Cinemaware
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2010) |
Industry | Video games |
---|---|
Founded | January 1986[1] |
Founders | Robert Jacob Phyllis Jacob |
Defunct | 1991 |
Products | Defender of the Crown It Came from the Desert Wings |
Website | cinemaware.com (archived) |
Cinemaware was a video game developer and publisher. It had released several titles in the 1980s based on various film themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.
Cinemaware Corp. (1986–1991)
The company was founded in January 1986 by Phyllis and Robert “Bob” Jacob. Cinemaware's first title was Defender of the Crown, a strategy computer game originally released for the Commodore Amiga. Bob Jacob was a film buff, and Cinemaware released other games based on classic film genres which were made as an attempt to emphasize action, graphics, and ease of play.[1] Its games generally debuted on the most graphically powerful home computers of the era, the Amiga, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST, and then ported to others, such as the Commodore 64, PC (running under MS-DOS), and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Defender of the Crown is the most ported Cinemaware game.[2]
Cinemaware expanded to
By 1990, the
Releases
Cinemaware's titles include the following:
- Defender of the Crown (swashbuckling movies; 1986, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Macintosh, CD-I)
- S.D.I. (Cold War era space drama; 1986, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MS-DOS, Macintosh)
- The King of Chicago (inspired by mob movies; 1987, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Macintosh)
- Arabian nights movies; 1987, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS)
- The Three Stooges (The Three Stooges short subjects; 1987, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Commodore 64, MS-DOS)
- Rocket Ranger (1950s science fiction serials; 1988, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS)
- TV Sports: Football (1988, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, TG-16)
- Lords of the Rising Sun (Japanese Samurai movies; 1988, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, TG-16, CD-I)
- Disney's Cartoon Arcade (1989 Viewmaster Interactive Vision)
- It Came from the Desert (1950s science fiction/monster movies; 1989, Amiga, Atari ST, Mega Drive, TG-16, MS-DOS)
- The Kristal (1989, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS)
- TV Sports: Baseball(1989, Amiga, TG-16)
- TV Sports: Basketball (1990, Amiga, MS-DOS, TG-16)
- Antheads: It Came from the Desert 2 (1990, Amiga)
- Wings (World War I movies; 1990, Amiga)
- TV Sports: Boxing(1991, Amiga, MS-DOS)
Cinemaware Inc. (2000–2005)
Lars Fuhrken-Batista later bought the Cinemaware trademark and associated intellectual property, founding Cinemaware Inc. in 2000.
The new Cinemaware developed newer versions of their classic games. Their first game in this endeavor was
Releases
- Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown (2003, PS2, Xbox, Windows)
- Defender of the Crown (2002, GBA)
- The Three Stooges (GBA, PlayStation)
- Wings (2003, GBA)
- [Torrente (video game)]] (2003, Windows)
- Defender of the Crown: Digitally Remastered Edition (Windows, Macintosh)
- The Three Stooges: Digitally Remastered Edition (2002, Windows, Mac)
- Wings: Digitally Remastered Edition (postponed, Windows, Mac)
- Lords of the Rising Sun: Digitally Remastered Edition (postponed, Windows, Mac)
- Wings Remastered (2014, Windows, Mac)
Acquisition
On October 6, 2005, Cinemaware was acquired by predominantly family-oriented game publisher
Cinemaware rights acquisition by Starbreeze (2016)
In May 2016, Swedish game developer and publisher
- The Cinemaware brand
- Defender of the Crown
- Wings
- The King of Chicago
- Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon
- Lords of the Rising Sun
- Rocket Ranger
- It Came from the Desert
- Antheads: It Came from the Desert 2
- S.D.I.
- TV Sports: Basketball
- TV Sports: Baseball
- TV Sports: Boxing
- TV Sports: Football
- TV Sports: Hockey
The rights include all brands, websites, existing products, and licenses including the Cinemaware label.[7]
Cinemaware rights acquisition by Nordcurrent (2024)
In January 2024, Lithuanian game developer and publisher Nordcurrent acquired all Cinemaware intellectual property rights from Starbreeze. The company states that this aligns with the company's vision to establish its division Nordcurrent Labs in the PC and console games publishing sector.[8]
References
- ^ a b Maher, Jimmy (2015-04-16). "Defender of the Crown". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
Jacob pulled the trigger on Cinemaware at last in January of 1986
- ^ "Cinemaware Corporation games". MobyGames. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ "Cinemaware To Debut Spotlight Software" (PDF). Computer Entertainer. March 1989. p. 9. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ "Special Report: To Cinemaware, "Coin-Op, Home Games & Computer Games Are All One Industry". RePlay. Vol. 15, no. 5. February 1990. p. 48.
- ^ a b Cinemaware, Inc., Macrovision, retrieved 2008-08-20[dead link]
- ^ To Arms! New Defender of the Crown Unleashed on www.eGames.com, eGames, archived from the original on 2007-06-19, retrieved 2008-08-20
- ^ Starbreeze pressrelease: Starbreeze acquires the rights to Cinemaware’s classic video game catalogue, including “It Came From the Desert”, “Defender of the Crown” & “Wings” Archived 2019-12-21 at the Wayback Machine, 31 May 2016, Retrieved on 21 August 2017.
- ^ ""Nordcurrent expands its portfolio with acquisition of legendary Cinemaware catalog " - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
External links
- Official website (archived via Wayback Machine)
- Cinemaware at MobyGames