I’ve yet to see Berkshire Hathaway’s psychological horror game.

I’ve long been a fan of games by Koei Tecmo, whether it’s their individual classics like Koei’s Dynasty Warriors or Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden, or modern games like Nioh. They tend not to have major blockbuster releases like some other companies, but it’s a solid lineup of enjoyable titles in an interesting variety of genres.

But there’s another side to Koei Tecmo that you might not be familiar with. To see what that is, let’s take a look at Koei Tecmo Holdings’ recently published Q1 results for the current fiscal year.

According to those numbers, Koei Tecmo brought in 5.47 billion yen (US$33 million) in operating income, which is everything related to their game business and not too shabby. However, they eclipsed that with 12.56 billion ($76 million) in non-operational income, which is money earned on things not related to their game business. Taking away non-operational costs, they are left with an ordinary income of 15.72 billion ($96 million) in earnings, only about a third of which is from video games.

That’s an incredible financial safety net that most video game studios would dream of having, and the reason all boils down to one woman: Keiko Erikawa.

▼ “Chairperson Keiko Erikawa is so cool! I’d love a simulation game that lets you manage assets like stocks and real estate.”

襟川恵子会長かっこいい🫶🏻💕
シュミレーションゲームに株、不動産とかできる資産運用ゲーム出して欲しい🥹🥹🥹 https://t.co/tvt4xrovDE pic.twitter.com/xoEdTYNQVM

Keiko was one of the cofounders of Koei, helping to transition it from a failing dye company to a game studio back in 1978, along with her husband Yoichi. While Yoichi mainly focused on the programming side of things, Keiko was wearing a number of hats, including package art with the help of her background in design at Tama Art University.

While she was in high school, Keiko’s grandmother sparked her interest in stocks. Despite having no formal business education, she taught herself from an early age the importance of risk assessment. This experience was crucial in helping her navigate the ups and downs of the eternally hit-and-miss world of video game creation.

As luck would have it, a number of successes came early on with the historical text-based game The Battle of Kawanakajima and some of the first-ever erotic games, such as Temptation of the Condominium Wife, for microcomputers. This gave way to the breakout success of Nobunaga’s Ambition in 1983, kicking off a series of popular historical strategy games that continues to this day. All this time, Keiko was diligently investing their profits and preparing for a day when their string of successes might dry up.

The irony was that things never really did dry up for Koei. The company just kept chugging along and making profits for decades. Even during the economic bubble burst of Japan in the ’90s and the 2008 financial crisis, Keiko’s well-built financial shield allowed Koei to proceed steadily. Merging with Tecmo and taking on much of their talent and IP in 2009 only made things that much better.

▼ Although a lot can be said about her financial prowess, Keiko Erikawa also pioneered women-oriented games, developing titles such as the Angelique series.

Keiko’s contribution to business and gaming has earned her the nickname “Empress,” which is also extended to both “Empress of the Gaming Industry” and “Empress of Investing.” Comments online continued to bow in reverence to her, while some wondered about Koei Tecmo’s future, as no Empress can rule forever.

“Keiko Erikawa is Japan’s Warren Buffett.”
“She is a living legend.”
“It’s an investment firm. They just make games as a hobby.”
“You have to bow down to such a huge non-operating income.”
“It’s truly amazing how they remain consistently undefeated.”
“The Empress is getting up in years, though. The company might fold without her.”
“She should be in charge of Japan’s funds.”
“They should make an investment simulation game.”

Unlike most companies, Koei Tecmo’s financial management had no advisors, managers, or outside consultants. The buck literally stopped at Keiko Erikawa for nearly all of the company’s history, and as a result, they’ve never once been in debt and never laid off a soul.

Knowing this can’t go on forever, in recent years, she set up a department inside the company where she trains employees to adopt her rules for money management and allow them to continue making video games with a comfortable sense of financial security.

Source: Twitter/@kanpo_blog, Forbes/Profile: Keiko Eirkawa, Koei Tecmo 1, 2, Famitsu, Daily Shincho, Hachima Kiko
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