Cinemaware
Encyclopedia
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
that released several popular titles in the 1980s based on various movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames
EGames
eGames, Inc. is a software publisher and developer for casual and traditional computer games based in Langhorne, PA.-History:EG was originally called E-games when it went public in 1996...
in 2005.
Cinemaware Corp. (1985-1991)
Founded in 1985 by Bob and Phyllis Jacob, Cinemaware's first title was the popular Defender of the CrownDefender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games....
, a swashbuckling
Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler or swasher is a term that emerged in the 16th century and has been used for rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen ever since. A possible explanation for this term is that it derives from a fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was applied with much...
adventure featuring graphics that were considered extraordinary for the era, and became the hallmark
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium...
of Cinemaware's games.
Cinemaware went on to release a string of hits based on a classic category of movies. Their games generally debuted on the most graphically powerful home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
of the era, the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, and then ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to others, such as the Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
(running under DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
) and the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games....
is the most ported Cinemaware game.
Cinemaware eventually expanded to sports games, with its "TV Sports" line. The "TV Sports" line covered basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
. Some "TV Sports" titles were only released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, such as TV Sports: Boxing and TV Sports: Baseball.
Cinemaware went bankrupt in 1991. While porting S.D.I.
S.D.I. (video game)
S.D.I. is a 1986 action adventure computer game developed and published by Cinemaware. The game is set during the Cold War.-Plot:...
to another system, one of the company's owners demanded the programmers
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
add more features, increasing the programming time and delaying the product's release. Coupled with falling sales of their other titles in the midst of an economic downturn, the company suffered. The company also suffered from software piracy, threatening to stop publishing Amiga games at several points because of the ease by which computer games could be copied. Many of their games, including Wings, were cracked and spread amongst gamers even before release.
Releases
Cinemaware's classic titles in chronological order:- Defender of the CrownDefender of the CrownDefender of the Crown is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games....
(swashbuckling movies; 1986, Apple IIGSApple IIGSThe Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, DOS, Macintosh) - S.D.I. (Cold warCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era space drama; 1986, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, DOS, Macintosh) - The King of ChicagoKing of ChicagoThe King of Chicago is a 1986 action adventure strategy computer game by Doug Sharp. Based on numerous Hollywood mobster movies, this game is set in the 1930s.-Description:...
(inspired by mobMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
movies; 1987, Apple IIGSApple IIGSThe Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh) - Sinbad and the Throne of the FalconSinbad and the Throne of the FalconSinbad and the Throne of the Falcon is a 1987 action adventure computer game developed and published by Cinemaware. It is set in a fantastical Arabian Nights-esque world...
(SinbadSinbadSinbad or Sindbad may refer to:* Sinbad the Sailor, from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, also known as Arabian Nights* Sinbad the Sailor, an alias of Edmond Dantes in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo...
and Arabian nights movies; 1987, Apple IIGSApple IIGSThe Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS) - The Three StoogesThe Three Stooges (video game)The Three Stooges is a video game originally released by Cinemaware in 1987 for the Commodore Amiga personal computer, based on the comedy act of the same name. In the game, players control Stooges Moe, Larry and Curly in minigames based on classic Stooges films with the aim of raising enough...
(The Three Stooges movies; 1987, Apple IIGSApple IIGSThe Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS, NES) - Rocket RangerRocket RangerRocket Ranger is a 1988 action adventure computer game developed and published by Cinemaware. The game is set in an alternate history World War II where Nazi scientists are about to make an astonishing breakthrough that will allow them to win the war...
(1950s science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
serials; 1988, Apple IIGSApple IIGSThe Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS, NES) - TV Sports: Football (1988, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS)
- Lords of the Rising SunLords of the Rising SunLords of the Rising Sun is a 1989 video game by Cinemaware, released for the Amiga among other systems. Like the earlier Defender of the Crown, it was a mix of map-based strategy and arcade-style mini games as the player - one of famous Japanese generals Yoshitsune or Yoritomo - fights to pacify...
(JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese SamuraiSamuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
movies; 1988, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) - It Came from the DesertIt Came From the DesertIt Came from the Desert is a 1989 computer game by Cinemaware. It was originally released for the Amiga, but later ported to other systems, as well as released in distinctly different forms to consoles....
(1950s science fiction/monster movies; 1989, Amiga, Atari ST, Mega Drive, Turbo Grafx 16, DOS) - The KristalThe KristalThe Kristal is an action game/adventure game first released in 1989 for the Commodore Amiga computer. It was later released for the Atari ST and DOS. It was developed by the UK-based company Fissionchip Software, and published in Europe by Addictive Games and in the USA by Cinemaware...
