Ports of Entry: Konami

This list excludes the majority of games credited to Konami's subsidiaries and internal development studios (e.g. KCE Tokyo, Team Silent, etc.). Other Ports of Entry posts will cover them later.

Unknown lead platform:

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)

First released for GameCube, PS2, and Xbox on 10/23/2003.

Released for PC on 11/21/2003.

Little information suggests a lead platform. The toon shader effect looks rather different on all console versions owing to different hardware - only Xbox has dedicated pixel shader hardware - and PC alone allows it to be turned off.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Released for PS2 and Xbox on 11/01/2005.

 

In Japan, this was a PS2 exclusive, and the PS2 version credits Digital Zero with additional graphics work. This may indicate PS2 as a lead platform, and would be consistent with Konami's contemporary works, but it isn't strong evidence at all - and the Digital Zero credit could even credit work done converting to PS2.

 

Select chronology: 

 

Arcade era:

Title	Date	Contemporary ports
Space King	1978
Astro Invader	1980
Strategy X	1981	1981 port to Atari 2600
Turtles	1981	1982 handheld version and ports to various consoles
Amidar	1981	1982 port to Atari 2600 and PC-6001
Scramble	1981	1982 ports to Tomy Tutor and Vectrex
Super Cobra	1981	1982 handheld version and ports to various consoles and computers
Frogger	1981	1981 port to PC-6001 1982 ports to various consoles and computers
Loco-Motion	1982	1983 ports to Intellivision and various Japanese computers
Tutankham	1982	1982 port to PC-6001 1983 ports to various consoles and computers
Time Pilot	1982	1983 ports to Atari 2600, ColecoVision, and MSX
Pooyan	1982	1982 ports to Atari 2600, 1983 ports to various computers

 

3rd gen:

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Antarctic Adventure	MSX	1983	1984 ports to ColecoVision and Coleco Adam
Track & Field	Arcade	1983	1984 ports to Atari 2600 and various computers
Gyruss	Arcade	1983-3	1984 ports to various consoles and computers
Circus Charlie	Arcade	1984	1984 port to MSX
Road Fighter	Arcade	1984-12	1985 ports to MSX and NES
Yie Ar Kung-Fu	Arcade	1985	1985 ports to Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, and ZX Spectrum 1986 ports to C64, Commodore 16, C64, and Electron
TwinBee	Arcade	1985	1986 ports to MSX and NES
Rush'n Attack	Arcade	1985	1986 ports to various computers
Gradius	Arcade	5/29/1985	1986 ports to NES and various Japanese computers
Double Dribble	Arcade	1986	1987 ports to NES and PlayChoice-10 arcade system
Life Force	Arcade	1986	1987 ports to NES and MSX
Castlevania	NES	9/26/1986	1987 port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system
Jackal	Arcade	1986-10	1987 ports to Amstrad CPC, C64, and ZX Spectrum
Contra	Arcade	2/20/1987	1987 ports to Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum by Ocean Software 1988 ports to C64 and PC
The Goonies II	NES	3/18/1987
Metal Gear	MSX	7/7/1987
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest	NES	8/28/1987
Blades of Steel	Arcade	1987-10	1988 port to NES
Top Gun	NES	1987-11
Metal Gear	NES	12/22/1987	Mobygames lists as a distinct game from MSX version
Super Contra	Arcade	1988-1
Contra	NES	1988-2	1988 port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system
Vulcan Venture	Arcade	1988-3	1988 port to NES
The Adventures of Bayou Billy	NES	8/12/1988
Snatcher	PC-88	11/26/1988	1988 port to MSX
Gradius III	Arcade	1989	1990 port to SNES
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Arcade	1989	1990 port to NES
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	NES	5/12/1989	1989 port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system 1990 ports to various computers
Castlevania: The Adventure	Game Boy	10/27/1989
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse	NES	12/22/1989
Snake's Revenge	NES	1990-4
Parodius	Arcade	4/25/1990	1990 port to NES 1991 port to Game Boy and Sharp X68000
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake	MSX	7/20/1990

 

4th gen:

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Sunset Riders	Arcade	1991
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time	Arcade	1991-3	1992 port to SNES
The Simpsons	Arcade	1991-4	1991 port to C64 and PC
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge	Game Boy	7/12/1991
Super Castlevania IV	SNES	10/31/1991
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project	NES	12/13/1991
Bucky O'Hare	NES	1992-1
X-Men	Arcade	2/12/1992
Contra III: The Alien Wars	SNES	2/28/1992	1992 port to Nintendo Super arcade system
Axelay	SNES	1992-9
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose!	SNES	12/18/1992
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist	Genesis	12/22/1992
Batman Returns	SNES	2/26/1993
Castlevania Chronicles	Sharp X68000	7/23/1993
Rocket Knight Adventures	Genesis	8/6/1993
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood	TurboGrafx CD	10/29/1993
Castlevania: Bloodlines	Genesis	3/18/1994
Policenauts	PC-98	7/29/1994	1995 port to 3DO
Contra Hard Corps	Genesis	9/15/1994
Castlevania: Dracula X	SNES	7/21/1995
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe	SNES	9/22/1995	1996 port to Genesis by Factor 5

 

6th gen:

 

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	???	2003	Same-quarter releases for PC, GameCube, PS2, and Xbox
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness	???	11/1/2005	Simultaneously released on PS2 and Xbox
Suikoden V	PlayStation 2	2/23/2006

Ports of Entry: Parker Brothers

Unknown lead platform:

 

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Death Star Battle

First released for Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit in 1983.

Released for Atari 5200 in February 1984.

Released for ZX Spectrum in 1984 by Sinclair Research.

 

Mobygames says that the Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit versions are ports by James Wickstead Design, but if this is so, and the 5200 is Parker Brothers' original design, why was it delayed by several months? Furthermore, why would the identical Atari 8-bit version be credited to James Wickstead? It doesn't add up.

James Bond 007

Released in 1984 for Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, ColecoVision in May 1984.

Released for Commodore 64 and SG-1000 in 1984.

 

The many simultaneous releases give little clue to this game's lead development platform. One clue, though, is that the Atari 2600 version alone is credited to On Time Software, and all other versions to Parker Brothers. Wikipedia states that On Time Software was the contracted developer, so perhaps they developed the 2600 original, and Parker Brothers ported it to other systems?

Frogger II: ThreeeDeep!

First released for Atari 8-bit on August 1984.

Released for Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 on September 1984.

Released for ColecoVision and Commodore 64 on October 1984.

Released for Apple II and PC on 1984.

 

Atari 8-bit seems most likely for being first, but it isn't conclusive.

Select chronology: 

 

Title	Lead Platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Code Name: Sector	Dedicated console	1977
Merlin: The Electronic Wizard	Dedicated handheld	1978
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back	Atari 2600	1982-7	1983 port to Intellivision
Spider-Man	Atari 2600	1982-11
G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike	Atari 2600	1983-2
Star Wars: Jedi Arena	Atari 2600	1983-2
Strawberry Shortcake: Musical Match-Ups	Atari 2600	1983-4
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Death Star Battle	???	1983	1983 releases on Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit 1984 releases on Atari 5200 and ZX Spectrum
James Bond 007	???	1984	1984 releases on Atari 8-bit, C64, and various consoles
Frogger II: ThreeeDeep!	???	1984	1984 releases on various computers and consoles
Montezuma's Revenge	Atari 8-bit	1984-9	1984 ports to Atari 5200 and various computers
Montezuma's Revenge	Atari 2600	1984-9	Mobygames lists as a distinct game from the computer/5200 version