57-490: Universal Interactive (formerly Universal Interactive Studios until 2001) was an American video game publisher . The company was established on January 4, 1994, and led by Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz of MCA . It was best known for producing the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro platform game franchises. In 2000, the merger of Vivendi and Universal Studios consolidated the division into Vivendi's Havas Interactive, which
114-410: A studio . The large video game publishers also distribute the games they publish, while some smaller publishers instead hire distribution companies (or larger video game publishers) to distribute the games they publish. Other functions usually performed by the publisher include deciding on and paying for any licenses that are used by the game; paying for localization ; layout, printing, and possibly
171-569: A Q3 2002 release. On June 11, Universal Interactive announced plans to publish titles based on The Hulk , with one for consoles and PCs, and another for the Game Boy Advance. On July 9, the company's GameCube portfolio expanded with the announcements of a GCN port of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly , and the acquisition of 4x4 Evo 2 within an unknown time frame. In August 2002, Vivendi Universal Games announced that The Thing and The Lord of
228-526: A distribution deal with successor Vivendi Universal Games. The company's first titles in mid-1994 were Jurassic Park Interactive , developed by Studio 3DO and initially announced in 1993; and Way of the Warrior , developed by Naughty Dog . Universal contracted with Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games to develop games utilizing the facilities at Universal City , under vice president Mark Cerny . They respectively released Crash Bandicoot in 1996 and Spyro
285-460: A few new monsters in the 1940s, with the most famous being Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man . The decade had Universal's horror output include many remakes and sequels, with films often directly reusing old sets, footage, and narratives to replicate moments in their earlier horror productions. Universal's first transmedia properties appeared in the 1940s and the 1950s with the films Frankenstein Meets
342-493: A global strategic alliance. The deal would allow Konami to distribute and market titles from UIS that were based on existing Universal Studios properties, with franchises part of the deal including The Mummy , Universal Studios Monsters , Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Woody Woodpecker . In January 2000, UIS and Konami officially announced that the first title under their new partnership would be
399-651: A group, they have had mixed performance. At present, Electronic Arts is the only third-party publisher present in the S&;P 500 diversified list of large U.S. corporations; in April 2010, it entered the Fortune 500 for the first time. Hype over video game publisher stocks has been breathless at two points: Universal Classic Monsters The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters ) media franchise includes characters based on
456-629: A live-television comedy sketch created to introduce audiences to The Creature from the Black Lagoon . Continuing the trend with previous installments where Bud Abbott and Lou Costello meet the Universal Monsters, the short follows a plot where the two actors explore the studio's prop room which references some of their previous interactions with the various characters, while encountering the Invisible Man, Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), and
513-559: A monstrous killer named Mr. Hyde . Marketed as the prequel to the theatrical release, it was produced for the straight-to-home video market by Universal and was received with mixed reception. The franchise has received a variety of home video packing boxsets including: The Classic Collection (1991-1994), the Classic Monster Collection (1999), The Legacy Collection (2004), the Essential Collection (2012), and
570-461: A newly designed logo. Prior to this home video series, the Universal films that featured multiple monsters were called "Super-Shocker[s]" or "monster rallies". Louis Feol, the head of Worldwide Home Video for Universal Studios , said that the most important thing was the packaging of their sales. He added that it was "probably our single biggest priority and has been for a number of years", and that it
627-709: A number of the projects in development. The producer later stated November 2020, that control of the Dark Universe and the Universal Monsters remains under the direction of Universal Pictures. This table includes the Universal Monster characters and their respective actors for each movie in the franchise. Additional characters include recurring primary characters of the Universal Studios Monsters franchise. Created by comic book author and artist Marv Wolfman , in collaboration with Universal Cartoon Studios ,
SECTION 10
#1733084642796684-412: A publishing label of the now-named Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing. Titles that would be published under the name were primarily a mix of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot sequels and licensed titles based on other Universal IPs. At UIS' first E3 under their new owners in 2001, the company signed an exclusive worldwide partnership with Microsoft to publish titles based on Bruce Lee exclusively for
