Aquaplus

History

Aquaplus began in October 1994 in Itami, Hyōgo as U-Office, ltd., a visual novel and music publisher, and simultaneously established its adult game brand Leaf. Its first game under Leaf appeared in February 1995, and later that year U-Office began releasing all-ages PC games under its own name. The company changed its name to Aqua in May 1996 and became a joint stock company. In 1997 it opened an automobile specialty shop in Yachiyo, Hyōgo.

The name changed to Aquaplus in 1998, and that October a development office opened in Toshima, Tokyo. In March 1999 Aquaplus published its first home console visual novel, To Heart, for the PlayStation. Two months later it established Fix Records as its record label. The head office moved to its current location in Yodogawa-ku, Osaka in June 2000.

In November 2001 the company produced the P/ECE handheld game console. Aquaplus entered franchised restaurant management in 2002, and at the end of that year moved its Tokyo development office to Taitō, Tokyo.

The automobile shop closed in August 2007. In 2011 Aquaplus developed the arcade fighting game Aquapazza: Aquaplus Dream Match, featuring characters from Leaf visual novels. The company was acquired by Crest (now HIKE) in December 2022.

P/ECE

Aquaplus produced the P/ECE, a greyscale mobile gaming platform with a four-level grayscale FSTN LCD screen at 128 x 88 pixel resolution. It uses an EPSON S1C33209 24 MHz 32-bit RISC CPU, 256kb SRAM, and 512kb flash RAM, and includes preloaded Picket electronic organizer software. Users could download freeware titles such as Multi's Going Out, Black Wings, TANK BATTLE, Ojomajomini, and Inagawa de Urou!! via USB or infrared port.