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Virgin Interactive

May 07, 2023

Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwood Studios co-founder Brett Sperry and Earthworm Jim creators David Perry and Doug TenNapel. Others include video game composer Tommy Tallarico and animators Bill Kroyer and Andy Luckey.

Virgin Interactive Entertainment (UK/Europe) Limited
Logo used from 1993 to 2003
FormerlyUK Branch
  • Virgin Games Ltd. (1983–1988, 1991–1993)
  • Virgin Mastertronic Ltd. (1988–1991)
  • Virgin Interactive Entertainment (UK/Europe) Limited (1993–2003)
  • Avalon Interactive Limited (2003–2006)
TypePublic (1993–1998)
Subsidiary (1983–1993, 1998–2005)
Private (2005–2006)
IndustryVideo games
PredecessorVirgin Games
Mastertronic
Founded1983; 40 years ago (1983) (as Virgin Games)
Defunct1998 (1998) (US)
2006 (2006) (UK)
FateUK Branch
Closed down after the bankruptcy of Titus Interactive
American branch
Purchased by Electronic Arts
French branch
Closed due to Titus' bankruptcy
Spanish branch
Split off and re-established as Virgin Play
SuccessorEA Pacific
Westwood Studios
Interplay Entertainment
Virgin Play
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK (international HQ)
Irvine, California, US (global HQ)[1]
Key people
Revenue$99 million (£67 million) (1993)[3]
Number of employees
500 (1997)
Parent
DivisionsBurst Studios
Westwood Studios (Both purchased by EA in 1998)
SubsidiariesVirgin Interactive España SA (Split in 2002)
Websitewww.virgininteractive.com
www.vie.com

Formed as Virgin Games in 1983,[7] and built around a small development team called the Gang of Five, the company grew significantly after purchasing budget label Mastertronic in 1987.[7][8] As Virgin's video game division grew into a multimedia powerhouse, it crossed over to other industries from toys[9] to film[10] to education.[11] To highlight its focus beyond video games and on multimedia, the publisher was renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1993.[8]

As result of a growing trend throughout the 1990s of media companies, movie studios and telecom firms investing in video game makers to create new forms of entertainment, VIE became part of the entertainment industry after being acquired by media companies Blockbuster and Viacom, who were attracted by its multimedia and CD-ROM-based software development. Being located in close proximity to the thirty-mile zone and having access to the media content of its parent companies drew Virgin Interactive's U.S. division closer to Hollywood as it began developing sophisticated interactive games, leading to partnerships with Disney and other major studios on motion picture-based games such as The Lion King, Aladdin, RoboCop and The Terminator, in addition to being the publisher of popular titles from other companies like Capcom's Resident Evil series and Street Fighter Collection and id Software's Doom II in the European market.

VIE ceased to exist in mid-2003 after being acquired by French publisher Titus Software who rebranded them to Avalon Interactive in July of that year. The VIE library and intellectual properties are owned by Interplay Entertainment as a result of its acquisition of Titus. A close affiliate and successor of Spanish origin, Virgin Play, was formed in 2002 from the ashes of former Virgin Interactive's Spanish division and kept operating until it folded in 2009.

History

Early history (1983-1987)

Nick Alexander formed Virgin Games in 1983 after leaving Thorn EMI. It was headquartered in Portobello Road, London. The firm initially relied on submissions by freelancer developers, but set up its own in-house development team in 1984, known as the Gang of Five. Early successes included Sorcery and Dan Dare.[12] The company expanded with the acquisition of several smaller publishers, Rabbit Software,[13] New Generation Software[14] and Leisure Genius (publishers of the first officially licensed computer versions of Scrabble, Monopoly and Cluedo).[14]

Purchase of Mastertronic and rebranding to Virgin Mastertronic (1987-1991)

1987 marked a turning point for Virgin after its acquisition of struggling distributor Mastertronic. Mastertronic had opened its North American headquarters in Irvine, California just a year earlier to build on its success at home,[1][15] though growth exhausted its resources after expanding in Europe and acquiring publisher Melbourne House. Richard Branson stepped in and offered to buy 45 percent of Mastertronic stake, in exchange Mastertronic joined the Virgin Group.[16] The subsequent merger created Virgin Mastertronic Ltd. in 1988 with Alper as its president which enabled Virgin to expand its business reach overseas. Mastertronic had been the distributor of the Master System in the United Kingdom and is credited with introducing Sega to the European market, where they expanded rapidly. The Mastertronic acquisition enabled Virgin to compete with Nintendo in the growing home console market.[17]

