2003 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Tony Hawk's Underground, Madden NFL 2004, NBA Live 2004, ESPN NBA Basketball, Saya no Uta: The Song of Saya, Final Fantasy X-2, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Sonic Heroes, Postal 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. New intellectual properties included Beyond Good & Evil, Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand, Call of Duty, Disgaea, Drakengard, Manhunt, PlanetSide, TrackMania, True Crime: Streets of LA, and Viewtiful Joe.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in Washington, D.C. Most of the top publishers in the gaming world are members of the ESA.
Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game development and publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo. The company gained recognition for its adventure games, such as the commercially successful titles Dune, Dragon Lore and Atlantis: The Lost Tales, along with the racing series MegaRace.
Gathering of Developers, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in New York City. Founded by Mike Wilson and associates in January 1998 and originally based in Dallas, the company was acquired by Take-Two Interactive in May 2000. Between May 2000 and March 2001, Gathering of Developers also operated a division, On Deck Interactive, which acted as their mass market label. In August 2001, Take-Two Interactive closed Gathering of Developers' Dallas headquarters and moved the label in-house, to New York City. The label was shut down in September 2004, with all assets consumed by Global Star Software.
DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. was a Canadian video game publisher founded in 1996 by Richard Wah Kan. It was best known for its adventure games. In 2006, the company became a subsidiary of JoWooD Entertainment. In 2011, the company went into administration along with its parent JoWooD and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games Holding. The DreamCatcher Interactive brand is currently being used as a publishing label for THQ Nordic.
The Adventure Company was a Canadian video game developer and a former publishing division of DreamCatcher Interactive. It was sold to THQ Nordic GmbH in 2011 following DreamCatcher's parent assets being sold after entering administration.
Atlantis: The Lost Tales is a 1997 fantasy adventure video game developed and published by Cryo Interactive Entertainment. Interplay Productions published the game in North America, where it released on September 30, 1997. The game is named after its initial and most important setting, Atlantis. It is the first in a Myst-like series, and was followed by Atlantis II, Atlantis III: The New World, Atlantis Evolution and The Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy.
Gotham Games, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in New York City. Founded in July 2002 and headed by Jamie Leece, the company was shut down in December 2003.
Nick Delios - Conspiracies, known also as Conspiracies, is a FMV adventure video game developed by Greek studio Anima Interactive and published by Got Game Entertainment in North America, with GMX Media handling distribution in Europe. It is the first installment in the Conspiracies series of video games, and the first Greek adventure game to receive an international retail release. A sequel, Conspiracies II - Lethal Networks, was released in March 2011.
Atlantis II, known as Beyond Atlantis in North America, is a 1999 graphic adventure game developed and published by Cryo Interactive. The sequel to Atlantis: The Lost Tales, it follows the story of Ten, a mystical being that travels across time to defeat the Bearer of Dark. Players assume the role of Ten and solve puzzles in locations such as Ireland, the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and China.
Atlantis III: The New World,, is a 2001 fantasy adventure video game developed and published by Cryo Interactive, with Dreamcatcher Interactive publishing the game in North America. David Rhodes composed the musical score. It is the third game in the Atlantis series by Cryo, as well as the last one made before Cryo's closure. It was followed by Atlantis Evolution in 2004.
Kheops Studio was an independent video game development studio created in September 2003. Its games were published by Microïds, which acquired the brand and intellectual property as insolvency assets of Cryo Interactive in 2002. The company was co-founded by Benoît Hozjan, who also served as the creative director for the studio and Stéphane Petit, who served as technical director. Kheops developed adventure games for the PC platform and released several major successful games. The studio is best known for creating games that have been described by the developer as "cultural entertainment", that is, games which are heavily drawn from historical or literary sources to include a mixture of history and fiction. After filing for bankruptcy, the studio was closed down in January 2012.
The Crystal Key is a 1999 graphic adventure video game developed by Earthlight Productions and published by DreamCatcher Interactive. A work of science fiction, it casts the player as an interstellar explorer on a quest to save Earth from Ozgar, a malevolent alien conqueror. The player uses portals to traverse multiple planets, including desert and jungle worlds, while collecting items and solving puzzles. The Crystal Key was conceived by John and Jennifer Matheson in the mid-1990s, and it underwent a five-year creation process hampered by problems with its technology. It was signed by DreamCatcher as part of the publisher's strategic push into the adventure game genre.
Egypt 2: The Heliopolis Prophecy is an adventure video game developed and published by Cryo Interactive for the PC and PlayStation in 2000. It was released for Mac OS X in May 2012. Egypt 2 follows Egypt 1156 B.C. and is followed by Egypt III.
Egypt III, known as The Egyptian Prophecy in North America, is a 2004 graphic adventure game developed by Kheops Studio and published by The Adventure Company. The player must solve an array of ancient riddles that will help a dying Pharaoh survive and restore Egypt to glory. The game is the third and final game in the Egypt trilogy, following Egypt 1156 B.C. and Egypt II: The Heliopolis Prophecy. In 2010, Microïds released an adaptation of the game, split into parts, for the Apple iPhone.
Thorgal: Curse of Atlantis, known in Europe as Thorgal: Odin's Curse, is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Cryo Interactive Entertainment and published by Le Lombard in 2002.
Salammbo: Battle for Carthage is a first-person perspective adventure video game. It began development at Cryo Interactive, but the company went bankrupt during production. The Salammbo team was ultimately acquired by DreamCatcher Interactive, which finished the game's development.
Crystal Key 2, known in Europe as Evany: Key to a Distant Land, is a 2004 graphic adventure game developed by Canadian studio Earthlight Productions, together with Kheops Studio. It was published by The Adventure Company, and is the sequel to the 1999 title The Crystal Key.
Traitors Gate is a 1999 graphic adventure game developed by Daydream Software. Set in a reproduction of the Tower of London, it follows the story of Raven, an American special agent trying to steal and replace the Crown Jewels of England to safeguard them from a rogue operative. The player assumes the role of Raven and solves puzzles within the Tower while evading the guards. Progression through the game is nonlinear and under a time limit: the player may solve certain challenges in multiple ways, but must win before 12 hours elapse.
Ultimate Beach Soccer, released as Pro Beach Soccer in Europe, is a beach football video game developed by PAM Development and published by DreamCatcher Interactive and Wanadoo in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows.
