Difference between revisions of "Virgin Interactive"

Latest revision as of 16:15, 29 March 2024

Virgin Interactive

Founded: 1983^[1]

T-series code: T-70

Merged into: Titus (UK division), EA (US division)

Headquarters:

	London, England, United Kingdom
	Irvine, California, United States

Virgin Interactive was a British video game developer and publisher. Founded in 1983^[1] as Virgin Games Ltd., it was the Virgin Group's first foray into the video game market.

History

In its initial form, Virgin Games, like many British video game companies of the day, developed and published video games for home computer platforms, such as the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

In 1987, Virgin Games bought a minority stake in budget label cash-strapped Mastertronic, as Virgin Games wanted to be in the budget computer games business^[1]. Mastertronic, set to be the official distributor of the Sega Master System in the UK, suffered a setback after Sega delivered the first order of consoles too late, leading to Virgin Games acquiring the company in full later in the year, creating Virgin Mastertronic, Ltd. in the process^[1].

Virgin Mastertronic, essentially given free reign over Sega's products after they left Japan, was extremely successful at marketing the Master System in the region. It took over distribution in France and Germany in mid-1988, with Spain to follow in 1990^[1]. Whilst in mid-1989 they tied up a 5 year extension for their European Sega Master System distribution rights, also adding the Sega Mega Drive rights, which they would eventually release in 1990. The deal was said to be worth £100 million^[2]^[3], and included over one million units of hardware and seven million units of software^[4] until 1994, figures that they would sail through by just the end of 1990.

In 1990 Sega appointed Virgin as a third party publisher^[5].

Seeing its success, Sega acquired the publishing arm of Virgin Mastertronic in 1991, turning it into Sega Europe^[6]^[1]. The development arm, which Sega was not interested in, returned to its original name as Virgin Games. Over the next few years, Virgin Games would see a string of successes, the most notable of which being the hand-animated Disney's Aladdin which redefined computer animation in games.

1993 saw the company rename itself as Virgin Interactive Entertainment. During this period it capitalised on the work of Westwood Studios (which it acquired), among others. It became a wholly-owned subsidary of Blockbuster Entertainment in 1994^[7].

Virgin Interactive would transition more towards a publishing and distribution company in the years which followed. In late 1995 it acquired the distribution rights for Capcom titles in Europe^[8].

The British studio operations were acquired in a management buyout led by former Managing Director Tim Chaney in 1998. The U.S. operations were sold to Electronic Arts as part of its acquisition of Westwood Studios that same year.

French publisher Titus Software acquired a majority interest in Interplay in 1999^[9], which at this time owned 50% of Virgin Interactive. Titus would acquire most of the remaining shares in October 1999, absorbing the company completely by 2001^[9].

