| Codemasters | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Video game developer and publisher |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Warwickshire, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Richard Darling, David Darling, Jim Darling |
| Industry | Video games |
| Products | LMA Manager, TOCA Touring Car series, Colin McRae Rally series, Operation:Flashpoint, Dizzy series, Brian Lara Cricket series |
| Website | http://www.codemasters.co.uk/ |
Codemasters (earlier known as Code Masters and often nicknamed Codies in magazines) is one of the longest running British video game developers. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video A video game publisher is a company that publishes Video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a Video game developer Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Geography Warwickshire is bounded to the northwest by the West Midlands Metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" The video game industry (formally referred to as Interactive entertainment) is the economic sector involved with the development, Marketing In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need LMA Manager is a football (soccer management Video game series developed and published by Codemasters. TOCA is a Racing Video game series developed and published by Codemasters, initially focusing specifically on Touring car racing Colin McRae Rally is a Racing Video game series developed and published by Codemasters for the PC, PlayStation, Operation Flashpoint Cold War Crisis, sometimes shortened to Operation Flashpoint, and abbreviated OFP is a Tactical shooter and battlefield The Dizzy series of Computer games (published by Codemasters) was one of the most The Brian Lara Cricket series is a series of six Cricket video games that are endorsed by the West Indian cricketer Brian Lara and published by Codemasters A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video The CEO is Rod Cousens, formerly of Acclaim. Acclaim Entertainment was an American Video game developer and publisher. In 2005, Codemasters was named as the top independent games developer by "Develop magazine", an international monthly journal for video game developers [1].
Contents |
History
Founded in 1985 by Richard and David Darling (who worked previously for Mastertronic), Codemasters quickly established themselves in the growing ZX Spectrum market, mostly with action games that required the player to solve simple puzzles by combining different objects. Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost ("budget" computer game software founded in 1983. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal Home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd One of the best examples of these games are the Dizzy series. The Dizzy series of Computer games (published by Codemasters) was one of the most While Codemasters found their roots in the ZX Spectrum, they did not exclusively write for this one computer - they also released software (including the Dizzy series) for the Enterprise 128, Vic 20, Commodore 64, Commodore 16, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. The VIC-20 ( Germany: VC-20; Japan: VIC-1001) is an 8-bit Home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines The Commodore 16 was a Home computer made by Commodore with a 6502 -compatible 7501 CPU, released in 1984. The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/ Home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit Home computers produced by Amstrad Plc during the 1980s and early 1990s The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit Home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992 The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. The Atari ST is a home / Personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s
They were famous for releasing a long series of games called "Advanced Something Simulator" or "Professional Something Simulator". This led to the parody "Advanced Lawnmower Simulator" being developed, praised to the skies and then published by Your Sinclair magazine as an April Fool's Day stunt. Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated was a British Computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers This article is about the informal holiday For other uses see April Fool.
Codemasters were one of a number of software houses in the 1980s that only released low-retail-price titles. The ( manufacturer's) suggested retail price ( MSRP or SRP) list price or recommended retail price ( RRP) (originally Hence when, in 1992, they began to cut down on the budget releases in favour of full-price titles, they attracted the ire of many fans and the gaming press, the latter questioning the commercial logic behind it as Codemasters had known a great deal of success from their budget titles.
As the 8-bit computer market diminished, Codemasters turned to developing for the 8-bit and 16-bit console markets, as well as moving away from their budget title legacy to more full-price games on the 16-bit computers - 1993 saw the last title in the budget Dizzy series, Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, although they released a full-price Dizzy game, Fantastic Dizzy later. Eight-bit CPUs normally use an 8-bit data bus and a 16-bit address bus which means that their Address space is limited to 64 KBs This is not a "natural Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Dizzy, or Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure, was the first video game featuring the character Dizzy, an Anthropomorphic egg Crystal Kingdom Dizzy is an adventure Video game featuring the character Dizzy released in December 1992 by Codemasters Fantastic Dizzy ( The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy outside Europe & Australia) is a 1991 Video game developed They had major success with the Micro Machines series and Pete Sampras Tennis on the Sega Mega Drive. Micro Machines is a series of computer and video games featuring Toy cars, developed by Codemasters and published on several platforms (including Amiga Pete Sampras Tennis was the first game of three of this celebrity-endorsed Tennis Video game series released by British software house is a multinational Video game Software and Hardware development company and a former Home computer The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 Both franchises featured the J-Cart, allowing two extra controllers to be attached to the game cart without requiring EA's 4 way play or SEGA's four player adaptor. The J-Cart was a special cartridge developed by Codemasters for the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis console is a multinational Video game Software and Hardware development company and a former Home computer
The company also attracted both smirks and scorn from the gaming press and the gaming public in the 1980s with gleaming quotes that appeared to come from the gaming press on the packaging of their games (e. g. "This game is absolutely brilliant!" on Fruit Machine Simulator) - a standard feature of game packaging. However, on closer inspection, the quote could be seen to be attributed to none other than David or Richard Darling, the founders of Codemasters.
