HanaHo Games Inc is a division of Semco/PVG that services the commercial coin-op industry. HanaHo primarily produced the HotRod arcade joystick. They also sold a line of non-coin-operated PC game machines (the machines had a coin door, but it was non-functional) that included 50 game titles from Capcom. The company was started by Tony Hana and Conway Ho (hence the name Hanaho). Their first product was the game Ghost Hunter. It was headquartered in Cerritos, California.

Hanaho
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryArcade game
Founded7 May 1946
HeadquartersCerritos, California, USA
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Conway Ho
(CEO) & Mark Chien
(Co-founder)
ProductsGhost Hunter
Skill Shot
Match Three
HotRod Joystick
Mallet Madness
Rapid Fire
PDA Software
Arcade PC
Dragon World 3
RevenueIncrease US$ 0–1 Million(2005)
Number of employees
25
WebsiteHanaho

In January 2010, the official website was "down for maintenance". In 2013 the website was removed altogether.[1]

History

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Through the 60s and mid 70s Semco produced store displays for Disney, Circuit City, Sears, Kraco Radio, JD Industries, and Complete Warehouse Video showroom displays.

In the 80s the video game era came to a peak and Semco acquired PVG (Pacific Video Games) and started producing arcade cabinets for companies including Gremlin/Sega's Frogger, Star Trek, and Zaxxon, Wedges/Ledges, Leland's Dragon's Lair and Super Off Road arcade video game cabinets, Indian Gaming Reservation slot machines, Video Poker machines, Capcom's Street Fighter arcade video game cabinets, and Sega GameWorks Custom Classic Cabinets and Custom Arcade Cabinets.

In December 2007, Capcom Games filed a federal lawsuit for copyright and trademark infringement against HanaHo Games and its president, Conway Ho in regards to the use of their properties in the Arcade Legends 2 and Ultimate Arcade 2 arcade cabinets.[2] The case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice in February 2008. In 2010, HanaHo developed updated ports of Splatterhouse, Splatterhouse 2, and Splatterhouse 3 for the Splatterhouse reboot.[3]

Products

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HanaHo's first product was the game Ghost Hunter, released in 1995.[4] It was a light gun ticket redemption game where the goal of the game was zapping ghosts, collecting fruit, and spelling out the letters "JACKPOT" to get the ticket bonus. They also developed the ticket redemption game Match Three for Jaleco. Their next game was the game Skill Shot, released in 1998. It was a coin flicking ticket redemption game with a pool theme.[5] HanaHo's third game was the game Dragon World 3. It was a mahjong game, licensed from IGS and also released in 1998.[6][7] Also in 1998, HanaHo released the light gun video game Rapid Fire. The game was a minigame collection, and it was developed by Bone Daddy Entertainment.[8] In 1999, HanaHo developed the ticket redemption game Mallet Madness, which was released by Capcom. In the game, players used the mallet "Max Flattener" in one of four minigames to win tickets.[9] This partnership with Capcom also allowed them to release the HotRod joysticks with a set of 50 Capcom games, and the Arcade PC system with a set of 14 Capcom games (both running MAME).

References

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  1. ^ "HanaHo Games website circa 2013". Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Capcom Co., Ltd. et al v. Conway Ho et al :: Justia Dockets & Filings". Dockets.justia.com. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Capcom Co., Ltd. et al v. Conway Ho et al :: California Central District Court :: Federal Civil Lawsuit No. 2:07-cv-08150, Judge John F. Walter presiding". Plainsite.org. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Ghost Hunter brochure". Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Skill Shot brochure". Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Dragon World 3 brochure". Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Dragon World 3 marquee". Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Rapid Fire brochure". Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Max Flattener". Retrieved 8 March 2020.