741-526: A relaunch of the Universal Monsters characters as a new shared universe of movies similar in fashion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe ; notably a franchise which includes interconnectivity that originated previously in the classic Universal Monsters films. By July 2014, the studio officially hired Chris Morgan to replace Orci and work alongside Kurtzman in overseeing development of an interconnected series of films based around rebooted versions of
798-524: A sequel to the 1982 movie of the same name for the Xbox , as well as separate titles for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance , a tie-in game to the then-upcoming Jurassic Park 3 , and an upcoming Crash Bandicoot title. In July 2000, Seagram merged Universal Studios with Vivendi . After the merger closed, UIS was transitioned to Vivendi's Havas Interactive division and was eventually downgraded to
855-402: A series of horror films produced by Universal Pictures and released between 1913–1956. While the early installments were initially created as stand-alone films based on published novels, their financial and critical success resulted in various cross-over releases. Following the positive response to various viewings of these movies via television redistribution which began airing in the 1950s,
912-540: A staff of producers or project managers to monitor the developer's progress, critique ongoing development, and assist as necessary. Most video games created by an external video game developer are paid for with periodic advances on royalties. These advances are paid when the developer reaches certain stages of development, called milestones . Video game publishing is associated with high risk : AAA game publishers produce and create games that are high budget and groundbreaking. They are advanced in technology and forward
969-602: A ten-year television deal with Screen Gems to distribute 52 of their own titles. These television screenings and the films being included on Mel Jass ' Mel's Matinee Movie (1958-1979) would also prove to be popular. Stephen Sommers , director of The Mummy (1999), stated that his introduction to the series was on Jass's program. Universal became part of the Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1962. By 1964, Universal Studios tours would eventually include appearances from Frankenstein's monster. Several products based on
1026-670: A trend for the decade of recycling and reinventing old material from the past. This led to the release of Stephen Sommer's The Mummy (1999) and a "monster rally"-styled film with Van Helsing (2004). Merchandizing of the characters in formats such as clothing and board games has continued into the 21st century. The franchise will be featured in the Dark Universe portion of Universal's upcoming Orlando theme park, Universal Epic Universe . Beginning in October 2013, Universal hired Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to collaborate in developing
1083-429: A wider consumer pool and have access to distribute to a big network. Although they have creative constraints within game development and marketing, they often focus and follow market trends. They have a higher demand to attain commercial success. Examples of AAA video game publishers are Electronic Arts , Ubisoft , and Activision . Indie game publishers are companies that work with independent developers. Their focus
1140-539: A world where potentially all monsters may dwell. The sole new monster movies Universal produced in the 1950s were the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Mummy (1959). The latter was co-produced with the British Hammer Film Productions . Towards the 1960s, the Universal monsters grew beyond film and became more consistently transmedial . Initially, this began in 1957 when Universal struck
1197-414: A writer's room consisting of various contributors to create the stories that would later be expanded into scripts, which were intended to be rooted in horror as opposed to the action adventure nature of the studio's previous remakes. The Mummy introduced its ancient titular monster (played by Sofia Boutella ), alongside the heroic character portrayed Tom Cruise who's monstrous origins depicted in
SECTION 20
#17330846427961254-611: Is on developing games that promotes creativity and originality. Developers have creative control over their games. These publishers implement intimate collaborations between the publishers and the developers. Often stand out in the video game market due to the more unique genres. Indie game publishers have restrict marketing budgets and have small audience reach and visibility. Examples of Indie video game publishers are Devolver Digital , Annapurna Interactive and Raw Fury . Mobile game publishers produce and specialize in video games on smartphones and tablet devices. They take advantage of
1311-433: The biggest commercial failures in video game history . The licensing deal united director Steven Spielberg and MCA president Sidney Sheinberg with Atari general counsel Charles "Skip" Paul, who joined MCA after 1984. In 1985, MCA purchased LJN , a toy manufacturer which began publishing video games in 1987. In 1990, MCA was sold to Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic ), and LJN was sold to Acclaim Entertainment . Within
