Blue Planet Software Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher founded by Henk Rogers in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1995.[3]: 25 [4] The company was founded as the successor to Bullet-Proof Software Inc. (BPS), founded in 1983 by Rogers in Japan, which closed on 22 February 2001.[2][5]
History
Bullet-Proof Software
The original Bullet-Proof Software started operation in 1983 in Japan by Henk Rogers,[6] with The Black Onyx as its first title, and go on to become the number one title of 1984, and the number two video game of 1985, and had an ability to import Western games to Japan, most notably the hit game Tetris, which became an instant blockbuster success.[7][8]
The company name is taken from the term, "Bullet-Proof", which means "bulletproof," it also means "perfect," and the name was chosen to signify perfect software.[8]
The original BPS (Bullet-Proof Software) had an American operation from October 1989 to late 1993, based in Redmond, Washington.[7] Among games from the US operation was a technological first-person shooter based on MIDI Maze, Faceball 2000 for the Game Boy and the SNES.[9][10]
The American operation of BPS was sold to Spectrum HoloByte in 1993,[11][12] and its development team moved to a startup led by Scott Tsumura, who was president and CEO of the US BPS, in Redmond after selling the BPS subsidiary, called Big Bang Software, which was later merged into Nintendo Software Technology.[13][14]
Blue Planet Software
Rogers went on to form a new company with the same abbreviation, Blue Planet Software in 1995, and the first game was The Next Tetris, which was published by Hasbro Interactive,[15] and The New Tetris, published by Nintendo,[16] and the company, along with affiliate The Tetris Company, licensed Tetris rights to THQ in 2000.[17]
Rogers' daughter, Maya Rogers, became CEO in 2014.[18] In October 2020, Blue Planet Software Inc. was rolled into The Tetris Company.[19]
List of games
References
- ↑ "Profiles". Bullet-Proof Software. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000.
- 1 2 "ビーピーエスが日本法人閉鎖を正式に発表……". SoftBank Games. February 22, 2001.
- ↑ Crookes, David (September 2018). "The History of Tetris". Retro Gamer. No. 183. pp. 20–29.
- ↑ "Corporate Bios". Tetris.com. Tetris Holding LLC. Archived from the original on February 22, 2026. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
- ↑ "SBG:ビーピーエスが日本法人閉鎖を正式に発表……". plusd.itmedia.co.jp. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Henk Rogers: From Tetris to clean energy | Malamalama, The Magazine of the University of Hawai'i System". www.hawaii.edu. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- 1 2 "Bullet-Proof Software: Company Backgrounder". Bullet-Proof Software. January 6, 1990. pp. 8–10. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- 1 2 "Henk Rogers Shares His Incredible Journey In New Book: The Perfect Game - Tetris: From Russia With Love". Tetris. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ jeremy1456 (May 9, 2026). "Faceball 2000 Review (Game Boy, 1991)". Infinity Retro. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ jeremy1456 (March 9, 2026). "Faceball 2000 Review (Super Nintendo, 1992)". Infinity Retro. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Industry News". Game Players PC Entertainment. July–August 1993. p. 8. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Spectrum HoloByte Buys Bullet-Proof". VideoGames & Computer Entertainment. July 1993. pp. 26, 28. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "History of Nintendo Software Technology - Feature". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Tozai Games - About". global.tozaigames.com. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Hasbro Goes Tetris". IGN. February 25, 1999. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Tetris 64 Unveiled". IGN. January 26, 1999. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "THQ Gets Tetris". IGN. October 14, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
- ↑ "New CEO for BPS--Henk Rogers Becomes Chairman". Harddrop.com. February 21, 2014. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Call Us Tetris". The Tetris Company. October 21, 2020. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ↑ "Bakuto Dochers". GameSpot. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Faceball 2000 (Game)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Tweet from Sizlla Okamura".
- ↑ "Video from YouTube". YouTube.
- ↑ "Release Information". GameFAQs. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Products: Personal Computers". Bullet-Proof Software. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000.
- ↑ "Products: Family Computer". Bullet-Proof Software. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000.
- ↑ "Blue Planet Software - Games". www.blueplanetsoftware.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2000. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