(1989, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) - TV Sports: Baseball (1989, Amiga)
- TV Sports: Basketball (1990, Amiga, DOS)
- Antheads: It Came from the Desert 2 (1990, Amiga)
- Wings (World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
movies; 1990, Amiga) - TV Sports: Boxing (1991, Amiga, DOS)
Cinemaware Inc. (2000-2005)
Lars Fuhrken-Batista later bought the Cinemaware trademark and associated intellectual property, founding Cinemaware Inc. in 2000. Cinemaware immediately developed recreations of its popular past titles, updated for Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and the Apple Macintosh. Dubbed the "Digitally Remastered" editions, these games feature the same gameplay as the originals, but with updated graphics. They also ported some of their older games to handheld systems, such as the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
.
On their website, they have also released disk image
Disk image
A disk image is a single file or storage device containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, CD/DVD/BD, or USB flash drive, although an image of an optical disc may be referred to as an optical disc image...
s of their original titles for use with emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
s and some are emulated via Shockwave
Macromedia Shockwave
Adobe Shockwave is a multimedia platform used to add animation and interactivity to web pages. It allows Adobe Director applications to be published on the Internet and viewed in a web browser on any computer which has the Shockwave plug-in installed...
.
The new Cinemaware also developed modern retakes on their classic games. Their first game in this endeavour was Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown is a video game made by Cinemaware and Capcom. It is loosely based on the legend of Robin Hood and remake of Cinemaware's previous very successful game, Defender of the Crown. It is for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows.-Plot:It is a time of great unrest in...
which features a modern 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
. It debuted in September 2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. Sales of this title seemed to have suffered due to insufficient marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and poor reviews.
Since the 1.02 patch
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
for Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown in December 2003, Cinemaware has made no official announcements for its other games. One developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
made a statement in the website's forums in October 2004 stating Cinemaware is still working on these projects, but no other announcements have been made since.
Releases
- Robin Hood: Defender of the CrownRobin Hood: Defender of the CrownRobin Hood: Defender of the Crown is a video game made by Cinemaware and Capcom. It is loosely based on the legend of Robin Hood and remake of Cinemaware's previous very successful game, Defender of the Crown. It is for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows.-Plot:It is a time of great unrest in...
(2003, PS2, Xbox, Windows) - Defender of the CrownDefender of the CrownDefender of the Crown is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games....
(GBA) - The Three StoogesThe Three Stooges (video game)The Three Stooges is a video game originally released by Cinemaware in 1987 for the Commodore Amiga personal computer, based on the comedy act of the same name. In the game, players control Stooges Moe, Larry and Curly in minigames based on classic Stooges films with the aim of raising enough...
(GBA, PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
) - Wings (2003, GBA)
- 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)
Acquisition
On October 6, 2005, Cinemaware was acquired by predominantly family oriented game publisher eGames, Inc., and Lars Furken-Batista became Vice President of Development. Shortly after the acquisition, eGames announced the launch of Cinemaware Marquee, a publishing label to be used to bring new games to the U.S. market. Their first published game was Space Rangers 2, a critically acclaimed space-adventure. They have also brought retail releases of DarwiniaDarwinia
Darwinia may refer to:*Darwinia , a genus of Myrtaceae found only in Australia*Darwinia , a 2005 video game by Introversion Software*Darwinia , a 1998 novel by Robert Charles Wilson...
from Introversion Software
Introversion Software
-History:The company was founded in 2001 by three friends, Chris Delay; Mark Morris; and Thomas Arundel, who met when they were undergraduates at Imperial College London...
, Moscow to Berlin from Monte Cristo
Monte Cristo (company)
Monte Cristo was a French computer game developer and publisher, based in Paris. It was established in 1995 by former Credit Suisse First Boston vice-president Jean-Marc de Fety and former Mars & Co strategy senior consultant Jean-Cristophe Marquis. The company was led by Jean-Christophe Marquis...
and Neighbours from Hell: On Vacation and Buccanneer's Bounty from German publisher Ascaron
Ascaron
Ascaron Entertainment was a video game developer based in Germany. Founded as Ascon and later renamed in October 1996 due to the possible confusion with the Swiss company Ascom AG, the company produced titles primarily for the PC until it was made insolvent in 2009.-Background and history:Ascaron...
to the American market.
In 2007, eGames released an Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
version of Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games....
for download via their website, entitled Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever.
External links
- Cinemaware's official website
- Cinemaware Marquee's official website
- Cinemaware profile from MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Interview with Bob Jacob, co-founder of Cinemaware