# Alvion

> Japanese video game developer and publishing company

**Wikidata**: [Q3613462](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3613462)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvion)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/alvion

## Summary
Alvion is a Japanese video game developer and publishing company founded in 1996 and headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Operating legally as a kabushiki gaisha (stock company), the company creates and publishes interactive entertainment within the video game industry. Alvion maintains a robust digital identity across multiple languages and is extensively cataloged in gaming databases under various identifiers.

## Key Facts
- **Founded**: 1996 in Japan
- **Headquarters**: Osaka, Japan
- **Legal Structure**: Kabushiki gaisha (Japanese stock company)
- **Industry**: Video game development and publishing
- **Official Website**: https://www.alvion.co.jp/ (Japanese language)
- **Japanese Corporate Name**: 株式会社アルヴィオン
- **Alternative English Names**: Alvion Co., Ltd; Alvion Inc.
- **Corporate Number (Japan)**: 2120901014976
- **Freebase ID**: /m/0cz8cwt
- **Wikipedia Title**: Alvion
- **Wikipedia Language Editions**: 6 (English, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese)
- **MobyGames Company ID**: 8518 (current), alvion-inc (former scheme)
- **GameFAQs Company ID**: 80344
- **VideoGameGeek Company ID**: 22145
- **UVL Company ID**: 2448
- **Visual Novel Database ID**: p2994
- **Crunchbase Organization ID**: alvion
- **IGDB Company ID**: alvion
- **OpenCorporates ID**: jp/2120901014976
- **Media Arts Database ID**: C44677

## FAQs
**What exactly is Alvion?**
Alvion is a Japanese kabushiki gaisha that functions as both a video game developer and publisher, meaning it both creates its own interactive software titles and handles their distribution and marketing.

**When and where did Alvion establish operations?**
The company launched in 1996 and maintains its corporate headquarters in Osaka, Japan's second-largest metropolitan area and a major hub for technology firms.

**How can researchers identify Alvion across different gaming databases?**
Alvion appears as entity 8518 on MobyGames, 80344 on GameFAQs, 22145 on VideoGameGeek, p2994 on Visual Novel Database, and "alvion" on Crunchbase and IGDB, with the Japanese corporate number 2120901014976 for official registration verification.

**What languages does Alvion's Wikipedia presence cover?**
The company has dedicated Wikipedia articles in six languages: English, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, reflecting its regional influence in East and Southeast Asian markets.

**What is the significance of Alvion's legal designation as a kabushiki gaisha?**
This structure indicates a formal joint-stock company under Japanese corporate law, providing liability protection and enabling capital investment through share issuance, standard for established game studios in Japan.

## Why It Matters
Alvion represents a specialized Japanese game development entity that bridges both creation and publishing functions, a dual role that provides creative control while maintaining direct market access. As a 1996-founded Osaka-based studio, it contributes to Japan's decentralized game industry ecosystem outside Tokyo's dominant concentration. The company's extensive cataloging across over a dozen international databases demonstrates how modern game companies function as data entities, enabling cross-platform research, industry analysis, and preservation efforts. Its multilingual Wikipedia footprint facilitates knowledge access across language barriers, supporting both academic study and fan community development. The precise corporate registration and standardized identifiers allow for accurate tracking in business intelligence, legal research, and digital archiving contexts, making Alvion a case study in how mid-sized regional developers maintain global visibility through structured data.

## Notable For
- **Dual-role structure**: Functions as both developer and publisher, controlling full production pipeline
- **Extensive database coverage**: Registered in 12+ specialized gaming and corporate databases with unique identifiers
- **Multilingual Wikipedia presence**: Articles in 6 languages, exceeding typical coverage for regional developers
- **Osaka headquarters**: Represents Kansai region's independent game development scene outside Tokyo's industry cluster
- **Precise corporate identification**: Japanese corporate number 2120901014976 enables unambiguous legal verification
- **Longevity**: 1996 founding date marks over 25 years of continuous operation through multiple industry generations
- **Standardized data footprint**: Maintains consistent "alvion" branding across Crunchbase, IGDB, and other modern platforms

## Body

### Company Overview and Core Identity
Alvion operates as a Japanese video game developer and publishing company, positioning it as a vertically integrated entity within the interactive entertainment sector. The company's formal Japanese name, 株式会社アルヴィオン, translates to Alvion Co., Ltd., indicating its registered corporate status. Founded in 1996, Alvion emerged during the PlayStation era's expansion and has maintained continuous operations for more than 25 years. Its business model encompasses both the creative development of video games and the commercial activities associated with publishing, including distribution, marketing, and platform relations.

