Gremlin Industries

Gremlin Industries was an arcade game manufacturer active from the 1971 to 1983 based San Diego, California, USA.

Not to be confused with Gremlin Interactive.
Gremlin Industries
IndustryVideo games
FateFolded into Bally Manufacturing
Founded1971 (1971)
FounderFrank Fogleman, Carl Grindle
Defunct1983 (1983)
HeadquartersSan Diego, California
ProductsVideo game software

History

Gremlin was founded in 1971 as a contract engineering firm by Harry Frank Fogleman and Carl E. Grindle.[1] The duo had intended to name the company after themselves as "Grindleman Industries," but an employee of the Delaware Secretary of State's office misheard the name over the phone, so the company was incorporated as Gremlin instead.[2] In 1973, Gremlin became a manufacturer of coin-operated wall games with their first game Play Ball (1973).[3] Gremlin joined the video game industry in 1976 by releasing its first video arcade game entitled Blockade (1976).[4]

In 1978, Gremlin was acquired by Sega Enterprises Inc. and their games acquired the label of Gremlin/Sega or Sega/Gremlin.[5] Following the Sega purchase, Gremlin began to release games from both Sega and other Japanese companies. Among these video games were Namco's Gee Bee (1978) and Konami's Frogger (1981).

In 1982 the name of the company was changed to Sega Electronics to better strengthen the Sega brand name in the United States.[6] In mid-1983 the arcade assets of the company were sold to Bally Manufacturing and Sega Electronics was shuttered soon afterwards.

The company was renamed Ages Electronics as a subsidiary of CBS.[1]

Video games
1976
  • Blockade (Gremlin's first released video game)
1977
1978
  • Gee Bee (licensed from Namco; the Gremlin version replaces the "N-A-M-C-O" letters on the bumpers with the company's distinctive "G" logo.)
  • Blasto
  • Cartoon Gun
  • Frogs
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
  • Ixion
  • Pig Newton
  • Razzmatazz

Ports

Sega released emulated and playable versions of some of the early Sega/Gremlin arcade games as vault material for the Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.

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References
  1. "| California Secretary of State". businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  2. Smith, Alexander (2019). They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Volume I. CRC Press. p. 306. ISBN 9781138389908.
  3. Smith, Keith (2015-09-20). "The Golden Age Arcade Historian: The Ultimate (So-Far) History of Gremlin Industries Part 1". The Golden Age Arcade Historian. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  4. Smith, Keith (2015-09-25). "The Golden Age Arcade Historian: The Ultimate (So-Far) History of Gremlin Industries Part 2". The Golden Age Arcade Historian. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  5. Smith, Keith (2015-10-10). "The Golden Age Arcade Historian: The Ultimate (So-Far) History of Gremlin Industries Part 3". The Golden Age Arcade Historian. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  6. Ken Horowitz, The Sega Arcade Revolution : A History in 62 Games, McFarland, July 2018, 310 p. (pp.68)
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