Return to publishing (1991-1993)

To gain a foothold in its newly established market, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. acquired Mastertronic in 1991 while Virgin retained a small publishing unit, which was renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1993.[7]

Hasbro, who had previously licensed some of its properties to Virgin, bought 15 percent—later increased to 16.2 percent—stake in VIE in August 1993. Hasbro wanted to create titles based on its brands, which included Transformers, G.I. Joe and Monopoly. The deal cut off competitors like Mattel and Fisher-Price who were interested in a similar partnership.[18]

In late 1993, Virgin Interactive spun off a new company, Virgin Sound and Vision, to focus exclusively on CD-based children's entertainment.[19]

Purchase by Blockbuster Entertainment and Spelling Entertainment (1994-1998)

As more media companies became interested in interactive entertainment, Blockbuster Entertainment, then the world's largest video-store chain, acquired 20 percent of Virgin Interactive Entertainment in January 1994.[20] It acquired 75 percent of VIE's stock later in 1994 and purchased the remaining shares held by Hasbro in an effort to expand beyond its video store base. Hasbro went on to found their own game company, Hasbro Interactive the following year.[5] The partnership with Blockbuster ended a year later when Blockbuster sold its stake to Spelling Entertainment, at the time being a subsidiary of Viacom. Viacom is the owner of Paramount Pictures and MTV, which made Virgin Interactive part of one of the world's largest entertainment companies.[1] Viacom had planned to sell Spelling and buy Virgin Interactive out of Spelling before the sale. While it abandoned the Spelling sale some time ago, the collapse in the games market appears to have killed off any interest in buying Virgin.[5][21]

Blockbuster and Viacom invested heavily in the production of CD-based interactive multimedia—video games featuring sophisticated motion-picture video, stereo sound and computer animation. VIE's headquarters were expanded to include 17 production studios where expensive SGI “graphics supercomputers” were used to build increasingly complicated games,[8] eventually becoming one of the five largest U.S.-based video game companies.[22]

In 1995, VIE signed a deal with Capcom to publish its titles in Europe, supplanting Acclaim Entertainment as Capcom's designated European distributor.[23] VIE later published titles released by other companies, such as Hudson Soft.

Re-independence and purchase of US operations by Electronic Arts (1998-1999)

Spelling put its ownership of Virgin up for sale as a public stock offering in 1997, stating that Virgin's financial performance had been disappointing.[24] Since Spelling's purchase of the company, Virgin had lost $14 million in 1995 and was expected to post similar losses for 1996.[25]

In 1998, Virgin Interactive's US operations were divested to Electronic Arts as part of its $122.5 million (£75 million) acquisition of Westwood Studios that same year.[26][27] Electronic Arts also acquired the Burst Studios development studio, which was renamed to Westwood Pacific by its new owners.

The European division though was put out in a majority stake buyout backed by Mark Dyne, who became its Chief Executive Officer in the same year. Tim Chaney, the former Managing Director was named president.

Purchase by Interplay and Titus (1999-2002)

On February 17, 1999, Interplay Entertainment purchased a 49.9% minority interest in the company, allowing Interplay to distribute Virgin's titles in North America and Virgin distributing Interplay's titles in Europe.[28] In October of that year, Titus Interactive acquired a 50.1% majority interest in VIE after the company acquired a majority interest in Interplay.

In 2001, Titus Software Corporation, the North American division of Titus Interactive, announced a new line of games to be branded under the Virgin Interactive name in North America, which were to be sold at a budget price of $20. These games would be Screamer 4x4, Codename: Outbreak, Original War, Jimmy White's Cueball World and Nightstone. This would be the first time since 1998 that the Virgin Interactive name would be used for publishing in the country, excluding the North American release of Jimmy White's 2: Cueball, which was handled by Bay Area Multimedia.

Acquisition by Titus, sale of Spanish operations, rebranding, and fate (2002-2006)

In early 2002, as part of Titus Interactive's buyout of Interplay's European operations, Interplay's shares in Virgin Interactive were sold to Titus, which made the company a 100% owned subsidiary of Titus Software. Virgin Interactive ceased publishing their own games soon afterwards, and become solely a video game distributor for Titus and Interplay's titles.

