Megacorp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Megacorp is a term popularized by William Gibson derived from the combination of the prefix mega- with an abbreviation of the word corporation. It has become a term popularly used in cyberpunk literature. It refers to a corporation that is a massive conglomerate, holding monopolistic or near-monopolistic control over multiple markets (thus, it exhibits both horizontal and vertical monopoly). Megacorps are so powerful that they can ignore the law, possess their own heavily-armed (often military-sized) security forces, hold 'sovereign' territory, and possibly even act as an outright government. They often exercise a large degree of control over their employees, with the idea of 'corporate culture' taken to the extreme.
It is doubtful whether any true megacorps currently exist in the real world. Even the largest multinational corporations (MNCs) do not possess anywhere near the same level of direct power seen in the megacorps of cyberpunk literature. On the other hand powerful corporations like De Beers, General Electric and Microsoft do control powerful monopolies in multiple, unrelated markets and the extent to which they are able to flout laws is debated. The South Korean chaebols and the Japanese Zaibatsu may come closest to fitting the role of megacorps in today's world, at least on a national level. Historically, there have been similarities between megacorps and the trading companies of the 17th and 18th century mercantilist period, such as the British East India Company.
[edit] List of fictional megacorps
- Arasaka, from the Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing game
- Comstar, from the Battletech science-fiction game franchise
- Ares Macrotechnology, from the Shadowrun role-playing game
- Biffco, from Back to the Future Part II
- Blue Sun, from Firefly and Serenity
- The Transnats from the Mars Trilogy, which eventually buy out whole countries
- Cybus Industries, from Doctor Who
- Czerka Corporation, from the Star Wars expanded universe
- dataDyne, from the Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark
- Eurocorp Syndicate, from Syndicate Wars
- GenCorp, from Time Chasers
- GENOM, from Bubblegum Crisis
- Jupiter Mining Corporation, from Red Dwarf
- LexCorp/LuthorCorp, Wayne Enterprises, Sivana Industries, and several others in the DC Universe.
- Liandri Corporation, from Unreal Tournament
- Maximum Inc., from Phantom 2040
- Megacorp, from Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
- Millenion, from the anime Gungrave
- Mimecom, from Wild Palms
- Mom's Friendly Robot Company, from Futurama
- Ohtori, from the anime Ouran High School Host Club
- Omni Consumer Products, from RoboCop and spinoffs
- Omni-Tek, from the sci-fi MMORPG Anarchy Online
- Page Industries, the Deus Ex videogame series
- Paradigm Corporation, from the anime The Big O
- PTMC, from the Descent series of video games
- Shin-Ra Electric Power Company, from Final Fantasy VII
- Soylent Corporation, from Soylent Green
- TriOptimum Corporation, from the System Shock videogame series
- Tyrell Corporation, from Blade Runner
- Umbrella Corporation, from the Resident Evil franchise
- Union Aerospace Corporation, from the Doom
- Vector Industries, from the Xenosaga videogame series
- Versalife Corporation, from the video game Deus Ex
- Weyland-Yutani, from the Alien films and spinoffs.
- SpaceTech Corporation from the game, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
- Kissaki Corporation from the game, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
- OSEC from the game, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
- Aerospace from the game, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
