Kadokawa

During the late 1990s, the publisher expanded its multimedia footprint into the console gaming market. Early software releases focused on tactical role-playing games, beginning with Slayers Royal (1997) and its sequel Slayers Royal 2 (1998) for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The company continued to adapt fantasy properties with the release of Monster Collection: Kamen no Madoushi (1999) on the PlayStation.

In the mid-2000s, the division shifted its focus toward the growing visual novel and adventure game markets. It published Maple Colors (2005) and the brain-training title Lucky Star: Moe Drill* (2005) for the Nintendo DS. This was followed by the mystery adventure Eve: New Generation V (2006) and the DS sequel Shin Lucky Star Moe Drill: Tabidachi (2007). The company also re-released popular third-party visual novels under its budget label, such as Shuffle! On the Stage [Kadokawa the Best] (2007) for the PlayStation 2. These releases established a business model of leveraging established intellectual properties across multiple interactive formats before the restructuring of its games division.