Company:Vicious Cycle Software
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| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S. (2000) |
| Defunct | January 2016 |
| Headquarters | Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S. |
Key people | Eric Peterson, Founder/President and CEO Wayne Harvey, Founder/VP/CTO Dave Ellis, Founder/Senior Game Designer, Marc Racine Founder/Production Director, Senior Game Designer Brett Freese |
| Products | Vicious Engine |
| Parent | D3 Publisher (2007-2014) Little Orbit (2014-2016) |
| Divisions | Monkey Bar Games |
| Website | viciouscycleinc |
Vicious Cycle Software was an American video game development company based in Morrisville, North Carolina.
History
Vicious Cycle was founded in 2000 by Eric Peterson, Dave Ellis, Marc Racine, and Wayne Harvey after layoffs at the local MicroProse development studio (then a Hasbro Interactive studio) forced several game developers into finding other work. Racine resigned as Vice President and Director of Production in the Spring of 2005 to pursue other ventures. Ellis left the company in the Summer of 2000 but returned in 2005 to take a position as a game designer. Vicious Cycle has released titles for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation Portable systems as well as the Microsoft Windows platform.
In 2005, Vicious Cycle announced the opening of their Monkey Bar Games division. Monkey Bar Games was focused on providing mass-market games to gamers of all ages. Monkey Bar Games released video games incorporating licensed characters from Ben 10, Dora the Explorer, and Curious George. A game was also released in late 2006 to coincide with the release of the Flushed Away animated feature film.
On June 20, 2007, Vicious Cycle was acquired by D3 Publisher, making Vicious Cycle Software a subsidiary of D3Publisher of America and a second‐tier subsidiary of D3 Inc.[1] Vicious Cycle released Eat Lead for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 26, 2009. On October 1, 2009, they announced Matt Hazard for Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Store for winter 2009.[2]
In Spring of 2014, Vicious Cycle was acquired by Little Orbit.[3][4] As the final two games (Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations and Kung Fu Panda) neared completion, several rounds of layoffs reduced the studio to a skeleton crew. Vicious Cycle closed its doors permanently in January 2016.
Technology
Also in 2005, Vicious Cycle announced the release of their Vicious Engine game engine. The Vicious Engine is a complete game development middleware solution for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, Wii and Microsoft Windows. The Vicious Engine is one of the first game engines to offer full support for the PSP and Wii platforms.[citation needed]
The second version of the Vicious Engine, Ve2, was released on March 25, 2009, at the Game Developers Conference. It specifically features improvements for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[5]
Games
| Title | Year | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Robotech | 2002 | PS2, GameCube, Xbox |
| Dinotopia | 2003 | GameCube, Xbox |
| Robotech | 2004 | PS2, Xbox |
| Spy vs. Spy | 2005 | PS2, Xbox |
| Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet | 2005 | PS2, GameCube |
| Curious George | 2006 | PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Windows |
| Flushed Away | 2006 | PS2, GameCube |
| Marvel Trading Card Game | 2007 | PSP, Windows |
| Puzzle Quest | 2007 | PSP, XBLA |
| Dead Head Fred | 2007 | PSP |
| Ben 10: Alien Force | 2008 | Wii, PS2, PSP |
| Eat Lead | 2009 | Xbox 360, PS3 |
| Matt Hazard | 2010 | XBLA, PSN |
| Yogi Bear: The Video Game | 2010 | Wii |
| Despicable Me: The Game | 2010 | PS2, PSP, Wii |
| Earth Defense Force | 2011 | Xbox 360, PS3, Windows |
| Ben 10 | 2011 | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PlayStation Vita, 3DS |
| Ben 10: Omniverse | 2012 | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U |
| Madagascar 3: The Video Game | 2012 | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii |
| Turbo: Super Stunt Squad | 2013 | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U |
| Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures | 2013 | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS |
| Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 | 2014 | Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS |
| Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations | 2015 | Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows, Wii U, 3DS |
| Kung Fu Panda[6] | 2015 | Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows, Wii U, 3DS |
References
- ↑ Press Release: D3 Inc. Acquires Vicious Cycle Software from D3 website
- ↑ Press Release Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Coming to XBLA press release from TeamXbox.com
- ↑ "Little Orbit Acquires Vicious Cycle Software" (Press release). Little Orbit. September 4, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
The acquisition occurred in Spring of 2014...
- ↑ Ohnesorge, Lauren (September 12, 2014). "Vicious Cycle Software acquired - again; CEO says it means jobs". https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/techflash/2014/09/vicious-cycle-software-acquired-by-little-orbit.html.
- ↑ IGN Press Release
- ↑ Little Orbit (May 4, 2015). "Little Orbit Kicks Off Totally Epic Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends Video Game" (Press release). PR Newswire iReach. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
External links
- Vicious Cycle Software official site
- Monkey Bar Games official site
- Vicious Engine official site
- Vicious Cycle Software entry at MobyGames
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