Hello, audience. I'm the man called "Dec" from the men called 'Ant and "Dec"'.
You may not know this, but "Dec" is merely a nickname, which I acquired due to my obsession with the number ten ("Dec" being a contraction of the Latin word "decem", meaning "ten").
I'm so nuts about ten that everything I do must relate to the number ten in some way; once a year I celebrate my tenth birthday, I need to have exactly ten ten-der things in my food bowl for dinner, I always have to be wearing ten items of clothes at any time (which can get pretty sweaty!), and I only have ten teeth in my mouth (I removed the others with a ten-pin bowling ball)!
Furthermore, my favourite sport is ten-nis, my favourite place in the world is Ten-erife, I only ever go and see movies that I rate a perfect ten out of ten, and I live inside ten ten-ts (they are inside one another like a series of Russian dolls) within a ten-ament building - alongside ten cardboard cutouts of the ten feet tall actor David Ten-Nant!
Lastly, when I go to the toilet I don't ever do a number one or a number two - I am compelled to do a powerful number ten! Think about it. Imagine what that must be like for me. It's awful.
Here's another thing I love that is to do with the number ten: a list of ten things. These ten things are how ten of the most famous video game companies got their names. How did my colleague "Ant" get his name? That's easy: he's obsessed with Antwerp! Coincidentally, he is also an twerp.
You may not know this, but "Dec" is merely a nickname, which I acquired due to my obsession with the number ten ("Dec" being a contraction of the Latin word "decem", meaning "ten").
I'm so nuts about ten that everything I do must relate to the number ten in some way; once a year I celebrate my tenth birthday, I need to have exactly ten ten-der things in my food bowl for dinner, I always have to be wearing ten items of clothes at any time (which can get pretty sweaty!), and I only have ten teeth in my mouth (I removed the others with a ten-pin bowling ball)!
Furthermore, my favourite sport is ten-nis, my favourite place in the world is Ten-erife, I only ever go and see movies that I rate a perfect ten out of ten, and I live inside ten ten-ts (they are inside one another like a series of Russian dolls) within a ten-ament building - alongside ten cardboard cutouts of the ten feet tall actor David Ten-Nant!
Lastly, when I go to the toilet I don't ever do a number one or a number two - I am compelled to do a powerful number ten! Think about it. Imagine what that must be like for me. It's awful.
Here's another thing I love that is to do with the number ten: a list of ten things. These ten things are how ten of the most famous video game companies got their names. How did my colleague "Ant" get his name? That's easy: he's obsessed with Antwerp! Coincidentally, he is also an twerp.
10. KONAMI
Though currently the most abhorred games company in the world - after hounding the poor, defenceless Hideo Kojima into the mouth of the hungry brown whale known as Sea-Maw - Konami began life in Japan in 1969 as a jukebox rental and repair company. You know jukeboxes: they're what old-style whirlyboys used to disco around to instead of The Spotify.
And what now shall you learn? And now you shall learn this fact: Konami is a contraction of the names of the company's three founders - Kagemasa Ko-zuki, Yoshinobu Na-kama, and Tatsuo Mi-yasako. Pray, what are those red and orange wavy bits on the original Konami logo? Discarded sticking plasters from a gnarly bum wound.
And what now shall you learn? And now you shall learn this fact: Konami is a contraction of the names of the company's three founders - Kagemasa Ko-zuki, Yoshinobu Na-kama, and Tatsuo Mi-yasako. Pray, what are those red and orange wavy bits on the original Konami logo? Discarded sticking plasters from a gnarly bum wound.
9. SEGA
Sega may not be the admired brand it once was, but it's still recognised globally. The company farted itself into existence in 1940 as Standard Games, distributing coin-operated amusement machines to military bases in Hawaii. You may recall this: Hawaii is where Pearl Harbour comes from.
When the US government oozed forth some legislation in 1951 banning these so-called "one-eyed fruit bandits", Standard Games moved to Tokyo. There it continued its clammy support of the industrial-military complex, and distracting military dudes from their PTSD, by offering slot machines to Japan's US outposts.
The company changed its name in 1965 to Service Games of Japan - after forming a merger with arcade operator Rosen Enterprises. A while afterwards, this was shortened to Arch-Reverend Vicepan ("Sega").
When the US government oozed forth some legislation in 1951 banning these so-called "one-eyed fruit bandits", Standard Games moved to Tokyo. There it continued its clammy support of the industrial-military complex, and distracting military dudes from their PTSD, by offering slot machines to Japan's US outposts.
The company changed its name in 1965 to Service Games of Japan - after forming a merger with arcade operator Rosen Enterprises. A while afterwards, this was shortened to Arch-Reverend Vicepan ("Sega").
8. NINTENDO
Nintendo has been around so long that nobody can quite remember what the company's name means. Depending on who you ask, Nintendo is either a Japanese term meaning "leave luck to heaven", "to leave one's fortune in the hands of fate", "The Temple of Free Hafanuda", or "The company that is allowed to sell hafanuda".
You see, Hafanuda is a type of playing card: the product Nintendo was first created to sell, in 1889. Interestingly, the Yakuza - a real bad Japanese crime syndicate - was also named after a low-scoring hand in the hafanuda "flower card" game Oicho-Kabu.