1368-509: The "Universal" name and would simply become Vivendi, with Vivendi Universal Games becoming Vivendi Games. Video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer . They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer (the publisher calls this external development ) and sometimes by paying an internal staff of developers called
1425-500: The Akkadian for the GameCube and Sword of Osiris for the Game Boy Advance. On January 31, an Xbox version of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was announced by the company for a Q1 2002 release window. During Vivendi Universal Games' first Game Faire on February 19, 2002, Universal Interactive showcased twelve titles: which featured previously announced titles Bruce Lee: Quest of
1482-464: The Black Lagoon , Phantom of the Opera , Hunchback of Notre Dame , The Invisible Man , Van Helsing , and Dr. Jekyll . After poor critical reception and underwhelming box office performance of The Mummy in 2017 however, Universal postponed all plans for the Dark Universe slate of films. In January 2018, the production studio began reconfiguring their approach to the Universal Monsters, and following
1539-693: The Dragon in 1998, under publishing arrangements with Sony Computer Entertainment . Starting in 1995, with the purchase of MCA by Canadian beverage company Seagram , Universal Studios was reorganized. By 1998, the Interactive Studios division was brought under the Universal Studios New Media Group, led by Paul Rioux. That year, Cerny resigned to launch Cerny Games, which continued to consult directly with Insomniac and Naughty Dog. An in-house development unit, Universal Studios Digital Arts,
1596-460: The Dragon (which was announced to be released within the third quarter of 2002), The Scorpion King: Sword of Osiris , The Thing , and both The Scorpion King titles (with a PS2 version announced) and newly announced titles such as Jurassic Park: Project Genesis for a Q4 2002 window on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC, Spyro: Season of Flame for Game Boy Advance for Q3 2002, and Spyro: Enter
1653-502: The Dragonfly for the PlayStation 2 for a Q4 2002 release, and Monster Force for Game Boy Advance for Q3 2002. The already-announced Lord of the Rings titles for the Xbox and Game Boy Advance were also transferred over from VU's Sierra Entertainment subsidiary to Universal. Before E3 2002 on May 7, Universal Interactive announced a GameCube port of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for
1710-483: The Dreamcast title Nightmare Creatures 2 . The deal expanded further on April 27, allowing Konami to publish and market more titles. The four PlayStation titles released as part of this partnership were announced at E3 2000 by Konami: Woody Woodpecker Racing , The Grinch , The Mummy and Monster Force . In September, the deal was expanded further to include three brand new next-gen titles: The Thing ,
1767-465: The Gill-Man (Ben Chapman). Developed as an anime -styled prologue to the 2004 feature-length movie , the short was directed by Sharon Bridgeman from a script written by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. The plot takes place chronologically immediately before the live-action movie and follows Gabriel Van Helsing's investigation in the grisly murders plaguing Victorian era London, and his discovery of
Universal Interactive - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-538: The PlayStation 2 and Xbox which ultimately never released. In 2004, Universal Interactive was consolidated under its parent company Vivendi Universal Games, and the label was discontinued. It remained as a copyright holder for existing properties, but all titles were published under either Vivendi Universal Games or Sierra. Vivendi Universal then announced that on March 3, 2006, as a result of divesting Universal Studios to General Electric , it and several of its divisions, including Vivendi Universal Games, would cease using
1881-557: The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring were transferred over from Universal Interactive to the newly formed Black Label Games label, which would be aimed for more mature titles. Near the summer, another Game Boy Advance Crash Bandicoot title was announced: Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced . On January 28, a Bruce Lee title for the Game Boy Advance titled Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend
1938-465: The Universal Monster characters. The duo was tasked with creating the overall outline for the titular monsters. The development of a cinematic universe continued as Kurtzman and Morgan became involved with additional photography for Dracula Untold (2014); reshoots which positioned the final scenes of the movie in modern-day, in order to connect with other movies and to allow the cast to reprise their roles in future installments. The movie's connections to
1995-728: The Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). In these films, the monsters from the studio's earlier films "team up" against various characters. Author Megan De Bruin-Molé suggested that the Universal Classic Monsters films exist as a loose mash-up , which allowed for Dracula to exist and be watched separately from Frankenstein but allowed their characters to be systemically and consistently brought together and developed in other films and media. These productions made were often crossovers and sequels, such as Frankenstein Meets
