EGames (video game developer)

Last updated
eGames Inc
Type Public
Industry Video games
Predecessor Romtech
Founded1992;32 years ago (1992)
Defunct2012;12 years ago (2012)
SuccessorTamino Minerals, Inc.
Headquarters Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Key people
Joseph A. Falsetti (Chairman, and co-founder)
John Baer (VP and co-founder)
Gerald W. Klein (President, CEO)
Thomas W. Murphy (CFO)
Rich Siporin (VP of Sales & Marketing)
Products PC games; see article
RevenueDecrease2.svg $3,956,000 USD (2008)
Number of employees
15 (2005)

eGames, Inc. was an American software publisher and developer for casual and traditional computer games based in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Contents

History

eGames was originally called Rom-Tech when it went public in 1996. The public company was formed by a merger between a software sales company (Romtech) and one of the first educational multi-media CD-ROM development companies called Applied Optical Media based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Soon after going public, Romtech acquired a software development company based in San Luis Obispo, California that created SOHO software, and also shut down operations at Applied Optical Media.

eGames' flight simulator Xtreme Air Racing was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Simulation on PC" award, which went to Flanker 2.5 . [1] In late 2005, eGames acquired Cinemaware, a game company founded in the eighties who produced a series of "interactive movie" games including widely acclaimed Defender of the Crown. In 2006, eGames released the first titles under its new affiliated label, Cinemaware Marquee. Through Cinemaware Marquee, eGames brought traditional games developed around the world to retail. Cinemaware Marquee titles include Space Rangers 2: Dominators , Independent Game Festival grand prize winner Darwinia , and Moscow to Berlin: Red Siege . eGames announced that it would be reviving many of the classic Cinemaware titles, beginning with Defender of the Crown.

With the September 2005 release of Boss Hunter: Revenge is Sweet!, an office-themed arcade-style game where the player chases their boss with a wide variety of work-related weaponry and early 2007 launch of Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever, eGames began in-house game development efforts working primarily with Brazil-based TechFront Studios, Ltd. eGames' third internally developed title, Burger Island launched in May 2007 in conjunction with Sandlot Games. It was distributed by Yahoo! Games for a two-week period, and was the number one downloadable game in terms of sales and downloads on Yahoo! in its debut week.[ citation needed ]

Following the success of Burger Island, eGames developed several additional titles with TechFront, including sequel Burger Island 2: The Missing Ingredient (2009), hidden object vampire adventure The Dracula Files (2009), pet adoption time management game Purrfect Pet Shop (2008), city-building puzzler Puzzle City (2007), fashion design time management game Satisfashion (2008), licensed puzzler Rubik's Cube Challenge (2007), and licensed comic hidden object game Three Stooges: Treasure Hunt Hijinx (2008). In addition to PC publication, Burger Island was released for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, and iOS platforms. Satisfashion was released on the Nintendo DS and Wii, while Puzzle City made its way to the DS.

eGames became known as Entertainment Games, following the acquisition of Heyday Games in June 2011.

Following this, the company focused its efforts on creating a Facebook game known as Retro World, [2] followed by an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign called Global Race Club.

Entertainment Games, Inc. ceased trading as an entertainment company in April 2012 due to financial difficulties. The company name, ticker symbol EGAM, and public company structure were acquired by a mining company, Tamino Minerals, in a reverse merger. [3] [4]

Bundled adware

eGames Inc. was one of the first companies to include advertising in their commercially bundled software. [5] Several eGames titles included adware called "TSAdBot" from the Conducent Affiliate Network. [6]

Cinemaware Marquee titles

Internally developed eGames titles

Related Research Articles

<i>Yoshis Cookie</i> 1992 video game

Yoshi's Cookie is a 1992 tile-matching puzzle video game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the NES and Game Boy platforms in 1992. A Super NES version was released the following year, developed and published by Bullet-Proof Software.

<i>Tetris Attack</i> 1995 video game

Tetris Attack, also known as Panel de Pon in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A Game Boy version was released a year later. In the game, the player must arrange matching colored blocks in vertical or horizontal rows to clear them. The blocks steadily rise towards the top of the playfield, with new blocks being added at the bottom. Several gameplay modes are present, including a time attack and multiplayer mode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumble Pak</span> Accessory for the Nintendo 64

The Rumble Pak is a removable device from Nintendo which provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player in the game. Versions of the Rumble Pak are available for the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo DS Lite. A select few Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance (GBA) games use a similar technology built into the game cartridge. Force feedback vibration has become a built-in standard feature in almost every home video game console controller since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinemaware</span> Video game developer

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.