### Corporate Structure and Legal Framework
Alvion's legal form as a kabushiki gaisha represents the standard joint-stock company structure under Japanese Commercial Code. This designation allows the company to issue shares, maintain perpetual succession, and limit shareholder liability—critical features for sustaining long-term game development projects requiring substantial capital investment. The corporate registration number 2120901014976 provides a unique identifier within Japan's official registry, enabling precise legal and financial tracking. OpenCorporates lists the entity under ID jp/2120901014976, connecting Japanese corporate records to global business intelligence systems.

### Geographic and Regional Context
Headquartered in Osaka, Alvion sits within Japan's Kansai region, historically the country's commercial center and home to numerous technology firms. This location distinguishes it from the Tokyo-centric concentration of major game publishers, representing regional industry diversity. Osaka's ecosystem provides access to talent from local universities and proximity to manufacturing partners while maintaining distance from the capital's intense competitive pressures. The company's Japanese website, https://www.alvion.co.jp/, serves as its primary digital presence, reflecting domestic market prioritization.

### Industry Classification and Function
As an instance of "video game developer," Alvion belongs to a specialized subclass of software development organizations focused exclusively on interactive entertainment. The company simultaneously operates as a publisher, a distinct role that includes financing, quality assurance, localization, and platform certification—functions typically outsourced by pure development studios. This dual classification places Alvion among a minority of Japanese firms that retain creative control while managing commercialization, similar to companies like Square Enix or Capcom, albeit at a different scale.

### Digital Footprint and Database Integration
Alvion maintains comprehensive coverage across gaming industry databases, enabling researchers and players to track its portfolio and corporate history. Key identifiers include:
- **MobyGames**: Company ID 8518 (current), with former scheme "alvion-inc" ensuring legacy data preservation
- **GameFAQs**: Entity 80344, linking to game credits and release information
- **VideoGameGeek**: ID 22145, connecting to board game and video game crossover data
- **Visual Novel Database**: ID p2994, indicating involvement in narrative-driven games
- **Universal Videogame List**: Company ID 2448, providing European database integration
- **Crunchbase**: Organization slug "alvion" for venture capital and funding data
- **Internet Game Database**: Company ID "alvion" for modern API-based integration

### Knowledge Base and Identifier Ecosystem
The company's structured data presence extends beyond gaming-specific platforms into general knowledge bases. Freebase assigned ID /m/0cz8cwt before its sunset, now preserved in Wikidata lineage. Media Arts Database, operated by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, catalogs Alvion under ID C44677, recognizing its cultural production significance. This government-level archiving ensures historical preservation of the company's contributions to Japanese digital media.

### Multilingual Documentation and Global Reach
Alvion's Wikipedia presence spans six language editions—English, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese—demonstrating broader regional interest than typical for a mid-sized developer. The sitelink count of 6 indicates moderate but notable encyclopedic coverage. This multilingual documentation supports international fan communities, academic researchers, and industry analysts studying Japanese game development patterns. Each language edition potentially contains unique regional perspectives and release information not available in Japanese sources.

### Corporate Identity Variations and Branding
The company operates under multiple name variations reflecting different contexts: "株式会社アルヴィオン" for official Japanese documentation, "Alvion Co., Ltd" for international business, and "Alvion Inc." as an alternative English styling. These variations require careful disambiguation in database searches to ensure accurate entity resolution. The consistent use of "alvion" as a slug across modern platforms (Crunchbase, IGDB) suggests contemporary branding standardization, while legacy systems retain historical naming schemes.

### Data Preservation and Research Value
The extensive network of identifiers makes Alvion a prime example of how game companies exist as digital entities beyond their creative output. Researchers can cross-reference corporate number 2120901014976 with OpenCorporates for legal filings, match MobyGames ID 8518 with release metadata, and correlate Wikipedia language editions to track regional market penetration. This data richness supports quantitative industry analysis, preservation efforts, and the study of corporate longevity in volatile creative markets. The 1996 founding date anchors the company to a specific technological era, allowing historians to examine its evolution through multiple console generations and platform shifts.

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
2. VideoGameGeek