Company:RedSpotGames

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RedSpotGames
TypePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2005
FounderMax Scharl
Defunct2013
HeadquartersMunich, Germany
Key people
Adrian Loudero,
Tobi Fuchs,
OwnerMax Scharl
Number of employees
5+
Websitewww.redspotgames.com

RedSpotGames (also written as redspotgames and abbreviated as rsg) was a video game publisher, distributor and promoter based in Munich, Germany. Established in 2005, the company is known for releasing new games for the long discontinued Sega Dreamcast video game system, and recently, they have also branched off publishing to digital services such as Xbox Live and WiiWare.

History

Early years

Dreamcast Petition (2002)

Max Scharl, Co-founder of RedSpotGames launched "Dreamcast-Petition", an online initiative petitioning against the discontinuation of Sega Dreamcast software and GD-Rom production. Additionally direct mailing petitions were also organized to motivate 3rd Party developers such as G.Rev and Alfa System to port arcade games to Dreamcast. Border Down and Castle Shikigami 2 ports were a direct result of each petition respectively.[1]

Feet of Fury (2003)

In 2003, Scharl was involved with GOAT Store Publishing in the development of Feet of Fury. He has also been credited for promotion and marketing for the game in Europe. Scharl also attempted at having Feet of Fury distributed by Big Ben Interactive, who held the distribution rights of Dreamcast games in Europe.[2]

In August 2003, Lik-sang sponsored a booth for DCP at Game Convention where DCP formally received an endorsement from Sega of Europe director Tina Sakowsky.[3][4]

Dreamcast-Scene

In November 17, 2003, the website evolved into "Dreamcast-Scene" (abbreviated as DCS) and expanded its focus from petitions to include news reporting, downloads. The purpose behind the rebranding was to symbolize the unity of the programming scene, gamers and fans of the Dreamcast. It was also a precursor to Redspotgames as Max's initial plans were to establish DCS as a worldwide brand for publishing new Dreamcast hardware and software which was to be distributed by Lik-Sang.[5]

In December 2004, DCS relaunched with a PMwiki formally establishing a public community driven knowledge base for Dreamcast.[6]

Launching RedSpotGames

RedSpotGames' booth at the Games Convention in Leipzig, 2008
Band playing music at their booth

The company was formally established in 2005 by Max Scharl along with a couple of friends with private investments.[7] In 2007, RedSpotGames published their first game for Dreamcast with a port of Neo-Geo game Last Hope.[8] Last Hope was given a modest print run of 2500 units, with 500 units being limited editions (bundled with vinyl style soundtrack CD, double jewel case and hand-written unit numbers). The limited edition sold out in five days after the preorder.[9]

René Hellwig developer of Last Hope was not satisfied with the publishing of Last Hope and started his own independent video game publishing company.[10] Though, Redspotgames partnered with his company to distribute the games.[11]

In 2008, the publisher released Wind and Water, an extended port of the GP2X game by Yuan Works.

[12][13] Despite positive reviews the game was considered a commercial failure by the publisher.[14]

In 09, September 2009, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Dreamcast Redspotgames opened pre-orders for Rush Rush Rally Racing, a top-down 2D racing game developed by Senile Team.[15][16]

Diversification (2009–2013)

In 2009, the publisher expanded their scope by publishing Solar Struggle and Solar Struggle Survival on Xbox Live Indie Games as well as porting Rush Rush Rally Racing to WiiWare.[17][18] In anticipation of the release the publisher sponsored Formula BMW driver Lassi Halminen, who also became a spokesperson for the game.[19][20]

On December 5, 2010, on a Germany TV show Neues, RedSpotGames announced continued support for the Sega Dreamcast in the form of Sturmwind, developed by Duranik.[21][22][23] A week later the trailer for the game was released on YouTube.[13]

In March 2011, Redspotgames formally received an endorsement from Sega when Sturmwind was promoted by Fabian Döhla on a live stream by Destructoid.[24][25]

On December 19, 2011, RedSpotGames announced that Sturmwind had been delayed indefinitely due to their disc pressing contractor filing for bankruptcy.[26] Sturmwind was eventually released in April 2013. Despite positive press Redspotgames attracted severe backlash due to the mismanagement of pre-orders and shipping.[27]

Current status

A custom designed RedSpotGames-themed Dreamcast console

During the distribution problems René Hellwig participated in the distribution of Sturmwind as several customers were unable to get the game directly from Redspotgames.[28]

The last time Redspotgames website or social media platforms were updated in September 2013. It is unknown if the company is still in business. New German games have been published by Hucast Games. Associated developer Senile Team and Duranik have released new projects independent of Redspotgames. The company website although not updated since 2013 remains online.

In mid 2016 the domain name expired. By October 2016 the domain had been converted into an unrelated gaming blog.

