VIS Entertainment

Last updated

VIS Entertainment Limited
FormerlyVIS Interactive (1996–2000)
Type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
Founded1996;27 years ago (1996)
Founders
  • Chris van der Kuyl
  • Peter Baillie
Defunct7 April 2005 (2005-04-07)
Fate Administration
Successor 4J Studios
Headquarters
Edinburgh
,
Scotland
Key people
Chris van der Kuyl (president, CEO)
Number of employees
42 (2005)
Parent BAM! Entertainment (2004–2005)
Subsidiaries
  • State of Emergency Development
  • VIS iTV (50%)

VIS Entertainment Limited (formerly known as VIS Interactive) was a British video game developer based in Edinburgh. Chris van der Kuyl and Peter Baillie established the company in 1996. In 2003, VIS Entertainment faced financial struggles and closed its studios in London and on the Isle of Wight, while downsizing its VIS iTV joint venture. After BAM! Entertainment acquired the studio in May 2004, VIS Entertainment was placed into administration April 2005, subsequently being liquidated and dissolved.

Contents

History

Chris van der Kuyl founded VIS Interactive in 1996, alongside Peter Baillie, some former developers from DMA Design, and other "techy people" from outside the video game industry. [1] [2] A Dundee native, van der Kuyl headed the company as president and chief executive officer. [1] In 2000, VIS Interactive was renamed VIS Entertainment. [2]

In April 2003, the company acquired the London-based development studio of BAM! Entertainment. [3] In the same year, VIS Entertainment faced financial issues as reimbursements to investors meant that it could not finance its active projects. As a result, the company closed its studio on the Isle of Wight in July of that year, laying off all staf. [4] The company further announced the impending closure of its London studio in September 2003, citing project delays and cancellations. [5] In November, VIS iTV, a Dundee-based joint venture between VIS Entertainment and cable operator Telewest, laid off 75% of its staff. [6] Jane Karowoski, VIS Entertainment's chief operating officer whose task it was to implement cost reductions, subsequently announced her resignation. [7] VIS iTV's sole product, the "interactive virtual horseracing" project I-Race, was to debut on the newly established sports satellite channel iSports TV, but these plans never materialised and VIS iTV was placed into administration in December 2004. [8] [9] In January 2005, Bellwether Group, a California-based venture capital group, acquired VIS iTV and I-Race and hired five of its previous staff, intending to market the product in the United States. [9]

On 18 February 2004, BAM! Entertainment announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire VIS Entertainment and its subsidiary State of Emergency Development, which had been set up to fund development for State of Emergency 2 , for shares worth roughly US$7 million. [10] [11] The acquisition was completed by 25 May 2004. [12] [13] Despite the acquisition, VIS Entertainment was placed into administration on 7 April 2005. [14] [15] Tom Maclennan and Kenny Craig of Tenon Recovery were installed as administrators. [16] Subsequently, VIS Entertainment's Dundee studio was shut down down and its 26 employees laid off. [17] Another 28 positions were cut at the Edinburgh headquarters, with the remaining 42 "sent home" during the administration process. [17] VIS Entertainment founder van der Kuyl established 4J Studios on 19 April. [1] [18] The rights to State of Emergency 2 were sold to DC Studios announced in May 2005, and the company intended to hire between 10 and 40 former VIS Entertainment developers. [18] [19] The administration ended in March 2007 and, following its liquidation, the entity was dissolved in July 2014. [20]

Games

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)
1998 H.E.D.Z. Windows Hasbro Interactive
1999 Earthworm Jim 3D Nintendo 64, Windows Interplay Entertainment, Rockstar Games
2000 Tom and Jerry in Fists of Furry NewKidCo, Ubi Soft
2001 The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction Nintendo 64, PlayStation BAM! Entertainment
2002 State of Emergency PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox Rockstar Games, Global Star Software
Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers GameCube, PlayStation 2, XboxNewKidCo
The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage GameCube, PlayStation 2BAM! Entertainment
2003 Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick PlayStation 2, Xbox THQ
2005 Narc PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox Midway Games, Zoo Digital Publishing
Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360 Sony Computer Entertainment, Evolved Games, SouthPeak Games

Related Research Articles

EA Digital Illusions CE AB is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The company was founded in 1992 and has been a subsidiary of Electronic Arts since 2006. Its releases include the Battlefield, Mirror's Edge and Star Wars: Battlefront series. Through their Frostbite Labs division, the company also develops the Frostbite game engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebellion Developments</span> Video game company

Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its Sniper Elite series and multiple games in the Alien vs. Predator series. Sister company Rebellion Publishing has published comic books since 2000, when it purchased 2000 AD, the publisher of characters such as Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Leeds</span> British video game developer

Rockstar Leeds Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Leeds. Ian J. Bowden, Dave Box, Gordon Hall, and Jason McGann founded the company as Möbius Entertainment in December 1997 after working together at the studio Hookstone. Möbius worked with SCi on two games: Alfred's Adventure, a remake of the Twilight-developed Alfred Chicken, and the cancelled Titanium Angels. From 2001 on, the studio created Game Boy Advance games for several publishers, including multiple for The 3DO Company and Max Payne for Rockstar Games.