A management buy-out of the Spanish arm of Virgin Interactive in June 2002 led to the short lived Virgin Play^[9]. The rest of the company would be renamed Avalon Interactive on July 1, 2003.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Company
+{{CompanyBob
-| logo=Virgininteractive_logo.png
+| logo=VirginInteractiveEntertainment logo.png
-| width=250
+| founded=1983{{intref|Interview: Nick Alexander (2008-09-17) by Sega-16}}
-| founded=1981
 | defunct=
 | tseries=T-70
 | mergedwith=
 | mergedinto=[[Titus]] (UK division), [[EA]] (US division)
-| headquarters=London, United Kingdom/Irvine, CA
+| headquarters=[[wikipedia:London, England|London, England, United Kingdom]]
+| headquarters2=[[wikipedia:Irvine, California|Irvine, California, United States]]
 }}
+'''Virgin Interactive''' was a British video game developer and publisher. Founded in 1983{{intref|Interview: Nick Alexander (2008-09-17) by Sega-16}} as '''Virgin Games Ltd.''', it was the [[wikipedia:Virgin Group|Virgin Group]]'s first foray into the video game market.
-'''Virgin Interactive''' was a British video game publisher. It was formed as '''Virgin Games Ltd.''' in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing budget label [[Mastertronic]] in 1988 to form '''Virgin Mastertronic'''. It was part of the [[wikipedia:Virgin Group|Virgin Group]]. In 1994, it was renamed Virgin Interactive.
+==History==
+In its initial form, Virgin Games, like many British video game companies of the day, developed and published video games for home computer platforms, such as the [[ZX Spectrum]] and [[Commodore 64]].
-It published games for PC and systems, including the Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, C64, [[Sega Master System]], [[Sega Mega Drive]], [[Sega Game Gear]], Super Nintendo Entertainment System, [[Sega Saturn]], Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and [[Dreamcast]].
+In 1987, Virgin Games bought a minority stake in budget label cash-strapped [[Mastertronic]], as Virgin Games wanted to be in the budget computer games business{{intref|Interview: Nick Alexander (2008-09-17) by Sega-16}}. Mastertronic, set to be the official distributor of the [[Sega Master System]] in the UK, suffered a setback after Sega delivered the first order of consoles too late, leading to Virgin Games acquiring the company in full later in the year, creating '''Virgin Mastertronic, Ltd.''' in the process{{intref|Interview: Nick Alexander (2008-09-17) by Sega-16}}.
-It helped the career of many developers, including [[Westwood Studios]] (who developed the ''Command & Conquer'' series and the PC port of ''[[Resident Evil]]'') and Synergistic. Also, many workers for [[Shiny Entertainment]], including David Perry, worked for Virgin before splitting off to create ''[[Earthworm Jim]]''. Also among Virgin Interactive alumni are famed video game composer [[sonic:Tommy Tallarico|Tommy Tallarico]], artist Doug TenNapel, designer David Bishop, animator Bill Kroyer, animator/artists Andy Luckey and Mike Dietz and programmer Andy Astor.
+Virgin Mastertronic, essentially given free reign over Sega's products after they left Japan, was extremely successful at marketing the Master System in the region. It took over distribution in France and Germany in mid-1988, with Spain to follow in 1990{{intref|Interview: Nick Alexander (2008-09-17) by Sega-16}}. Whilst in mid-1989 they tied up a 5 year extension for their European [[Sega Master System]] distribution rights, also adding the [[Sega Mega Drive]] rights, which they would eventually release in 1990. The deal was said to be worth £100 million{{magref|nce|31|2}}{{magref|pcw|363|2}}, and included over one million units of hardware and seven million units of software{{magref|tgm|20|8}} until 1994, figures that they would sail through by just the end of 1990.
-In 1993 Virgin Interactive created the "Digicel" process, originally for an unpublished game called "Dynoblaze". Key to developing the process were Dr. Stephen Clarke-Willson, David Perry, designer David Bishop, animator Bill Kroyer, animator artists Andy Luckey, animator Mike Dietz and programmer Andy Astor. The technology was first released to the general public in Disney's Aladdin for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and subsequently on such projects as The Lion King video game.
+In 1990 Sega appointed Virgin as a third party publisher{{magref|nce|99|9}}.
-The British studio operations were acquired in a management buyout led by former Managing Director Tim Chaney in 1998. The U.S. operations were sold to [[Electronic Arts]] as part of its acquisition of Westwood Studios that same year. The company's assets were acquired in 1999 by the French publisher Titus Software—its name was changed to Avalon Interactive on July 1, 2003.
+Seeing its success, Sega acquired the publishing arm of Virgin Mastertronic in 1991, turning it into [[Sega Europe]]{{magref|nce|142|4}}{{intref|Interview: Nick Alexander (2008-09-17) by Sega-16}}. The development arm, which Sega was not interested in, returned to its original name as Virgin Games. Over the next few years, Virgin Games would see a string of successes, the most notable of which being the hand-animated ''[[Disney's Aladdin]]'' which redefined computer animation in games.
-In May 2002, the Spanish division of Virgin Interactive, known as Virgin Interactive España, was purchased by Tim Chaney along with former Spanish president and founder Paco Encinas. The branch was then separated from the main Virgin Interactive company, already part of [[Titus Software]], and kept its own identity as a Virgin brand. Renamed Virgin Play in October 2002, this Spanish publisher remains as the sole representation of the Virgin Group in the video game industry.
