Toys For Bob
Encyclopedia
Toys For Bob is a small video game developer
founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III
and Fred Ford. They are most known for creating Star Control
and its sequel Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters, but they were not involved in the development of Star Control 3
. After this they went on to create a number of games for Crystal Dynamics
, including the hectic combination of action and strategy, The Horde
, Pandemonium
and The Unholy War
(as well as Little Witching Mischiefs in Japan
for Bandai
).
This relationship with Crystal Dynamics ended in 2002. The company was bought by Activision
on May 3, 2005, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary
. The management team and employees have all signed long-term contracts with Activision, which is owned by Vivendi, and Toys For Bob will remain in place in Novato, California
.
On February 12, 2011, it was revealed that Toys for Bob has been working on the next Spyro game in the series for Activision
, known as: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
.
The name Toys for Bob was invented by Laurie Lessen-Reiche; it was chosen to stimulate curiosity and allude to Paul and Fred's appreciation of real toys.
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...
founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III
Paul Reiche III
Paul Reiche III is a game designer, particularly for computer games. Reiche is best known for being the co-creator, together with Fred Ford, of the Star Control universe.-Pen and paper RPGs:...
and Fred Ford. They are most known for creating Star Control
Star Control
Star Control is a science fiction computer game that was developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in the early 1990s. Star Control still enjoys a cult following...
and its sequel Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters, but they were not involved in the development of Star Control 3
Star Control 3
Star Control 3 is a video game developed by Legend Entertainment. They were hired by Accolade to create a sequel of Star Control II when the original creators Toys For Bob expressed no interest in creating the sequel with the same budget as Star Control II...
. After this they went on to create a number of games for Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
, including the hectic combination of action and strategy, The Horde
The Horde (video game)
The Horde is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time...
, Pandemonium
Pandemonium (video game)
Pandemonium! is a platform game, for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows, N-Gage, and iPhone OS. It features Fargus, a joker, and Nikki, who unwittingly casts a spell that destroys the town. The goal of the game is to reach the Wishing Engine, where they can wish the town back to...
and The Unholy War
The Unholy War
The Unholy War is a PlayStation game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in Europe and Eidos Interactive in North America. It is a fighting game in which characters fight in a 3D environment using mêlée and projectile attacks...
(as well as Little Witching Mischiefs in Japan
Japan
Japan 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...
for Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
).
This relationship with Crystal Dynamics ended in 2002. The company was bought by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
on May 3, 2005, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
. The management team and employees have all signed long-term contracts with Activision, which is owned by Vivendi, and Toys For Bob will remain in place in Novato, California
Novato, California
Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . The 2010 U.S. Census estimated the city population to be about 51,904. Novato is about ...
.
On February 12, 2011, it was revealed that Toys for Bob has been working on the next Spyro game in the series for Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, known as: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a spin-off game in the Spyro series. It was published by Activision and developed by Toys for Bob. Vicarious Visions developed the Nintendo 3DS release. It was released on October 12, 2011 in Australia for the PC and October 13, 2011 on other consoles. The game was...
.
The name Toys for Bob was invented by Laurie Lessen-Reiche; it was chosen to stimulate curiosity and allude to Paul and Fred's appreciation of real toys.
Games
| Title | Release | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Star Control Star Control Star Control is a science fiction computer game that was developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in the early 1990s. Star Control still enjoys a cult following... |
1990 1990 in video gaming -Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America... |
DOS DOS DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related... , Sega Genesis |
| Star Control II Star Control II Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters is a critically acclaimed science fiction computer game, the second game in the Star Control trilogy. It was developed by Toys for Bob and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for PC; it was later ported to the 3DO with an enhanced multimedia presentation,... |
1992 1992 in video gaming -Events:-Notable releases:* Gremlin Graphics releases Zool, Amiga's answer to Mario and Sonic. It goes on to become the best selling Commodore Amiga game, boosting the already popular computer to be the leading gaming machine in Europe.... |
3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by... , DOS DOS DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related... |
| The Horde The Horde (video game) The Horde is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time... |
1994 1994 in video gaming -Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project... |
3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by... , MS-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... |
| Pandemonium Pandemonium (video game) Pandemonium! is a platform game, for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows, N-Gage, and iPhone OS. It features Fargus, a joker, and Nikki, who unwittingly casts a spell that destroys the town. The goal of the game is to reach the Wishing Engine, where they can wish the town back to... |
1996 1996 in video gaming -Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters.... |
PlayStation, Sega Saturn Sega Saturn The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe... |
| The Unholy War The Unholy War The Unholy War is a PlayStation game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in Europe and Eidos Interactive in North America. It is a fighting game in which characters fight in a 3D environment using mêlée and projectile attacks... |
1998 1998 in video gaming -Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards... |
PlayStation |
| Maikko Dai Sakusen: Little Witching Mischiefs | 1999 1999 in video gaming -Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”... |
Playstation |
| 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue is a videogame based on the live-action Disney movie 102 Dalmatians. It made its debut in 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation... |
2000 2000 in video gaming -Events:* May 11–13 — 6th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo ; the 3rd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³* June 26 — International Game Developers Association renamed from Computer Game Developers Association... |
PlayStation |
| Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is a sports video game released by Toys For Bob. It utilizes the same game engine as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 by Neversoft and features characters from Toy Story, The Lion King and Tarzan.-Gameplay:... |
2003 2003 in video gaming -Events:*February 27 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Yu Suzuki of Sega to the AIAS Hall of Fame.... |
Nintendo Gamecube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... , 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... , 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... |
| Madagascar Madagascar (video game) Madagascar is a video game of the action-adventure genre released in 2005 by Toys for Bob for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and GameCube. The game is based on the animated movie of the same name,... |
2005 2005 in video gaming -Events:*March 6 — The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within video game controversy. This segment of 60 Minutes has been criticized by video game players for encouraging video game censorship.... |
Nintendo Gamecube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... , 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... , 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... |
| Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is a video game in the Tony Hawk series. The game was a launch title for Nintendo's Wii, and is also available for the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2.... |
2006 2006 in video gaming -Events:* January 26, 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model is lighter, smaller, has configurable brightness and features an improved user interface.* January 26, 2006 -- Konami Corp... |
Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... |
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | 2008 2008 in video gaming Notable events of 2008 in video gaming. See also history of video games. The release dates listed in this article are the games' original release dates.-Events:... |
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... , PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... , Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
| Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a spin-off game in the Spyro series. It was published by Activision and developed by Toys for Bob. Vicarious Visions developed the Nintendo 3DS release. It was released on October 12, 2011 in Australia for the PC and October 13, 2011 on other consoles. The game was... |
2011 | Mac OS X Mac OS X Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems... , Microsoft Windows Microsoft 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... , PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , Wii Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others... , Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... |
External links
- Toys For Bob official website
- Toys For Bob company overview 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...