Eidos Interactive Limited was a British video game publisher based in Wimbledon, London. Its games series included Championship Manager (1992), Tomb Raider (1996) and Hitman (2000). Domark was founded by Mark Strachan and Dominic Wheatley in 1984. In 1995, it was acquired by software company Eidos. Ian Livingstone, who held a stake in Domark, became executive chairman of Eidos and held various roles including creative director. Eidos took over U.S. Gold in 1996, which included developer Core Design, and merged its operations including Domark, which created publishing subsidiary Eidos Interactive. The company acquired Crystal Dynamics in 1998, and owned numerous other assets. In 2005, parent Eidos was taken over by games publisher SCi. The combined company, SCi Entertainment Group, which was briefly renamed Eidos, was itself taken over by Square Enix in 2009.

Foundation 9 Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game company based in Irvine, California. The company was formed in March 2005 through the merger of video game developers Backbone Entertainment and The Collective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2K (company)</span> American video game publisher

2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several development studios owned by Take-Two, including Visual Concepts and Kush Games, which had been acquired the day before. Originally based in New York City, 2K moved to Novato in 2007. A third label, 2K Play, was added in September 2007. 2K is governed by David Ismailer as president and Phil Dixon as chief operating officer. It operates a motion capture studio in Petaluma, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar London</span> British video game developer

Rockstar London Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in London. Mark Washbrook established the company in November 2005 within Rockstar Games' European publishing offices. The studio's first game was Manhunt 2, which it took over from Rockstar Vienna after that studio was shut down in May 2006. Rockstar London later developed Midnight Club: L.A. Remix and co-led the development of Max Payne 3. Washbrook left the company in January 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visual Science (game company)</span> British video game developer

Visual Sciences Limited was a British video game developer based in Dundee and founded in 1993 by former DMA Design employee Russel Kay. Kay sold a controlling interest in the studio to Tim Christian—who had previously been hired as a non-executive chairman—in January 2005, with Christian becoming its chief executive officer. Following the cancellation of a project by Vivendi Universal Games and Visual Science's subsequent inability to secure further funding, the studio filed for administration and laid off all staff in February 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivendi Games</span> Defunct American video game company

Vivendi Games was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary of CUC International, after the latter acquired video game companies Davidson & Associates and Sierra On-Line. Between 1997 and 2001, the company switched parents and names multiple times before ending up organized under Vivendi Universal. On July 10, 2008, Vivendi Games merged with Activision to create Activision Blizzard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climax Studios</span> British video game developer

Climax Studios is a British video game developer based in Portsmouth that is best known for their work on the 2004 action role-playing game Sudeki and the 2007 and 2009 survival horror video games Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from the Silent Hill franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BAM! Entertainment</span> American dormant video game publisher

BAM! Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in San Jose, California, that was founded by Ray Musci in October 1999. BAM!'s partnership with Cartoon Network in 2000 led to the development of a number of licensed video games featuring Cartoon Network IPs, including The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Ed, Edd n Eddy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4J Studios</span> British video game developer

4J Studios Limited is a British independent video game developer based in Dundee. It has a second office located in East Linton. Founded in April 2005 by VIS Entertainment alumni Chris van der Kuyl, Paddy Burns and Frank Arnot, the company is best known for porting Minecraft to consoles and handheld platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firebrand Games</span> British video game developer

Firebrand Games Limited is a British video game developer based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was founded by chief executive officer Mark Greenshields in 2006 and has operated a second office in Merritt Island, Florida, since September 2007.

