WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super NES and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational software. In 1997, they relaunched their video games arm, placing the company as a contractor for publishers and working on a variety of licensed assets. The company has created a variety of original game properties such as their flagship Shantae series, including the first title in the series which appeared on the Game Boy Color and was published by Capcom. WayForward Technologies has worked on games for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita handheld consoles, WiiWare games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U, Nintendo Switch consoles and games for personal computer and mobile phones. History WayForward Technologies was founded in 1990 by Voldi Way as an independent video game design company, following on from a previous company he started that specialized in software for sheet metal fabrication. Early on, the company focused on producing software for the Super NES, Genesis, Game Gear and Game Boy Color. They branched out into educational games for the personal computer and Leapster. During this time, many of the staff were doing other jobs in order to support their ambition to become game developers. In 1994, WayForward Technologies entered into a partnership with American Education Publishing in order to focus on developing further educational video games. The partnership was successful, with the company winning awards for innovation at the 1995 Consumer Electronics Show. During this time, WayForward focused on licensed assets such as the Muppets for their educational games. WayForward restarted their video game development business in April 1997, working as a "developer for hire" by providing services to software publishers. John Beck, CEO, stated that by providing services on small projects the company has managed to remain a stable level of work. In mid-2002, WayForward released their first internally developed game based on their own intellectual property Shantae. While it achieved critical acclaim, it was one of the last games to be released for the Game Boy Color and as a result only enjoyed limited success. When Nintendo announced the dual-screen handheld console that became the Nintendo DS in early 2004, WayForward began examining the various options the new console offered.