Key (company) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Key

Type	Brand of Visual Arts
Industry	Computer games
Genre	Visual novels
Founded	July 21, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-07-21) in Osaka, Japan
Founders	Itaru Hinoue Naoki Hisaya Jun Maeda Shinji Orito
Headquarters	Kita, Osaka , Japan
Area served	Japan
Key people	Jun Maeda Shinji Orito Na-Ga
Products	Kanon Air Clannad Full list

Key is a Japanese company that makes visual novels. Visual novels are like interactive storybooks where you read a story, see pictures, and sometimes make choices that change what happens next. Key is famous for making games with deep, emotional stories that often make players cry.

Key started on July 21, 1998, as part of a bigger company called Visual Arts. Their first game, Kanon (released in 1999), became very popular. It had a great story, cool anime-style art, and music that really set the mood. Their next game, Air (2000), was also a big hit with a similar emotional story.

At first, Key made games mostly for adults. But with their third game, Clannad (2004), they started making games for all ages. Since then, Key has released 18 visual novels, with Stella of The End (2022) being one of their latest.

Key also works with other companies to create anime shows based on their stories. Some of their original anime series include Angel Beats! (2010), Charlotte (2015), and The Day I Became a God (2020). They even have a crossover anime called Kaginado that brings characters from different Key games together!

History of Key Games

Before Key was formed, its founding members worked for another game company called Tactics. They created games like Moon and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. However, they had different ideas about how to make their next game. So, most of the team left to find a company that would give them more creative freedom.

One of the founders, Itaru Hinoue, introduced the team to Takahiro Baba, the president of Visual Arts. Baba gave them the freedom they wanted. So, on July 21, 1998, they officially joined Visual Arts and formed Key.

They needed a name for their new company. Jun Maeda, one of the founders, saw the word "Key" on a music store sign and loved it. The team voted, and "Key" became the official name.

Their first game, Kanon, came out on June 4, 1999. It focused on character stories, amazing visuals, and music. A year later, on September 8, 2000, they released Air, which was also a big success.

Key's third game, Clannad, was released on April 28, 2004. This game was different because it was made for all ages and didn't have adult content. Seven months later, Key released Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet. This game was shorter and didn't have choices, meaning it was a "kinetic novel" – you just read the story.

In 2009, Key celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special event. They also started working with anime studios like P.A. Works and Aniplex to create original anime series.

Key continues to release new games and anime. In 2020, they announced three new kinetic novels: Loopers, Lunaria: Virtualized Moonchild, and Stella of The End. They also launched a multimedia project called Prima Doll, which includes an anime series and visual novels.

Key Sounds Label: Music for Games

In 2001, Visual Arts created a special music company called Key Sounds Label (KSL). This label releases all the music albums and singles related to Key's visual novels. Before KSL, only a few music albums were released.

The music for Key's games is mainly composed by their talented musicians like Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi. Many famous singers have also performed songs for Key's games, including Lia and Riya.

Key Sounds Label also holds concerts where fans can listen to live performances of their favorite songs from Key's games. These concerts are very popular and happen in different cities in Japan.

Key Net Radio: Talking About Games

From 2007 to 2010, Key had its own internet radio show called Key Net Radio. It had 30 episodes and was hosted by Shinji Orito and Itaru Hinoue from Key, along with a woman named Chiro.

Listeners could send in their thoughts, questions, and even suggestions for songs that Shinji Orito would play on his flute! The show also had fun segments like telling scary stories or creating new fictional characters based on listener ideas. It was a great way for fans to connect with the creators and learn more about Key's games.

Comiket: Meeting Fans and Selling Merch

Comiket is a huge comic convention held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. Key has been a regular participant since December 1999. At Comiket, Key sells special products related to their visual novels.

These products often include postcards, calendars, posters, and music albums. It's a chance for fans to get unique merchandise and show their love for Key's games. Key usually attends the winter Comiket, but sometimes they also appear at the summer event.

If any products are left unsold after Comiket, Visual Arts sometimes sells them online. This gives fans who couldn't attend the convention a chance to buy the special items.

Key People Behind the Games

Main Staff

The main staff members at Key are very important to creating their visual novels.

• Jun Maeda is a co-founder and a very important person at Key. He plans the projects, writes many of the stories, and composes a lot of the music for Key's games. Even though he's not the main story writer anymore, he still works on the music and comes up with ideas for new games like Summer Pockets.
• Na-Ga is Key's main artist. In earlier games, he mostly drew backgrounds. But for Little Busters!, he became a co-art director, helping to design the characters and overall look of the games.
• Shinji Orito is another co-founder and Key's main music composer. He has created music for most of Key's games, helping to make their emotional stories even more impactful.

Past and Guest Staff

Many talented people have worked with Key over the years.

• Itaru Hinoue was one of Key's founding members and their main artist for many years. She designed characters for six of Key's games before leaving the company in 2016.
• Naoki Hisaya was a main story writer for Kanon but left after that project.
• Magome Togoshi was a composer for Key for a long time, contributing to many soundtracks before leaving in 2006.
• Ryukishi07 and Romeo Tanaka are famous writers who worked on the story for Rewrite.

Key's Impact on Gaming

A promo character card of Yumemi Hoshino from Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet from the Lycèe Trading Card Game.

Key has had a big impact on the world of visual novels. Even before Key was formed, its founding members developed a special way to tell stories. They created games that started with funny, happy moments, then moved to sad parts, and finally ended with emotional reunions. This style of game is often called a "crying game" or "nakige" because it's designed to make players feel deeply for the characters and even cry.

Their game One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e and later Kanon were very successful with this formula. Their success inspired many other visual novel companies to create similar emotional games.

Even famous writers like Ryukishi07, who created the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series, were influenced by Key's work. He studied Key's games to understand why they were so popular. He noticed how they would start with happy, normal days, and then something shocking would happen, leading to tears. Ryukishi07 used a similar idea for Higurashi, but instead of making players cry, he wanted to scare them with horror elements. He saw Key as a "masterpiece maker."

Key's characters are also featured in the Lycèe Trading Card Game. This shows how popular and well-known their games and characters are in the gaming world.

See also

In Spanish: Key para niños