In June 2002, Titus accepted the MBO (management buyout) of Virgin Interactive's Spanish operations by Tim Chaney but would continue to distribute Titus' titles in the region. With this, the company was out of Titus' hands and was rebranded as Virgin Play in October of that year. On July 1, 2003, Virgin Interactive's British and French operations were renamed to Avalon Interactive and Avalon France by Titus, respectively.[29]

In January 2005, Titus Interactive filed for bankruptcy with €33 million ($43.8 million) debt.[30] Avalon France and all of Titus' French operations were closed down immediately, while the UK branch continued to trade as Titus’ non-French operations were unaffected. Avalon Interactive was eventually closed by May 2006.

Games

Notes

  1. ^ By the time Blockbuster purchased out VIE, Virgin owned a small 10% minority stake in the company.
  2. ^ Hasbro originally acquired a 15% stake, but was later extended to 16.2%.
  3. ^ Blockbuster originally purchased a 73% stake in VIE, but they would eventually purchase Hasbro's stake as well, giving them 100% control of the publisher.
  4. ^ Around this time, Spelling and Blockbuster merged with Viacom, although VIE remained a subsidiary of Spelling.
  5. ^ Titus originally acquired a 50.1% majority stake, but was expanded to 100% when they acquired Interplay Europe's operations.

References

  1. ^ a b c . Virgin Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 11, 1998.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Mastertronic". The Anthony Guter Official Site.
  3. ^ "Blockbuster Buys Slice Of Virgin Video Game Division". Billboard: 5. January 29, 1994.
  4. ^ "Blockbuster, Spelling Add Videogame Maker To Stable". Orlando Sentinel. Bloomberg News Service. 1994-06-30.
  5. ^ a b c Peers, Martin (1997-02-20). "Spelling plans offering to sell Virgin Interactive". Orlando Sentinel.
  6. ^ "Titus Interactive Agrees Terms to Acquire Control Of Virgin Interactive Entertainment LTD" (Press release). Paris: Titus Interactive. PRNewswire. October 7, 1999.
  7. ^ a b c . Virgin Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on 1998-06-11.
  8. ^ a b c Takahashi, Dean (1994-02-10). "O.C.'s Virgin Interactive to Sell Stock : Offering: The video and computer game publisher will deal 16% of shares. Owner's share will dip under 50%". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Takahashi, Dean (1994-02-06). "Big Bets Placed on Game Discs". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ Harmon, Amy (1994-06-30). "Spelling to Buy a 75% Stake in Virgin Interactive". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ . Virgin Sound And Vision. Archived from the original on February 2, 1998.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Fisher, Andrew (July 2014). "Gang Leaders: A Gang of Five Retrospective". Retro Gamer (131): 44–49. ISSN 1742-3155.
  13. ^ "Virgin releases Rabbit titles". Popular Computing Weekly. No. 41. Sunshine Publications. 10 October 1985. p. 5. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Virgin Territory". ZX Computing. Argus Specialist Publications. July 1986. p. 5. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  15. ^ Guter, Anthony. "A History of Mastertronic". The Mastertronic site on Guter.Org.
  16. ^ Pettus, Sam (2013). Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition. CreateSpace. pp. 410–411. ISBN 978-1494288358.
  17. ^ Branson, Richard (2011). Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way. Crown Business. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-0307720740.
  18. ^ Takahashi, Dean (1993-08-27). "Hasbro to Buy 15% Stake in O.C.'s Virgin Subsidiary". Los Angeles Times.
  19. ^ "Virgin". GamePro. No. 66. IDG. March 1994. p. 186.
  20. ^ McCash, Vicki (1994-06-30). "Blockbuster To Gain Control Of Game Maker". Orlando Sun-Sentinel.
  21. ^ Christman, Ed (1995-05-06). "Alliance May Offer Stock; Blockbuster, Virgin Settle". Billboard: 50.
  22. ^ Harmon, Amy (1994-06-30). "Spelling to Buy a 75% Stake in Virgin Interactive". Los Angeles Times.
  23. ^ Harrod, Gus and Gary (February 1996). "Capcom Speak". Mean Machines Sega. No. 40. pp. 21–22.
  24. ^ Campbell, Colin (May 1997). "Spelling to Dump Virgin". Next Generation. No. 29. Imagine Media. p. 30.
  25. ^ "So Who's Getting Rich?". Next Generation. No. 30. Imagine Media. June 1997. p. 43.
  26. ^ Morris, Chris (1998-08-17). "EA buys Westwood". CNN Money. Cable News Network.
  27. ^ "Virgin Interactive May See Management Buyout". Telecom.paper BV. 1998-09-02.
  28. ^ Interplay Buys Half of Virgin - IGN, retrieved 2020-08-31
  29. ^ "Virgin Interactive name buried as Titus rebrands distribution arm". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  30. ^ "Titus bankrupt, Interplay's future uncertain". Gamespot. 2005-01-05. Archived from the original on 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  31. ^ "Lone Soldier for PlayStation". GameFaqs.
  32. ^ "TEST : HEIST : ENCORE UN CASSE DE FOIRÉ". Gamekult.
  33. ^ "Test: Raub (Taktik & Strategie)". 4Players.

