Tose

"Our vision is not to have a vision. Instead, we follow our client's vision."

A Japanese game developer who you've probably never heard of, but whose games you've probably played at least once.

Tose (pronounced "tose-eh") is a "ninja developer", designing games behind the scenes for larger publishers, while the publisher takes the credit. Not even members of Tose's staff get listed in the credits. So why work for them? Many people who work at Tose end up being hired by other game companies later on, so Tose is widely known in Japan as a good place to enter the industry when you get right out of college.

Their many clients include Capcom, Nintendo, and tons of the big names, as well as some US companies. They're often involved in ports, or the handhelds versions of console games, such as the handheld version of WWE Smackdown or the PSX and DS ports of Chrono Trigger. They've also been hired to make spinoffs of popular franchises, such as Super Princess Peach, or Resident Evil Gun Survivor. Their games are noticably not as high quality and professional as the main series, and tend to receive mostly average review scores.

They don't always totally develop games. Sometimes they're outsourced for specific functions, such as artwork. Tose's US website shows examples of their artwork along with the time it took to make.