Rocksteady Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London, England. Founded on 13 December 2004, the studio is best known for its work in the Batman: Arkham series. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Relentless Software</span> Defunct British video game company

Relentless Software was a British video game company formed in 2003 that was based in Brighton. The company was best known for developing 12 games in the BAFTA award-winning and multi-million selling Buzz! franchise from 2005 to 2010. Relentless released its first self-published title, Blue Toad Murder Files on PC and PSN in 2009 and Quiz Climber Rivals, for iPhone in 2011. Relentless has also developed Air Band and Mutation Station, for the Kinect Fun Labs series. In 2012 it released Kinect Nat Geo TV, after which co-founder David Amor left the studio. In 2014 the studio released Murder Files: The Enigma Express on iOS, Google Play, Google Chrome and Kindle Fire. In 2016, the studio was shut down. The studio was working on an unannounced title for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One prior to its closure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubisoft Quebec</span> Canadian video game development company

Ubisoft Quebec is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Quebec City. The studio was established in June 2005 and is best known for its work in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

Team17 Group plc is a British video game developer and publisher based in Wakefield, England. The venture was created in December 1990 through the merger of British publisher 17-Bit Software and Swedish developer Team 7. At the time, the two companies consisted of and were led by Michael Robinson, Martyn Brown and Debbie Bestwick, and Andreas Tadic, Rico Holmes and Peter Tuleby, respectively. Bestwick later became and presently serves as Team17's chief executive officer. After their first game, Full Contact (1991) for the Amiga, the studio followed up with multiple number-one releases on that platform and saw major success with Andy Davidson's Worms in 1995, the resulting franchise of which still remains as the company's primary development output, having developed over 20 entries in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AAA (video game industry)</span> High-budget video game

In the video game industry, AAA (Triple-A) is an informal classification used to classify video games produced and distributed by a mid-sized or major publisher, which typically have higher development and marketing budgets than other tiers of games. In the mid-2010s, the term "AAA+" was used to describe AAA type games that generated additional revenue over time, in a similar fashion to massively multiplayer online games, by using games-as-a-service methods such as season passes and expansion packs. The similar construction "III" (Triple-I) has also been used to describe high-production-value games in the indie game industry.

DC Studios Inc. was a British video game developer based in Montreal, Canada. Founded by Mark Greenshields in December 1999, it was originally located in Glasgow, and later expanded to Montreal, Edinburgh, and Dublin. Following the underperformance of State of Emergency 2, which the company had acquired from VIS Entertainment, DC Studios closed its Scotland operations in June 2006. The remaining Montreal office was closed in September 2007. Both offices were replaced by ones for Greenshields' newer venture, Firebrand Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attention to Detail</span> British video game developer

Attention to Detail Ltd (ATD) was a British video game developer based in Hatton. Founded by University of Birmingham graduates in September 1988, it was acquired by Kaboom Studios in January 1997. The studio shut down in August 2003 due to financial issues at Kaboom Studios. The studio is known for developing the Rollcage series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elliott, Phil (12 August 2008). "4J's Chris van der Kuyl". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Games studio looking to give city another J". The Courier & Advertiser . 23 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019– via PressReader.
  3. ↑ "VIS Entertainment Axes London Studio". IGN . 3 October 2003. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Fahey, Rob (1 August 2003). "VIS studio shuts as developer faces financial crisis". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Fahey, Rob (30 September 2003). "VIS shuts London studio". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Fahey, Rob (20 November 2003). "Layoffs at VIS-ITV, but I-Race project still in the running". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Jenkins, David (20 November 2003). "VIS Joint Venture Suffers Staff Loss". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Fahey, Rob (2 December 2003). "VIS-iTV to launch i-Race on UK satellite". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  9. 1 2 Welsh, James (30 January 2005). "Vis iTV bought by US venture capital group". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  10. ↑ Fahey, Rob (19 February 2004). "BAM! Entertainment buys VIS in $8.5 million share deal". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  11. ↑ Jenkins, David (18 February 2004). "BAM! Losses Lessen; Acquires VIS Entertainment". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  12. ↑ Jenkins, David (25 February 2004). "BAM! Revenues Fall; VIS Acquisition Accepted". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  13. ↑ Fahey, Rob (26 May 2004). "BAM reports Q3 loss, completes VIS acquisition". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  14. ↑ Fahey, Rob (7 April 2005). "VIS goes into administration; Dundee studio shut down". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  15. ↑ Feldman, Curt (8 April 2005). "VIS Entertainment files for bankruptcy". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "It's game over for VIS". The Scotsman . 8 April 2005. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  17. 1 2 Jenkins, David (7 April 2005). "VIS Entertainment Enters Administration". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  18. 1 2 "New State of Emergency declared as Glasgow firm takes on game". The Scotsman . 1 May 2005. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  19. ↑ Gibson, Ellie (3 May 2005). "DC Studios picks up State of Emergency 2". GamesIndustry.biz . Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  20. ↑ "VIS Entertainment Limited – Insolvency". Companies House. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.