External links

  • Avalon Interactive Portal (offline)
  • Virgin Interactive profile on MobyGames

May 07, 2023
virgin, interactive, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2019, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Virgin Interactive news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Virgin Interactive Entertainment later renamed Avalon Interactive was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers including Westwood Studios co founder Brett Sperry and Earthworm Jim creators David Perry and Doug TenNapel Others include video game composer Tommy Tallarico and animators Bill Kroyer and Andy Luckey Virgin Interactive Entertainment UK Europe LimitedLogo used from 1993 to 2003FormerlyUK BranchVirgin Games Ltd 1983 1988 1991 1993 Virgin Mastertronic Ltd 1988 1991 Virgin Interactive Entertainment UK Europe Limited 1993 2003 Avalon Interactive Limited 2003 2006 TypePublic 1993 1998 Subsidiary 1983 1993 1998 2005 Private 2005 2006 IndustryVideo gamesPredecessorVirgin GamesMastertronicFounded1983 40 years ago 1983 as Virgin Games Defunct1998 1998 US 2006 2006 UK FateUK BranchClosed down after the bankruptcy of Titus InteractiveAmerican branchPurchased by Electronic ArtsFrench branchClosed due to Titus bankruptcySpanish branch Split off and re established as Virgin PlaySuccessorEA PacificWestwood StudiosInterplay EntertainmentVirgin PlayHeadquartersLondon England UK international HQ Irvine California US global HQ 1 Key peopleMartin Alper President Stephen Clarke Willson Vice president Anthony Guter Systems Manager Mastertronic 2 Revenue 99 million 67 million 1993 3 Number of employees500 1997 ParentVirgin Group 1983 1994 a Hasbro 1993 1994 b Blockbuster 1994 4 c Viacom Spelling Entertainment 1994 1998 5 d Titus Interactive SA 1999 2005 6 e DivisionsBurst StudiosWestwood Studios Both purchased by EA in 1998 SubsidiariesVirgin Interactive Espana SA Split in 2002 Websitewww virgininteractive comwww vie comFormed as Virgin Games in 1983 7 and built around a small development team called the Gang of Five the company grew significantly after purchasing budget label Mastertronic in 1987 7 8 As Virgin s video game division grew into a multimedia powerhouse it crossed over to other industries from toys 9 to film 10 to education 11 To highlight its focus beyond video games and on multimedia the publisher was renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1993 8 As result of a growing trend throughout the 1990s of media companies movie studios and telecom firms investing in video game makers to create new forms of entertainment VIE became part of the entertainment industry after being acquired by media companies Blockbuster and Viacom who were attracted by its multimedia and CD ROM based software development Being located in close proximity to the thirty mile zone and having access to the media content of its parent companies drew Virgin Interactive s U S division closer to Hollywood as it began developing sophisticated interactive games leading to partnerships with Disney and other major studios on motion picture based games such as The Lion King Aladdin RoboCop and The Terminator in addition to being the publisher of popular titles from other companies like Capcom s Resident Evil series and Street Fighter Collection and id Software s Doom II in the European market VIE ceased to exist in mid 2003 after being acquired by French publisher Titus Software who rebranded them to Avalon Interactive in July of that year The VIE library and intellectual properties are owned by Interplay Entertainment as a result of its acquisition of Titus A close affiliate and successor of Spanish origin Virgin Play was formed in 2002 from the ashes of former Virgin Interactive s Spanish division and kept operating until it folded in 2009 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1983 1987 1 2 Purchase of Mastertronic and rebranding to Virgin Mastertronic 1987 1991 1 3 Return to publishing 1991 1993 1 4 Purchase by Blockbuster Entertainment and Spelling Entertainment 1994 1998 1 5 Re independence and purchase of US operations by Electronic Arts 1998 1999 1 6 Purchase by Interplay and Titus 1999 2002 1 7 Acquisition by Titus sale of Spanish operations rebranding and fate 2002 2006 2 