Tectoy

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Tectoy S.A.

Type	S.A. (corporation)
Founded	September 18, 1987
Headquarters	São Paulo, Brazil
Industry	Video games, Console manufacturer
Website	Tec Toy S.A. Tec Toy Mobile

Tectoy (known as Tec Toy before late 2007) is a Brazilian videogame and electronics company. They are best known for publishing and distributing Sega's consoles and videogames in that country.

The company stock is also traded at Bovespa.

[edit] History

Tec Toy's original logo

Tec Toy was founded in 1987, with the purpose of making electronic toys, a niche that other Brazilian toy manufacturers had failed to notice. They quickly struck a deal to become the exclusive representative of Japanese videogame giant Sega Enterprises Ltd.. Consequently, their first product was the Zillion infrared toy gun. In the coming years they would release all of Sega's game machines, from the Master System to the Dreamcast. Their success in the gaming field was so notable that toys became a minor part of their business.

With Tec Toy, Sega had a huge advantage over rival Nintendo in the Brazilian market; although there were countless Nintendo Entertainment System clones there, Nintendo had no official representatives until 1993. This way, the Master System was a massive success there, and Tec Toy even made some game versions not released anywhere else. During the 1990s, Tec Toy had 80% of the official Brazilian market.

Tec Toy translated several games to Portuguese, such as the first three Phantasy Star games (but not IV, which only had a fan-made translation in 2004 [1]), Shining in the Darkness, and Riven (which also had its voices dubbed).

They also modified some games to replace characters with local licenses; that way, Teddy Boy became Geraldinho, certain Wonder Boy titles became Monica's Gang games, and Ghost House somehow starred El Chapulín Colorado ("Chapolim Colorado").

More interestingly, they have made unique ports and even developed original games. Some of these are: Street Fighter II for the Master System, Duke Nukem 3D for the Mega Drive, and an original Woody Woodpecker game for the Mega Drive. More recently they released two Mega Drive titles based on Show do Milhão — a TV game show hosted by Silvio Santos in the same vein of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Tec Toy's second logo

Even before the Dreamcast was discontinued and Sega withdrew from the console hardware business, Tec Toy realized that their long-time partner was failing, and decided to diversify. They now also sell karaoke devices, DVD players, and MP3 players. They also manage the Brazilian servers for Ragnarok Online. Also, their Tectoy Mobile division, founded in 2005, is the Brazilian publisher of cell phone games by companies such as Sega Mobile, In-Fusio, and Bandai.

However, they still make older Sega consoles, especially variants of the Master System and the Mega Drive with dozens of built-in games.

Besides the videogames, Tec Toy's most successful toy was Pense Bem ("Think well" in Portuguese): using books (themed history, geography, mathematics, etc.) with questions, the kids clicked the buttons with alternatives in a machine. The toy responded if it was right or wrong. Some Pense Bem books included famous characters like Monica's Gang, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dinosaurs and Donald Duck. Beside the books, Pense Bem had 10 built-in programs. Pense Bem-themed games are included in the new Super Mega Drive 3[2] and Master System 3 Collection.

They are now also distributing Video Games as The Club, Outrun 2006, Sega Rally Revo and others.