2052-486: The Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein and several occurrences in comedy films of Abbott and Costello meeting the monster. This meetings started with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and ended with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). De Bruin-Molé wrote that this approach from Universal was for commercial marketing terms, as it would establish the company as the "real" home of horror. Their films contained
2109-405: The Xbox, with the first being Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon . No release window was announced for the title. Other announced titles at the event included the first Spyro title for a non-PlayStation system: Spyro: Season of Ice for the Game Boy Advance. Previously announced titles The Mummy Returns and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex were also showcased. On August 13, UIS announced
2166-410: The boundaries of technology and creativity in the video game world. AAA game publishers often produce popular and blockbuster games. These publishers have the financial resource and means to fund large game development projects. These publishers implement and fund marketing and distribution to guarantee reach and exposure for their games. With their funds to market they are able to advertise and reach
2223-439: The characters from Universal's film series were released, ranging from plastic model kits , Halloween masks, figures, plush dolls, toys, drinking glasses, coloring books and postage stamps. While some of these objects bare similarity to the actors who portray them, others are more generic interpretations. Other mediums featured the Universal monsters in tandem, such as Bobby "Boris" Pickett 's 1962 popular song " Monster Mash " and
2280-402: The departures of Kurtzman and Morgan from their roles as co-architects of the franchise, the studio decided to abandon a shared cinematic universe in favor of returning to standalone adaptations of the characters instead. After previously expressing interest in working with Universal Pictures on relaunching the characters for modern audiences, Jason Blum officially signed on to collaborate on
2337-457: The film into subsequent Universal productions. Following the release of other Universal films such as The Mummy (1932) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), there was a dry spell of horror films. Universal only returned to the style following a successful theatrical re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein . The renewed interest in horror films led to new works, starting with Son of Frankenstein (1939). Universal would only introduce
Universal Interactive - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-457: The first Crash Bandicoot title for a non-PlayStation system: Crash Bandicoot XS for the Game Boy Advance (later renamed to Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure for North America), and would be released for an early 2002 release window. Near the end of the year, Universal Interactive Studios' name was shortened to simply Universal Interactive. On January 17, the company announced to publish two titles based on The Scorpion King : Rise of
2451-509: The movie were intended to expanded upon in later installments. Prior to the movie's release, additional cast joined the franchise alongside Cruise, including Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde, Johnny Depp as Dr. Griffin / the Invisible Man, and Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein Monster. Confirmed reboot movies in development included: Frankenstein , Wolf Man , Bride of Frankenstein , Dracula , Creature from
2508-499: The new franchise was downplayed however following its mixed critical and financial reception, with The Mummy (2017) repositioned as the official start of the shared film universe. In May 2017, the slate of reimagined incarnations of titular monsters was officially titled Dark Universe . The studio announced the franchise with an official press release, logo, website, trailer , and score composed by Danny Elfman . Universal Pictures in collaboration with Kurtzman and Morgan, created
2565-585: The next two years, Matsushita partnered with The 3DO Company , pledging Panasonic as a manufacturer for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer , and MCA as an entertainment software partner. The company was founded on January 4, 1994, in tandem with the 1994 Winter Consumer Electronics Show . Leading key personnel for the foundation were Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz. On February 10, MCA acquired a minority stake in Interplay Productions , which would publish Disruptor outside of North America, and later enter into
2622-505: The show was canceled after its first season. Created by Stephen Sommers in collaboration with Thomas Pugsley and Greg Klein, as a spin-off animated adaptation and continuation of the film series which had starred Brendan Fraser . The television show centers around Imhotep / The Mummy , while following the continuing adventures of Rick O'Connell and his family. Featuring the voices of Jim Cummings , John Schneider , Chris Marquette , Grey DeLisle , and an ensemble of supporting cast,