Games 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditEarly history 1983 1987 Edit Nick Alexander formed Virgin Games in 1983 after leaving Thorn EMI It was headquartered in Portobello Road London The firm initially relied on submissions by freelancer developers but set up its own in house development team in 1984 known as the Gang of Five Early successes included Sorcery and Dan Dare 12 The company expanded with the acquisition of several smaller publishers Rabbit Software 13 New Generation Software 14 and Leisure Genius publishers of the first officially licensed computer versions of Scrabble Monopoly and Cluedo 14 Purchase of Mastertronic and rebranding to Virgin Mastertronic 1987 1991 Edit 1987 marked a turning point for Virgin after its acquisition of struggling distributor Mastertronic Mastertronic had opened its North American headquarters in Irvine California just a year earlier to build on its success at home 1 15 though growth exhausted its resources after expanding in Europe and acquiring publisher Melbourne House Richard Branson stepped in and offered to buy 45 percent of Mastertronic stake in exchange Mastertronic joined the Virgin Group 16 The subsequent merger created Virgin Mastertronic Ltd in 1988 with Alper as its president which enabled Virgin to expand its business reach overseas Mastertronic had been the distributor of the Master System in the United Kingdom and is credited with introducing Sega to the European market where they expanded rapidly The Mastertronic acquisition enabled Virgin to compete with Nintendo in the growing home console market 17 Return to publishing 1991 1993 Edit To gain a foothold in its newly established market Sega Enterprises Ltd acquired Mastertronic in 1991 while Virgin retained a small publishing unit which was renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1993 7 Hasbro who had previously licensed some of its properties to Virgin bought 15 percent later increased to 16 2 percent stake in VIE in August 1993 Hasbro wanted to create titles based on its brands which included Transformers G I Joe and Monopoly The deal cut off competitors like Mattel and Fisher Price who were interested in a similar partnership 18 In late 1993 Virgin Interactive spun off a new company Virgin Sound and Vision to focus exclusively on CD based children s entertainment 19 Purchase by Blockbuster Entertainment and Spelling Entertainment 1994 1998 Edit As more media companies became interested in interactive entertainment Blockbuster Entertainment then the world s largest video store chain acquired 20 percent of Virgin Interactive Entertainment in January 1994 20 It acquired 75 percent of VIE s stock later in 1994 and purchased the remaining shares held by Hasbro in an effort to expand beyond its video store base Hasbro went on to found their own game company Hasbro Interactive the following year 5 The partnership with Blockbuster ended a year later when Blockbuster sold its stake to Spelling Entertainment at the time being a subsidiary of Viacom Viacom is the owner of Paramount Pictures and MTV which made Virgin Interactive part of one of the world s largest entertainment companies 1 Viacom had planned to sell Spelling and buy Virgin Interactive out of Spelling before the sale While it abandoned the Spelling sale some time ago the collapse in the games market appears to have killed off any interest in buying Virgin 5 21 Blockbuster and Viacom invested heavily in the production of CD based interactive multimedia video games featuring sophisticated motion picture video stereo sound and computer animation VIE s headquarters were expanded to include 17 production studios where expensive SGI graphics supercomputers were used to build increasingly complicated games 8 eventually becoming one of the five largest U S based video game companies 22 In 1995 VIE signed a deal with Capcom to publish its titles in Europe supplanting Acclaim Entertainment as Capcom s designated European distributor 23 VIE later published titles released by other companies such as Hudson Soft Re independence and purchase of US operations by Electronic Arts 1998 1999 Edit Spelling put its ownership of Virgin up for sale as a public stock offering in 1997 stating that Virgin s financial performance