Piranha Interactive Publishing
Encyclopedia
Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc. was an Arizona
, USA software publishing firm founded in 1995 with seven principals. The business plan was to secure and publish third-party developer
software, thus avoiding the high risk and cost of in-house development, and therefore passing on higher royalties
to the licensed developers.
The corporation secured several retail titles in both educational and entertainment genres in the first few years of operation. Early successes led to a successful multi-million dollar Initial Public Offering
(IPO) on NASDAQ
in late 1997.
Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc. Terminates Operations'
For Immediate Release
(July 9, 1999) Tempe, Arizona - Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc.
Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc. announced today that it has ceased operations effective as of the close of business on Friday, July 2, 1999. The Company has been unable to generate sufficient cashflow from its operations to meet its expenses and has been unable to secure additional working capital
. The Company's securities were delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap market as of the close of business on June 23rd. The lack of an active market for Company's securities drastically limited the Company's ability to secure additional capital. The Company is in the process of liquidating
all remaining assets and the proceeds will be distributed to creditors. The Company's liabilities are far in excess of its assets. The final distribution to creditors is expected to be de minimis
.
, an interactive astronomy
program that was the winner of the 1999 Codie "Excellence In Software" Award for "Best New Home Education For Teenagers and Adults."
Some other Piranha titles included:
The company also published a number of compilations (or "Piranha Packs") of educational, productivity and entertainment titles.
as to which companies were affiliated with Piranha Interactive.
For example, one site erroneously indicates that Piranha Interactive was an American label of MacMillan Software, Ltd., a British firm. While Piranha Interactive licensed several of its titles to foreign publishers for distribution in other countries, the two companies were distinct and never collaborated on software publishing efforts. However, MacMillan Software did have an in-house Piranha label for some of their titles, giving rise to the confusion.
At least two firms appear to have been using some variation of the Piranha name and/or a variation of the logo: Piranha Bytes
Software GmbH (founded in 1997) and Piranha Games
.
Another source of confusion is the suggestion that the company was reconstituted in 2000 as Tiburon Interactive Publishing, Inc. However, Piranha completely closed operations in 1999 and is no longer extant. Shortly thereafter, two of the former Piranha employees bought the licenses to some of the software titles and continue to publish them under a different company, Tiburon Interactive.
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, USA software publishing firm founded in 1995 with seven principals. The business plan was to secure and publish third-party 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...
software, thus avoiding the high risk and cost of in-house development, and therefore passing on higher royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
to the licensed developers.
The corporation secured several retail titles in both educational and entertainment genres in the first few years of operation. Early successes led to a successful multi-million dollar Initial Public Offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
(IPO) on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
in late 1997.
Closing
The company continued operations until cash-flow problems forced it out of business in July 1999. Piranha Interactive Publishing did not file for Bankruptcy; rather, they closed their doors and liquidated their assets. The following press release was sent out and posted on the company's web site:Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc. Terminates Operations'
For Immediate Release
(July 9, 1999) Tempe, Arizona - Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc.
Piranha Interactive Publishing, Inc. announced today that it has ceased operations effective as of the close of business on Friday, July 2, 1999. The Company has been unable to generate sufficient cashflow from its operations to meet its expenses and has been unable to secure additional working capital
Working capital
Working capital is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Net working capital is...
. The Company's securities were delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap market as of the close of business on June 23rd. The lack of an active market for Company's securities drastically limited the Company's ability to secure additional capital. The Company is in the process of liquidating
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
all remaining assets and the proceeds will be distributed to creditors. The Company's liabilities are far in excess of its assets. The final distribution to creditors is expected to be de minimis
De minimis
De minimis is a Latin expression meaning about minimal things, normally in the locutions de minimis non curat praetor or de minimis non curat lex .In risk assessment it refers to a level of risk that is too small to be concerned with...
.
Software
Piranha Interactive's most successful published software title was RedShift 3RedShift (planetarium software)
Redshift is planetarium software created by Maris Multimedia. It runs on PC with Microsoft Windows and iPad.- Description :Redshift is a group of educational planetarium and astronomy software packages that allow the user to observe the sky from a range of dates, print off data based on the...
, an interactive astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
program that was the winner of the 1999 Codie "Excellence In Software" Award for "Best New Home Education For Teenagers and Adults."
Some other Piranha titles included:
- Air Blocks (IBM PCIBM PCThe IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
) - Ancient Origins (IBM PC) (Macintosh)
- Dead Reckoning (IBM PC)
- Extreme Tactics (IBM PC)
- Majestic (Hybrid WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft 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...
/Macintosh) - Morpheus (Hybrid Windows/Macintosh)
- Planetary Missions (IBM PC) (Macintosh)
- Preschool Mother Goose (Hybrid Windows/Macintosh)
- Revenge of the Toys (IBM PC)
- Skybase (IBM PC) (Macintosh)
- Syn-Factor (Hybrid Windows/Macintosh)
The company also published a number of compilations (or "Piranha Packs") of educational, productivity and entertainment titles.
Affiliations
There is some confusion on the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
as to which companies were affiliated with Piranha Interactive.
For example, one site erroneously indicates that Piranha Interactive was an American label of MacMillan Software, Ltd., a British firm. While Piranha Interactive licensed several of its titles to foreign publishers for distribution in other countries, the two companies were distinct and never collaborated on software publishing efforts. However, MacMillan Software did have an in-house Piranha label for some of their titles, giving rise to the confusion.
At least two firms appear to have been using some variation of the Piranha name and/or a variation of the logo: Piranha Bytes
Piranha Bytes
Piranha Bytes is a German computer game developer known for their Gothic computer role-playing game series.-History:On 12 October 1997, as part of the development of the computer game Gothic, the Piranha Bytes Software GmbH founded the company in Greenwood out by Alex Brueggemann, Mike Hoge, Stefan...
Software GmbH (founded in 1997) and Piranha Games
Piranha Games
Piranha Games Inc. is a Canadian computer game developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company was founded by two members Russ Bullock President and Executive Producer and Bryan Ekman, VP and Creative Director...
.
Another source of confusion is the suggestion that the company was reconstituted in 2000 as Tiburon Interactive Publishing, Inc. However, Piranha completely closed operations in 1999 and is no longer extant. Shortly thereafter, two of the former Piranha employees bought the licenses to some of the software titles and continue to publish them under a different company, Tiburon Interactive.