helped with design.
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Nintendo Switch, 2021) - They helped with design, level design, and sound.