had been disappointing 24 Since Spelling s purchase of the company Virgin had lost 14 million in 1995 and was expected to post similar losses for 1996 25 In 1998 Virgin Interactive s US operations were divested to Electronic Arts as part of its 122 5 million 75 million acquisition of Westwood Studios that same year 26 27 Electronic Arts also acquired the Burst Studios development studio which was renamed to Westwood Pacific by its new owners The European division though was put out in a majority stake buyout backed by Mark Dyne who became its Chief Executive Officer in the same year Tim Chaney the former Managing Director was named president Purchase by Interplay and Titus 1999 2002 Edit On February 17 1999 Interplay Entertainment purchased a 49 9 minority interest in the company allowing Interplay to distribute Virgin s titles in North America and Virgin distributing Interplay s titles in Europe 28 In October of that year Titus Interactive acquired a 50 1 majority interest in VIE after the company acquired a majority interest in Interplay In 2001 Titus Software Corporation the North American division of Titus Interactive announced a new line of games to be branded under the Virgin Interactive name in North America which were to be sold at a budget price of 20 These games would be Screamer 4x4 Codename Outbreak Original War Jimmy White s Cueball World and Nightstone This would be the first time since 1998 that the Virgin Interactive name would be used for publishing in the country excluding the North American release of Jimmy White s 2 Cueball which was handled by Bay Area Multimedia Acquisition by Titus sale of Spanish operations rebranding and fate 2002 2006 Edit In early 2002 as part of Titus Interactive s buyout of Interplay s European operations Interplay s shares in Virgin Interactive were sold to Titus which made the company a 100 owned subsidiary of Titus Software Virgin Interactive ceased publishing their own games soon afterwards and become solely a video game distributor for Titus and Interplay s titles In June 2002 Titus accepted the MBO management buyout of Virgin Interactive s Spanish operations by Tim Chaney but would continue to distribute Titus titles in the region With this the company was out of Titus hands and was rebranded as Virgin Play in October of that year On July 1 2003 Virgin Interactive s British and French operations were renamed to Avalon Interactive and Avalon France by Titus respectively 29 In January 2005 Titus Interactive filed for bankruptcy with 33 million 43 8 million debt 30 Avalon France and all of Titus French operations were closed down immediately while the UK branch continued to trade as Titus non French operations were unaffected Avalon Interactive was eventually closed by May 2006 Games EditFalcon Patrol 1983 Falcon Patrol II 1984 Sorcery 1984 The Biz 1984 Strangeloop 1985 Doriath 1985 Gates of Dawn 1985 Hunter Patrol 1985 Now Games compilation series 1985 1988 Dan Dare Pilot of the Future 1986 Shogun 1986 Action Force 1987 Action Force II 1988 Clue Master Detective 1989 Double Dragon II European computer versions 1989 Risk The World Conquest Game The Computer Edition of 1989 Silkworm 1989 Golden Axe European computer versions 1990 Conflict Middle East Political Simulator 1990 Supremacy Your Will Be Done Overlord 1990 Spot The Video Game 1990 Wonderland 1990 Chuck Rock 1991 Robin Hood Prince of Thieves 1991 Corporation 1991 Jimmy White s Whirlwind Snooker 1991 Realms 1991 Alien 3 American Amiga version 1992 Prince of Persia American NES version 1992 Dune 1992 Dune II 1992 Archer McLean s Pool 1992 European Club Soccer 1992 Floor 13 1992 Global Gladiators 1992 The Terminator 1992 M C Kids 1992 Monopoly Deluxe 1992 Jeep Jamboree Off Road Adventure 1992 Cannon Fodder 1993 Chuck Rock II Son of Chuck 1993 Superman The Man of Steel Europe only 1993 Dino Dini s Goal 1993 Dragon The Bruce Lee Story 1993 Lands of Lore The Throne of Chaos 1993 Reach for the Skies 1993 The 7th Guest 1993 Cool Spot 1993 Chi Chi s Pro Challenge Golf 1993 Super Slam Dunk 1993 Super Caesars Palace 1993 Super Slap Shot 1993 Disney s Aladdin 1993 RoboCop Versus The Terminator 1993 1994 The Terminator Sega CD version 1993 Cannon Fodder 2 1994 Doom II Hell on Earth European PC version only 