Ikari Warriors Publisher Passes On

After a lengthy battle with illness, businessman and civic leader Leland P. Cook Jr. passed away on Friday, November 6, 2009. He was 75. Gamers might find this significant as Cook was one of the founders of Tradewest, the now-defunct video game publisher that reached prominence in the mid-‘80s.

In 1985, Leland and his oldest son Byron started Tradewest, which initially licensed and marketed coin-operated arcade games, such as the top selling game of 1986, Ikari Warriors. SNK’s developers were so enamored by Cook’s likeable attitude that they changed the name of Ikari Warrior’s last boss from General Kawasaki to Colonel Cook.

As one of the first licensees of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Tradewest went on to produce classic hits like Double Dragon, Super Off Road, and Battletoads. Leland Cook has certainly left a lasting legacy in the video game world, and later in life, the horse racing industry, and our best wishes go out to his friends and family.