<i>Darwinia</i> (video game) 2005 video game

Darwinia is a 2005 real-time tactics and real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It is the second game developed by Introversion Software, and is set within a computer environment that simulates artificial intelligence. It received favourable reviews and won three awards at the 2006 Independent Games Festival. A multiplayer sequel, Multiwinia, was released for Windows in 2008. Darwinia and Multiwinia were released together as Darwinia+ for the Xbox 360 in 2010.

<i>Pokémon</i> (video game series) Japanese video game series

Pokémon is a series of video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company under the Pokémon media franchise. It was created by Satoshi Tajiri with assistance from Ken Sugimori, the first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, were released in 1996 in Japan for the Game Boy, later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version. The main series of role-playing video games (RPGs), referred as the "core series" by their developers, has continued on each generation of Nintendo's handhelds. The most recently released core series games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, were released on November 18, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch.

<i>Star Wars</i> video games Video games based on the Star Wars franchise

Over one hundred video games based on the Star Wars franchise have been released, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on films while others rely heavily on the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

<i>Metroid Prime Pinball</i> 2005 video game

Metroid Prime Pinball is a pinball video game themed after the Metroid series. The game uses the graphical style and various story elements from Metroid Prime. It was developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America and Australia in 2005, in Japan in 2006, and in Europe in 2007. Metroid Prime Pinball uses the basic mechanics of pinball, along with typical pinball items. New mechanics are introduced, such as wall jumping and the ability to fire weapons. The Nintendo DS's touchscreen can be nudged with a finger to alter the pinball's trajectory while in motion.

<i>Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!</i> 2005 puzzle video game

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? in PAL regions, is an edutainment puzzle video game. It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has stated that it is an entertainment product inspired by Tohoku University professor Ryuta Kawashima's work in the neurosciences.

<i>Pokémon Ranger</i> 2006 Pokémon videogame spin-off

Pokémon Ranger is an action role-playing video game developed by HAL Laboratory and Creatures Inc. and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS video game console. The game was released on various dates, varying between continents. The game was released in Japan on March 23, 2006, in North America and Australia during 2006, and in Europe in April 2007. It was released on the European Wii U Virtual Console on February 25, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webfoot Technologies</span> American developer of personal computer games and video games

Webfoot Technologies is an American developer of personal computer games and video games for various platforms. Titles developed include Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals and various Dragon Ball Z games for the Game Boy Advance.

<i>Tetris DS</i> 2006 video game

Tetris DS is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS on March 20, 2006, in North America, April 13, 2006, in Australia, April 21, 2006, in Europe, and April 27, 2006, in Japan. An installment of the Tetris franchise, the game supports up to ten players locally, and supported online multiplayer of up to four players using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection prior to its discontinuation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Game Factory</span> Danish video game publishing company

The Game Factory was a Danish video game publisher operating in Europe and North America. The Game Factory was founded in 2004 and fully owned by K.E. Mathiasen A/S, with headquarters just outside Aarhus, Denmark. Its titles were distributed either by the company's own sales force in Scandinavia, their parent company K.E. Media or from their two fully owned subsidiaries in Santa Monica, California and London, England.

Two Tribes B.V. is an independent video game developer based in Harderwijk, Netherlands. Founded in 2001 by Martijn Reuvers and Collin van Ginkel, it develops its own intellectual property and games for franchises. The office closed in September 2016, after the release of Rive, but Two Tribes continues development of the Nintendo Switch version of Rive, as well as supporting older games.

<i>Boulder Dash: Rocks!</i> 2007 video game

Boulder Dash: Rocks! is an action video game by German studio 10tacle released for Nintendo DS in the PAL region. The game is a part of the Boulder Dash video game series. A PlayStation Portable version was scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2008.

indiePub American video game publisher

indiePub Entertainment, Inc. was a publisher of video games based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.

Telegames, Inc. is an American video game company based in Mabank, Texas, with a sister operation based in England.

<i>Mario vs. Donkey Kong</i> Video game series

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a crossover spin-off video game series of both the Mario and Donkey Kong franchises, based on puzzle platforming, marking the return of Pauline and the rivalry between Mario and Donkey Kong.

References

  1. ↑ GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot . Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.
  2. ↑ "Bucks County Gaming Company Brings Retro Style To Facebook". www.cbsnews.com.
  3. ↑ "Philadelphia region loses longtime game developer". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  4. ↑ "How a Langhorne gaming company became an Ariz. mining company". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  5. ↑ "Privacy Power! Adware, Badware, Spyware: Conducent (Timesink)". www.accs-net.com.
  6. ↑ "Advertising Spyware: TSADBOT by TimeSink / Conducent". www.cexx.org.

Notes

The company should not be confused with the e-games.com or eGames Inc, Malaysia which used to host MMO games, or E-Games Philippines-IP e-games, a wholly owned subsidiary of IPVG (Intellectual Property Ventures Group), a local game publisher in the Philippines.

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.