1994 Earthworm Jim Europe only 1994 Jammit America only 1994 Super Dany Europe only 1994 Super Bomberman 2 Europe only 1994 Beneath a Steel Sky 1994 Walt Disney s The Jungle Book 1994 Dynamaite The Las Vegas 1994 The Lion King 1994 Demolition Man 1994 Battle Jockey 1994 The 11th Hour 1995 Creature Shock 1995 Earthworm Jim 2 Europe only 1995 Super Bomberman 3 Europe only 1995 Spot Goes To Hollywood American Mega Drive Genesis version published by Acclaim Entertainment 1995 Cyberia 2 Resurrection 1995 The Daedalus Encounter 1995 F1 Challenge 1995 Flight Unlimited 1995 Hyper 3 D Pinball 1995 SuperKarts 1995 Zone Raiders 1995 Sensible Golf 1995 Lost Eden 1995 Kyle Petty s No Fear Racing 1995 Command amp Conquer 1995 Gurume Sentai Barayarō 1995 World Masters Golf 1995 Rendering Ranger R2 1995 Agile Warrior F 111X 1995 Lone Soldier Japan only 1996 31 The Mask Japan only 1996 Resident Evil Europe and PC versions only 1996 Ghen War Europe Japan 1996 NHL Powerplay 96 1996 Street Fighter Alpha 2 Europe only 1996 Time Commando Japan only 1996 Broken Sword The Shadow of the Templars 1996 Command amp Conquer Red Alert 1996 Disney s Pinocchio 1996 Queensryche s Promised Land 1996 Toonstruck 1996 Slamscape European PS1 version 1996 Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo PS1 and Saturn versions Europe only 1996 Golden Nugget 1997 Grand Slam 1997 Subspace 1997 Agent Armstrong 1997 Black Dawn 1997 Blam Machinehead Japan only 1997 CrimeWave Japan only 1997 Marvel Super Heroes Europe only 1997 NanoTek Warrior 1997 Lands of Lore Guardians of Destiny 1997 Broken Sword II The Smoking Mirror 1997 Mega Man X3 PS1 and Saturn versions Europe only 1997 NHL Powerplay 98 1997 Sabre Ace Conflict Over Korea 1997 Ignition 1997 Bloody Roar Europe only 1998 Bomberman GB Europe only 1998 Magic amp Mayhem Europe only 1998 R Types Europe only 1998 Rival Schools United by Fate Europe only 1998 Resident Evil 2 Europe only 1998 Street Fighter Collection 2 European publishing rights only 1999 Bloody Roar 2 European publishing rights only 1999 Bomberman European publishing rights only 1999 Bomberman Quest European publishing rights only 1999 Capcom Generations Europe only 1999 Kagero Deception II European publishing rights only 1999 Dino Crisis European publishing rights only 1999 Holy Magic Century European publishing rights only 1999 Street Fighter EX2 Plus European publishing rights only 1999 Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter European publishing rights only 1999 Street Fighter Alpha Warriors Dreams European publishing rights only 1999 Marvel vs Capcom Clash of Super Heroes European publishing rights only 2000 Tech Romancer European publishing rights only 2000 Operation WinBack European publishing rights only 2000 Marvel vs Capcom 2 New Age of Heroes European publishing rights only 2000 Bomberman Fantasy Race European publishing rights only 2000 Plasma Sword Nightmare of Bilstein European publishing rights only 2000 Street Fighter III Double Impact European publishing rights only 2000 Street Fighter Alpha 3 European publishing rights only 2000 Dino Crisis 2 European publishing rights only 2000 Gunlok Europe only 2000 Super Runabout The Golden State European publishing rights only 2000 Strider 2 European publishing rights only 2000 Giga Wing European publishing rights only 2000 Capcom vs SNK European publishing rights only 2000 Resident Evil 3 Nemesis European Dreamcast version only 2000 Trick N Snowboarder European publishing rights only 2000 Jimmy White s 2 Cueball Distributed in North America by BAM Entertainment 2000 Pocket Racing European publishing rights only 2000 Mr Driller Dreamcast and GBC versions Europe only 2000 JoJo s Bizarre Adventure European publishing rights only 2000 Street Fighter III 3rd Strike European publishing rights only 2000 Evolva European publishing rights only 2000 Project Justice European publishing rights only 2000 Heist titled as Raub in Germany 2001 32 33 Gunbird 2 European publishing rights only 2001 European Super League Europe Only 2001 3D Pocket Pool Europe Only 2001 Project Justice Rival Schools 2 European publishing rights only 2001 Bloody Roar III European publishing rights only 2001 Original War 2001 Screamer 4x4 2001 Codename Outbreak 2001 Lotus Challenge European