2679-606: The show was developed to reintroduce the Universal Monsters to child audiences. The plot centers around a group of college-age students and their professor Dr. Reed Crawley to form a squad call the Monster Force, who through the use of some supernatural skills and technological weaponry must combat Dracula and his army called the Creatures of the Night. The series aired through broadcast syndication from April to July 1994. With mild viewership,
2736-492: The show was marketed towards younger audiences through Universal Cartoon Studios. Airing on The WB through the Kids' WB! programming block from September 2001 to June 2003, the show received critical acclaim while some critics called the release superior to the feature-length sequels to the live-action 1999 film . Developed in collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive-Peet , the short was released during The Colgate Comedy Hour as
2793-493: The studio began developing the characters for other media. In the 1990s, it became priority for Universal to promote their catalogue with official packaging that presented the movies with the official franchise title. Through a number of VHS editions, their popularity continued into contemporary entertainment. This included additional development through modern-filmmaking adaptations such as Stephen Sommers ' The Mummy (1999) and Van Helsing (2004). Modern analyses describes
2850-438: The television series The Munsters (1964) which was based on the likeness of the Universal characters. In 1990, Universal was part of a merger between Matsushita, now known as Panasonic , and several other corporations. Between 1991 and 1995, Universal released VHS home video editions from their catalogue of horror films. This was the first time these films were packed together as the "Classic Monster" line, accompanied with
2907-436: The titular characters as " pop culture icons". Universal's early horror films were adaptations of work from familiar authors and texts to give their films a prestige appeal. These included Dracula (1931), whose success led to the production of other works such as Frankenstein (1931). Frankenstein ' s ending was changed by studio head Carl Laemmle Jr. , who wanted Universal to be able deploy key characters from
SECTION 50
#17330846427962964-704: The widespread appeal and rise of mobile gaming. These publishers enhance games for touch based interfaces and devices. They are proficient in designing monetization tactics for mobile platforms. Mobile game publishers have a comprehensive understanding of the mobile gaming market. They have proficiency in strategies for engagement and user acquisition for mobile sites. For mobile gaming there is access through app stores for distribution channels. There are obstacles with monetization due to lack of in-app purchase and free-to-play(F2P) models . Examples of Mobile game publishers are Supercell , King , and Zynga . Numerous video game publishers are traded publicly on stock markets . As
3021-494: The writing of the user manual; and the creation of graphic design elements such as the box design. Some large publishers with vertical structure also own publishing subsidiaries (labels). Large publishers also attempt to boost efficiency across all internal and external development teams by providing services such as sound design and code packages for commonly needed functionality. Because the publisher often finances development, they usually try to manage development risk along with
3078-563: Was announced. On April 24, Universal Interactive's parent company announced their plans for E3 2003, and announced several new titles to be released under the Universal Interactive label: Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs for the Game Boy Advance, Battlestar Galactica for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Crash Nitro Kart for consoles and Game Boy Advance, and The Fast and the Furious for
3135-479: Was created to develop Xena: Warrior Princess . By the end of 1999, UIS transitioned solely from the PlayStation to include PC and Dreamcast development as well, as well as planned support for next-generation systems. In July 2000, UIS announced one of their first PlayStation 2 projects, a tie-in to the then-upcoming The Mummy Returns , which would release near the time of the movie. On December 17, 1999, Universal Interactive Studios and Konami announced
3192-421: Was key to make the series of films "look like a line". In a 1999 interview, Feol stated that creating the series was to "reinvigorate and re-market" the Universal catalog, specifically with their series of Dracula , Frankenstein , The Invisible Man , The Phantom of the Opera , The Wolf Man , and The Mummy . The 1990s also saw a trend in the merchandising of Universal Monsters material as part of
3249-483: Was renamed Vivendi Universal Games the next year. Universal Interactive continued as a label until 2003, when Vivendi began divesting ownership of Universal Studios, retaining the newly renamed Vivendi Games . MCA , Universal's parent company from 1962 to 1990, initially licensed video games directly as merchandise. In 1982, Atari licensed and released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , a tie-in game cited as one of
#795204