+saw the company rename itself as '''Virgin Interactive Entertainment'''. During this period it capitalised on the work of [[Westwood Studios]] (which it acquired), among others. It became a wholly-owned subsidary of Blockbuster Entertainment in 1994{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/19970206032649/http://www.vie.com:80/low/corp/corpsub1.html}}.
-==Softography==
+Virgin Interactive would transition more towards a publishing and distribution company in the years which followed. In late 1995 it acquired the distribution rights for [[Capcom]] titles in Europe{{magref|ssm|2|10}}.
-{{Multicol|
-===[[Master System]]===
-* ''[[Speedball]]'' (1990)
-* ''[[Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe]]'' (1991)
-* ''[[Xenon 2: Megablast]]'' (1991)
-* ''[[Chuck Rock]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Marble Madness]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Super Off Road]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[RoboCop Versus The Terminator]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Wolfchild]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Fire & Ice]]'' (1995)
-* ''[[Battletoads in Battlemaniacs]]'' (1996)
-===[[Mega Drive]]===
+The British studio operations were acquired in a management buyout led by former Managing Director Tim Chaney in 1998. The U.S. operations were sold to [[Electronic Arts]] as part of its acquisition of Westwood Studios that same year.
-* ''[[Xenon 2: Megablast]]'' (1990)
-* ''[[Chuck Rock]]'' (1991)
-* ''[[Cyber-Cop]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Mega lo Mania]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Out of This World]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[The Terminator]]'' (1992)
-*''[[European Club Soccer]]'' (1992)
-*''[[World Trophy Soccer]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Disney's Aladdin]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Caesars Palace]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Chi Chi's Pro Challenge Golf]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Cool Spot]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[RoboCop Versus The Terminator]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Two Tribes: Populous II]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Dune: The Battle for Arrakis]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Jammit]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Earthworm Jim 2]]'' (1995)
-* ''[[Flux]]'' (1995)
-* ''[[Pinocchio]]'' (1995)
-* ''[[Spot Goes to Hollywood]]'' (1995)
-===[[Mega CD]]===
+French publisher [[Titus Software]] acquired a majority interest in [[Interplay]] in 1999{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20040603213620/http://www.titus-interactive.com/index.php?lang=en&pg=about}}, which at this time owned 50% of Virgin Interactive. Titus would acquire most of the remaining shares in October 1999, absorbing the company completely by 2001{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20040603213620/http://www.titus-interactive.com/index.php?lang=en&pg=about}}.
-* ''[[Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Dune]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[The Terminator]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Heart of the Alien: Out of This World Parts I and II]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Links: The Challenge of Golf]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Trivial Pursuit Interactive Multimedia Game]]'' (1994)
-* ''[[Demolition Man]]'' (1995)
-===[[Game Gear]]===
+A management buy-out of the Spanish arm of Virgin Interactive in June 2002 led to the short lived [[Virgin Play]]{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20040603213620/http://www.titus-interactive.com/index.php?lang=en&pg=about}}. The rest of the company would be renamed Avalon Interactive on July 1, 2003.
-* ''[[Super Off Road]]'' (1992)
-* ''[[Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Mick & Mack as the Global Gladiators]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[RoboCop Versus The Terminator]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[Wolfchild]]'' (1993)
-* ''[[The Jungle Book]]'' (1994)
-===[[Saturn]]===
+==Softography==
-* ''[[Chaos Control]]'' (1995)
+{{CompanyHistoryAll|Virgin Interactive|Virgin Mastertronic|Virgin Games|Virgin Interactive Entertainment}}
-* ''[[Black Fire]]'' (1995)
-* ''[[Black Dawn]]'' (1996)
-* ''[[Earthworm Jim 2]]'' (1996)
-* ''[[F1 Challenge]]'' (1996)
-* ''[[Grid Runner]]'' (1996)
-* ''[[hyper 3-D Pinball]]'' (1996)
-*''[[Ryougae Puzzle Game Moudjiya]]'' (1996)
-* ''[[Spot Goes to Hollywood (Saturn)|Spot Goes to Hollywood]]'' (1997)
-* ''[[Crimewave]]'' (1997)
-* ''[[Grand Slam]]'' (1997)
-* ''[[NHL Powerplay '96]]'' (1997)
-===[[Dreamcast]]===
+==Promotional material==
-* ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' (2000)
+{{gallery
-* ''[[European Super League]]'' (2001)
+|{{galleryPrintAd
-* ''[[Jimmy White's 2: Cueball]]'' (2002)
+|cvg|134|116
+|text=Mega Drive/Master System software library print advert
+}}
 }}
+==Logos==
+<gallery>
+VirginMastertronic logo.png|Virgin Mastertronic
+VirginGames logo.png|Virgin Games
+VirginInteractiveEntertainment logo.png|Virgin Interactive (1993)
+VirginInteractive logo 2000.png|Virgin Interactive (1999)
+</gallery>
+==References==
+{{NECRetro|title=Virgin Interactive Entertainment}}
+<references />
+{{DistributorsEuropeWest}}

Difference between revisions of "Virgin Interactive"

From Sega Retro

Latest revision as of 16:15, 29 March 2024

Contents

History

Softography

Promotional material

Logos

References