PS2 version 2001 Magic amp Mayhem The Art of Magic European publishing rights only 2001 Jimmy White s Cueball World Europe exclusive game 2001 Resident Evil Gaiden European publishing rights only 2001 Nightstone 2001 Guilty Gear X European publishing rights only 2002 Notes Edit By the time Blockbuster purchased out VIE Virgin owned a small 10 minority stake in the company Hasbro originally acquired a 15 stake but was later extended to 16 2 Blockbuster originally purchased a 73 stake in VIE but they would eventually purchase Hasbro s stake as well giving them 100 control of the publisher Around this time Spelling and Blockbuster merged with Viacom although VIE remained a subsidiary of Spelling Titus originally acquired a 50 1 majority stake but was expanded to 100 when they acquired Interplay Europe s operations References Edit a b c Company Line Virgin Interactive Entertainment Archived from the original on June 11 1998 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Mastertronic The Anthony Guter Official Site Blockbuster Buys Slice Of Virgin Video Game Division Billboard 5 January 29 1994 Blockbuster Spelling Add Videogame Maker To Stable Orlando Sentinel Bloomberg News Service 1994 06 30 a b c Peers Martin 1997 02 20 Spelling plans offering to sell Virgin Interactive Orlando Sentinel Titus Interactive Agrees Terms to Acquire Control Of Virgin Interactive Entertainment LTD Press release Paris Titus Interactive PRNewswire October 7 1999 a b c Corporate Information Virgin Interactive Entertainment Archived from the original on 1998 06 11 a b c Takahashi Dean 1994 02 10 O C s Virgin Interactive to Sell Stock Offering The video and computer game publisher will deal 16 of shares Owner s share will dip under 50 Los Angeles Times Takahashi Dean 1994 02 06 Big Bets Placed on Game Discs Los Angeles Times Harmon Amy 1994 06 30 Spelling to Buy a 75 Stake in Virgin Interactive Los Angeles Times About VSV Virgin Sound And Vision Archived from the original on February 2 1998 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Fisher Andrew July 2014 Gang Leaders A Gang of Five Retrospective Retro Gamer 131 44 49 ISSN 1742 3155 Virgin releases Rabbit titles Popular Computing Weekly No 41 Sunshine Publications 10 October 1985 p 5 Retrieved 18 January 2022 a b Virgin Territory ZX Computing Argus Specialist Publications July 1986 p 5 Retrieved 18 January 2022 Guter Anthony A History of Mastertronic The Mastertronic site on Guter Org Pettus Sam 2013 Service Games The Rise and Fall of SEGA Enhanced Edition CreateSpace pp 410 411 ISBN 978 1494288358 Branson Richard 2011 Losing My Virginity How I Survived Had Fun and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way Crown Business pp 124 127 ISBN 978 0307720740 Takahashi Dean 1993 08 27 Hasbro to Buy 15 Stake in O C s Virgin Subsidiary Los Angeles Times Virgin GamePro No 66 IDG March 1994 p 186 McCash Vicki 1994 06 30 Blockbuster To Gain Control Of Game Maker Orlando Sun Sentinel Christman Ed 1995 05 06 Alliance May Offer Stock Blockbuster Virgin Settle Billboard 50 Harmon Amy 1994 06 30 Spelling to Buy a 75 Stake in Virgin Interactive Los Angeles Times Harrod Gus and Gary February 1996 Capcom Speak Mean Machines Sega No 40 pp 21 22 Campbell Colin May 1997 Spelling to Dump Virgin Next Generation No 29 Imagine Media p 30 So Who s Getting Rich Next Generation No 30 Imagine Media June 1997 p 43 Morris Chris 1998 08 17 EA buys Westwood CNN Money Cable News Network Virgin Interactive May See Management Buyout Telecom paper BV 1998 09 02 Interplay Buys Half of Virgin IGN retrieved 2020 08 31 Virgin Interactive name buried as Titus rebrands distribution arm GamesIndustry biz Retrieved 2020 08 31 Titus bankrupt Interplay s future uncertain Gamespot 2005 01 05 Archived from the original on 2013 06 29 Retrieved 2013 05 06 Lone Soldier for PlayStation GameFaqs TEST HEIST ENCORE UN CASSE DE FOIRE Gamekult Test Raub Taktik amp Strategie 4Players External links EditOfficial website archived through 2003 Avalon Interactive Portal offline Virgin Interactive profile on MobyGames Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Virgin Interactive amp oldid 1150052449, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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