Company:Time Warner Interactive
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| Formerly | Time Warner Interactive Group (1993-1994) |
|---|---|
| Type | Division |
| Industry | Video games |
| Fate | Sold to WMS Industries, later transferred to Midway Games |
| Predecessor | Tengen |
| Founded | June 23, 1993 (as Time Warner Consumer Products) |
| Defunct | April 12, 1996 (North America) November 1996 (Europe) January 17, 1997 (Japan) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | |
| Parent | Time Warner |
| Subsidiaries | Atari Games |
Time Warner Interactive (TWI) was a video game developing and publishing division within Time Warner. It was formed in 1993 after Time Warner acquired a controlling interest in Atari Games, which was already partly held by Time Warner. It was active until 1996 when WMS Industries, the owners of the Williams, Bally and Midway arcade brands, bought the company.
Time Warner Interactive was responsible for games such as Rise of the Robots, Primal Rage, and T-MEK.
History
Time Warner Interactive was formed in 1984 as Warner New Media, and it was renamed to Time Warner Interactive Group in 1993.[3] In 1994, following the full acquisition of Atari Games by Time Warner, TWIG merged with Atari Games and its associated subsidiary Tengen to form Time Warner Interactive, which serve its functions as a video game and multimedia company.[4][5] In 1996, WMS Industries purchased it. Time Warner Interactive's home division, which was based in Milpitas, was previously known as Tengen, the consumer division of Atari Games, and it was extended to its existing Japanese division. Atari Games would continue to operate under its own name until March 29, 1996, when both it and Time Warner Interactive were bought by WMS Industries and was subsequently absorbed into Williams Entertainment (later renamed Midway Home Entertainment), while Atari Games became part of Midway, and eventually was renamed Midway Games West in 1999.
Time Warner also bought the UK publisher Renegade Software in 1995 and kept it independent as Warner Interactive Entertainment, before merging with the European arm of TWI in 1996. Both subsidiaries were short-lived; Time Warner Interactive was formed from the Atari Games acquisition in 1993 and sold to WMS Industries on March 29, 1996,[6] while Time Warner Interactive Japan dissolved in the same year due to WMS not seeing the merit of having a Japanese division in Japan due to how very costly it is for Midway to have a Japanese video game studio in their hands in Lost Decade situation, and European division of Time Warner Interactive (including Renegade Software) existed only two years before being sold to GT Interactive in November 1996 (GT Interactive are best known for distribution of Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D, and Quake as shareware).[7] Several titles begin development by TWI, including Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, was eventually released by Williams Entertainment after the acquisition.[8]
Time Warner would eventually regain ownership of the library of the former Time Warner Interactive when they acquired the assets of Midway in 2009.
List of games
| Release Date | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rise of the Robots | Amiga, Amiga CD32, DOS |  | |
| 1994 | The Lawnmower Man | Sega Genesis, Sega CD | | |
| 1994 | Red Zone | Sega Genesis | | |
| 1994 | Generations Lost | Sega Genesis | | |
| 1994 | Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers | Sega Genesis | | |
| 1994 | Dick Vitale's "Awesome, Baby!" College Hoops | Sega Genesis | |
|
| 1994 | Mega SWIV | Sega Genesis | | |
| 1994 | R.B.I. Baseball '94 | Game Gear | | |
| 1994 | Software:Tama: Adventurous Ball in Giddy Labyrinth | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | |
|
| 1994 | Kawasaki Superbike Challenge | Sega Genesis, Super NES | | |
| 1995 | Super R.B.I. Baseball | Super NES | | |
| 1995 | Cheese Cat-astrophe starring Speedy Gonzalez | Game Gear, Master System | | |
| 1995 | R.B.I. Baseball '95 | 32X | |
|
| 1995 | Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All-Stars | Sega Genesis, Super NES | |
|
| 1995 | T-MEK | 32X | | |
| 1995 | Race Drivin' | Sega Saturn | |
|
| 1995 | Primal Rage | 32X, Amiga, Atari Jaguar CD, DOS, Game Boy, Game Gear, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Super NES | | |
| 1995 | Power Drive Rally | Atari Jaguar | | |
| 1995 | Virtua Racing | Sega Saturn | | |
| 1995 | Endorfun | Windows | | |
| 1996 | Striker '96 | PlayStation | | |
| 1996 | Pitball | PlayStation | |
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| 1997 | Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru | Sega Saturn | |
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References
- ↑ "Primal Rage - PC Review". Coming Soon Magazine. 1995. http://www.csoon.com/issue7/prage.htm.
- ↑ Peter and the Wolf cover of instructions booklet
- ↑ Rothman, Matt (June 3, 1993). "TW revamps multimedia group" (in en-US). https://variety.com/1993/digital/news/tw-revamps-multimedia-group-107436/.
- ↑ Fisher, Lawrence M. (March 26, 1994). "COMPANY NEWS; Time Warner Increases Its Stake in Atari" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/26/business/company-news-time-warner-increases-its-stake-in-atari.html.
- ↑ Archives, L. A. Times (April 12, 1994). "Technology: Time Inc. said Monday that Cable..." (in en-US). https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-04-12-fi-45111-story.html.
- ↑ Webb, Marcus (June 1996). "WMS Acquires Time Warner/Atari Games". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (18): 26.
- ↑ SEC Info - Atari Inc - 10-Q - For 6/30/97
- ↑ "Time Warner Interactive plans Nintendo game" (in en). December 4, 1995. https://adage.com/article/news/time-warner-interactive-plans-nintendo-game/17412.
External links
- Midway Games West Inc. on MobyGames (includes the history as Time Warner Interactive Inc.)
- Time Warner Interactive Inc. on MobyGames
- Warner Interactive Entertainment Ltd. on MobyGames
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