Games published

Title Release Platform Role
Last Hope 2007 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter
Wind and Water 2008 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter
Dux 2009 Dreamcast Distributor for Japan
Last Hope: Pink Bullets 2009 Dreamcast Distributor, promoter
Rush Rush Rally Racing 2009 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter
Solar Struggle 2010 Xbox Live Indie Games Co-producer, publisher, distributor, promoter
Solar Struggle Survival 2011 Xbox Live Indie Games Co-producer, publisher, distributor, promoter
Rush Rush Rally Racing 2012 WiiWare Co-producer, publisher, distributor, promoter
Fast-Striker 2012 Dreamcast Distributor, promoter
Sturmwind 2013 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter

References

  1. ↑ "About DCS". http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/about/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  2. ↑ "Cryptic Allusion Games :: View topic - Max Scharl/Redspotgames". http://cagames.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1298. Retrieved 1 January 2018. 
  3. ↑ Mitchell, Todd (26 February 2016). "Inside the Retro Game Development Community". Zam. http://www.zam.com//article/126/inside-the-retro-game-development-community. Retrieved 26 February 2016. 
  4. ↑ "Another day at the GC: Planet Virtual Boy, Atari vs. Lik Sang, Sega's visit, plenty of free giveaways". Lik-Sang via Archive.org. 24 August 2003. Archived from the original on 3 February 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040203091237/http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3091. Retrieved 8 November 2015. 
  5. ↑ Max Scharl. "Dreamcast-Scene launch!". Archived from the original on 10 May 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040510113145/http://dreamcast-scene.com/index.php?id=14. Retrieved 8 November 2015. 
  6. ↑ Max Scharl. "Official return of Dreamcast-Scene". Archived from the original on 4 May 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050504081305/http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/December12004. Retrieved 8 November 2015. 
  7. ↑ "日本語". http://www.redspotgames.com/japanese/. Retrieved 16 March 2016. 
  8. ↑ "Last Hope". http://www.play-asia.com/last-hope/13/701lza. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  9. ↑ "Last Hope [Limited Edition SOLD OUT!"]. http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/last-hope-limited-edition-sold-out-48614.html. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  10. ↑ "Behind The Scenes With DUX: The Upcoming Dreamcast Shooter". Racket Boy. 11 May 2008. http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/dreamcast/dux-new-dreamcast-shmup-game. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  11. ↑ "redspotgames became official DUX distributor, logistic partner and reseller". Redspotgames. 4 July 2009. http://www.redspotgames.com/redspotgames-became-official-dux-distributor-logistic-partner-and-reseller/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  12. ↑ Arenot, Susan (20 August 2007). "New Dreamcast Games Coming This Spring". Wired. https://www.wired.com/2007/08/new-dreamcast-g/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Anderson, Lark (22 August 2008). "GC 2008: They Are Still Making Dreamcast Games". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gc-2008-they-are-still-making-dreamcast-games/1100-6234455/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  14. ↑ "RedSpotGames An open letter". DC Emulation. 5 August 2010. http://dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=100386. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  15. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (9 September 2009). "Happy Birthday Dreamcast! Here's A New Game". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5355311/happy-birthday-dreamcast-heres-a-new-game. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  16. ↑ Quiellen, Dustin (9 September 2009). "Rush Rush Rally Racing Coming to Sega Dreamcast". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/news/rush-rush-rally-racing-coming. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  17. ↑ Orland, Kyle (21 August 2010). "Redspotgames looking to continue publishing for Dreamcast". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/21/redspotgames-looking-to-continue-publishing-for-dreamcast/. Retrieved 10 March 2011. 
  18. ↑ Flatley, Joseph (22 August 2010). "Redspotgames has plans for further Dreamcast development". Endgadget. https://www.engadget.com/2010/08/22/redspotgames-has-plans-for-further-dreamcast-development/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  19. ↑ Meli, Gianluca (9 August 2011). "redspotgames startet Promoaktion für Rush Rush Rally Racing". Nintendo Online Germany. http://nintendo-online.de/news/8661/redspotgames-startet-promoaktion-fuer-rush-rush-rally-racing. Retrieved 22 March 2016. 
  20. ↑ "redspotgames sponsors Formula BMW Talent Cup race driver Lassi Halminen". Redspotgames. 1 July 2011. http://www.redspotgames.com/redspotgames-sponsors-formula-bmw-talent-cup-race-driver-lassi-halminen/. Retrieved 22 March 2016. 
  21. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (6 December 2010). "On German TV, They've Unveiled A New Dreamcast Game". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5707356/on-german-tv-theyve-unveiled-a-new-dreamcast-game. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  22. ↑ Caoili, Eric (6 December 2010). "Sturmwind: New Shoot'em Up Announced For Dreamcast". Game Set Watch. http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/12/sturmwind_new_shootem_up_annou.php. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  23. ↑ Raby, Mark (7 December 2010). "German TV show reveals a new Dreamcast game". Games Radar. http://www.gamesradar.com/german-tv-show-reveals-a-new-dreamcast-game/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  24. ↑ King, Jason. "Sega shows off Sturmwind Demo on Destructoid Live Stream". Dreamcast-Scene. http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/news/soa-member-shows-off-sturmwind-demo-on-destructoid-live-stream/. Retrieved 20 March 2016. 
  25. ↑ "Live show: Sega plays Dreamcast Live on Mash Tactics". http://www.destructoid.com/sega-to-play-new-dreamcast-game-live-on-mash-tactics-196397.phtml. Retrieved 20 March 2016. 
  26. ↑ "Production complications: Sturmwind is about to be delayed". redspotgames. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. https://archive.is/20130201031744/http://www.redspotgames.com/production-complications-sturmwind-is-about-to-be-delayed/. Retrieved December 19, 2011. 
  27. ↑ "Update 2 05/22 Sturmwind Sold Out". Dreamcast-Scene. 22 May 2010. http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/news/sturmwind-sold-out/. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 
  28. ↑ Hellwig, René. "Sturmwind for Dreamcast now in Stock". Facebook. Hucast Games. https://www.facebook.com/hucastgames/posts/739799462703448. Retrieved 20 March 2016. 

External links




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