was a Japanese video game developer. The company name was apparently an acronym for "Computer Amusement Visualizer", although the company's web site also claimed it referred to caviar.
Cavia was best known for the Drakengard series, the first title in the Nier series (a spin-off of the former) and three Resident Evil light gun shooters: Dead Aim, The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles.
History Cavia was founded on March 1, 2000, and headquartered in Tokyo. Its shareholders included Amuse Capital, Tokuma Shoten, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Nippon Television Network Corporation, Tokyo FM Broadcasting, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Hayao Nakayama, who served as president. Cavia was initially tasked with publishing games based on Japanese animation licenses on Sony, Sega, and Nintendo platforms.
Yoko Taro joined the company in 2001. In December 2002, Cavia absorbed Crazy Games (formerly Climax Graphics) after its closure. Taro served as director of Drag-On Dragoon in 2003, the company's first major original IP. It was conceived as a combination of gameplay elements from the Ace Combat and Dynasty Warriors franchises. The game was released in the West the following year as Drakengard. The studio collaborated with Production I.G to develop a Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex video game in 2004. By May 2004, Cavia employed more than 80 people. The company initially invested heavily on development for Xbox 360.
In October 2005, the company merged with Artoon and Feelplus, reorganizing itself into AQ Interactive, a holding company responsible for the management of the other studios. The old company's game planning & development business was transferred to a newly established Cavia Inc. In July 2006, the company released Bullet Witch for Xbox 360 in Japan. AQI signed a deal with Atari to publish the game Internationally. The game was released in the US in February 2007. Downloadable content was released by Cavia a month later.
While Artoon developed Blue Dragon and Feelplus made Lost Odyssey, Cavia partnered with Mistwalker to develop Cry On for the Xbox 360. Mistwalker president Hironobu Sakaguchi served as producer, Kimihiko Fujisaka served as character designer, and Nobuo Uematsu worked on the soundtrack. However, the title was ultimately cancelled at the end of 2008.
In 2009, Naoto Ohshima moved over from Artoon to take over as CEO of Cavia. In May, Square Enix officially announced Nier, developed by Cavia. Taro initially developed the game to be the third entry in the Drakengard series before it was turned into a spinoff. The game was released in May 2010, but was ultimately the studio's last game as Cavia was absorbed into AQ Interactive in July About a year later, AQI merged with Marvelous. Despite the closure, some members of the development staff from Nier, including Taro, went on to produce a prequel to the Drakengard series, Drakengard 3, under Access Games and published by Square Enix.
Games YearTitlePlatform 2002Dramatic Soccer Game: Nihon Daihyo-senshu Ni Narou!PlayStation 2One Piece: Nanatsu Shima no DaihihōGame Boy Advance 2003Resident Evil: Dead Aim PlayStation 2DrakengardTakahashi Naoko no Marathon Shiyouyo!Kamen Rider Seigi no Keifu 2004Soccer Life!Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone ComplexDragon Ball Z: Supersonic WarriorsGame Boy Advance 2005Steamboy PlayStation 2Soccer Life 2Drakengard 2Naruto: Uzumaki ChroniclesBeat Down: Fists of VengeancePlayStation 2, XboxDragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2Nintendo DSTetris: The Grand Master Ace Xbox 360 2006Tsuushin Taisen Majyan: ToryumonZitsuroku Oniyomenikki: Shiuchi Ni Taeru Otto No Rifuzintaiken AdventurePlayStation PortableDragon Quest: Shōnen Yangus to Fushigi no DungeonPlayStation 2WinBack 2: Project PoseidonPlayStation 2, XboxLovely Complex: Punch de ContePlayStation 2Bullet Witch Xbox 360Zegapain XORNaruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2PlayStation 2Zegapain NOTXbox 360Death Note: Kira GameNintendo DS 2007Victorious Boxers: RevolutionWiiFate/Tiger ColosseumPlayStation PortableResident Evil: The Umbrella ChroniclesWii 2008Fate/unlimited codesArcade, PlayStation 2, PlayStation PortableSega Bass FishingWiiKORG DS-10Nintendo DS 2009Suzumiya Haruhi no HeiretsuWiiSuzumiya Haruhi no ChokuretsuNintendo DSKORG DS-10 plusNintendo DS, Nintendo DSiResident Evil: The Darkside ChroniclesWii 2010Nier GestaltPlayStation 3, Xbox 360NierPlayStation 3 CancelledCry OnXbox 360CatacombsPlayStation 3, Xbox 360
References
External links Official website via Internet Archive