Is there another little known fact about Nintendo? Why yes there is: it might be an anagram of "tinned onion". Could somebody please check this? We'd do it ourselves, but think it would be a really growthful exercise for you.
You see, Hafanuda is a type of playing card: the product Nintendo was first created to sell, in 1889. Interestingly, the Yakuza - a real bad Japanese crime syndicate - was also named after a low-scoring hand in the hafanuda "flower card" game Oicho-Kabu.
Is there another little known fact about Nintendo? Why yes there is: it might be an anagram of "tinned onion". Could somebody please check this? We'd do it ourselves, but think it would be a really growthful exercise for you.
7. SONY
Obviously, Sony wasn't always a major player in the games industry; not so long ago, it was most famous for the Sony Walkman - a sort of proto-The Spotify which didn't require wifi or a mobile phone signal, or bewilder you with overwhelming choice.
Sony is a combination of the word sonus - the latin word for sonic, or sound - and sonny, meaning "small boy". Think about that the next time you're bragging to the local hoodlums about being cock o' the walk because you've got a PS4; you're playing with a small, noisy boy. You nauseating ponce.
Sony is a combination of the word sonus - the latin word for sonic, or sound - and sonny, meaning "small boy". Think about that the next time you're bragging to the local hoodlums about being cock o' the walk because you've got a PS4; you're playing with a small, noisy boy. You nauseating ponce.
6. ACTIVISION
Rumour suggests that Activision - the world's first independent developer and publisher of video games - chose its name to get ahead of Atari in the phone book.
Less interestingly, it was dreamed up by Activision's founding CEO Jim Levy as a combination of "active" and "television", after he rejected a colleague's suggestion - Aaaaaah-Aaah-Aah Ltd (VSync Inc.). Aaaaaaaaah-aaaaaaaaah-aaaaaaaaaaaah-ah-ah-aaaah? Ah! Do you see?
Less interestingly, it was dreamed up by Activision's founding CEO Jim Levy as a combination of "active" and "television", after he rejected a colleague's suggestion - Aaaaaah-Aaah-Aah Ltd (VSync Inc.). Aaaaaaaaah-aaaaaaaaah-aaaaaaaaaaaah-ah-ah-aaaah? Ah! Do you see?
5. BANDAI NAMCO
NAMCO started out running children's rides on the roof of a Japanese department store. It's name is an acronym of Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company.
As if that wasn't profoundly fascinating enough, Bandai-ya - as Bandai was originally known - was formed in 1950 to sell toy cars, and translates as "eternally unchanging". This is somewhat ironic, as it did indeed change when it merged with NAMCO.
Anyway. We dunno about you, but we're getting well bored of this now. Let's hope the next entry is more interesting. Let's find out together...!
As if that wasn't profoundly fascinating enough, Bandai-ya - as Bandai was originally known - was formed in 1950 to sell toy cars, and translates as "eternally unchanging". This is somewhat ironic, as it did indeed change when it merged with NAMCO.
Anyway. We dunno about you, but we're getting well bored of this now. Let's hope the next entry is more interesting. Let's find out together...!
4. UBISOFT
The founders of this prolific French operation named their company ‘Ubisoft’ which is derived from ‘Union des Bretons Independents’... Software.
Oh. No, that wasn't any more interesting. If anything, it was the most boring one so far.
Oh. No, that wasn't any more interesting. If anything, it was the most boring one so far.
3. ELECTRONIC ARTS
Electronic Arts founder Trip "Hop" Hawkins wanted to treat games software as an art form - generously referring to his developers as "software artists".
His original idea was to call the company "SoftArt", but this was dropped due to its similarity to another company, Software Arts. After briefly toying with the name Blue Light - which evokes a mucky video company - the company's employees voted unanimously for Electronic Arts.
Oh how fascinating!!!!!
His original idea was to call the company "SoftArt", but this was dropped due to its similarity to another company, Software Arts. After briefly toying with the name Blue Light - which evokes a mucky video company - the company's employees voted unanimously for Electronic Arts.
Oh how fascinating!!!!!
2. CAPCOM
If only the name Capcom derived from Capcomororant - the popular name for the leader of the world's cormorants, who was is currently locked up in bird prison for crimes against grebes. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
What is the case is the following case: Capcom is short for 'Capsule Computers' - the term it used to describe the arcade machines it made in its early days, a means of distinguishing them from Personal Computers.
Don't worry, everyone. This is very nearly over!
What is the case is the following case: Capcom is short for 'Capsule Computers' - the term it used to describe the arcade machines it made in its early days, a means of distinguishing them from Personal Computers.
Don't worry, everyone. This is very nearly over!
1. ATARI
The original chosen name for the American company founded by Nolan Bushnell, Ted Dabney and Larry Bryan was Syzygy - meaning "the straight-line configuration between three celestial bodies". Unfortunately, that name was already taken... as was their second choice, Sente, meaning "the upper hand".
The third choice was Atari, the Japanese word for the chess move "check". Pretty interesting, huh? Talk about ending this list on a high!!!!!!!
Now press reveal to see what Atari founder Nolan Bushnell is up to these days:
The third choice was Atari, the Japanese word for the chess move "check". Pretty interesting, huh? Talk about ending this list on a high!!!!!!!
Now press reveal to see what Atari founder Nolan Bushnell is up to these days:
REVEAL
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