Console Mods
Codemasters is notable for making the large majority of games published by the controversial Camerica company, which bypassed Nintendo's lock-out chip by glitching it and produced unlicensed NES games. Camerica is a Video game company that was notable for producing unlicensed Nintendo Entertainment System games and hardware is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Kyoto Japan founded on In a general sense a lock-out chip is a chip within an electronic device to prevent other manufacturers from using a company's device to perform certain functions A glitch is a short-lived Fault in a system The term is particularly common in the Computing and Electronics industries and in Circuit bending These NES games were known for being shiny gold and silver cartridges that were slightly different from normal NES cartridges in shape, though they still fit into the cartridge slot. In various types of electronic equipment a cartridge can refer one method of adding different functionality or content (e Many Codemasters titles were also featured on Camerica's Aladdin Deck Enhancer. The Aladdin Deck Enhancer, produced by Camerica, and developed by Codemasters, is a cartridge based system that allows software on Compact Cartridges
In 1990 Codemasters developed a device called the Power Pak, later renamed the Game Genie. The Game Genie is a series of cheat systems designed by Codemasters and sold by Camerica and Galoob for the Nintendo Entertainment System It was a cheat cartridge for the NES, released in the US by Galoob and in Canada and the UK by Camerica. The Nintendo Entertainment System (often abbreviated as NES or simply Nintendo) is an 8-bit Video game console that was released by Lewis Galoob Toys Inc was a Toy company best known for creating Micro Machines and the video game cheat device called Game Genie. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Recent History
Codemasters have since continued to release titles for later generation systems, such as the TOCA Touring Car series, Colin McRae Rally series, Brian Lara International Cricket series and Operation Flashpoint. TOCA is a Racing Video game series developed and published by Codemasters, initially focusing specifically on Touring car racing Colin McRae Rally is a Racing Video game series developed and published by Codemasters for the PC, PlayStation, The Brian Lara Cricket series is a series of six Cricket video games that are endorsed by the West Indian cricketer Brian Lara and published by Codemasters Operation Flashpoint Cold War Crisis, sometimes shortened to Operation Flashpoint, and abbreviated OFP is a Tactical shooter and battlefield They currently own the rights to use the title Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, but have parted with the original developer Bohemia Interactive Studio. Operation Flashpoint 2 Dragon Rising ( OFP 2) is the official sequel to the award winning computer game Operation Flashpoint Cold War Crisis Bohemia Interactive Studio ( BIS) is an independent computer and console game developer based in Prague, the In spite of this, Codemasters released Operation Flashpoint: Elite, developed by Bohemia, for Xbox in October 2005. Operation Flashpoint Cold War Crisis, sometimes shortened to Operation Flashpoint, and abbreviated OFP is a Tactical shooter and battlefield The Xbox is a sixth-generation Video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. June 2006 saw the long awaited release of Sensible Soccer 2006. Sensible Soccer, often affectionately known as Sensi, is a Football (soccer Video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and In June 2007 Codemasters were purchased by equity group Balderton Capital[2] and they changed their logo to an interlocked metallic C and M. Events in June Madaraka Day June 1 to commemorate when Kenya gained internal self-rule Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Later that month they released the latest in the Colin McRae Rally series, DiRT. Colin McRae Rally is a Racing Video game series developed and published by Codemasters for the PC, PlayStation, Colin McRae DiRT (shortened to DiRT in North America is the sixth Racing game in the Colin McRae Rally series developed by They have recently published Overlord and Clive Barker's Jericho. Clive Barker’s Jericho is a Supernatural horror -themed First person shooter Video game with author Clive Barker
Following the death of Colin McRae on September 15, 2007, Codemasters released a public statement on this. Colin Steele McRae, MBE ( August 5, 1968 &ndash September 15, 2007) was a Scottish rally driver born in Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [3]
In March 2008 Codemasters announced a new deal with Majesco. Majesco Entertainment is a Japanese / American Video game publisher founded in 1986. The new partnership will focus on titles for DS and Wii, including Nanostray 2, Toy Shop, Cake Mania 2 and Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society for DS, and Wild Earth: African Safari, Our House and Cake Mania for Wii. [4]
On May 9, 2008, it was announced that Codemasters had won the rights to the Formula One license after Sony's deal had run out. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ( SCEI) is a Japanese Video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry mostly in Video game consoles and is a full Codemasters will release their first F1 game in 2009. [5]
Behind-the-scenes documentary
In the early 1990s, the studio was the focus of an entire edition of "It's a Living", a regional ITV programme that examined unusual careers and companies. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent The show was able to examine the inner workings of the offices and was primarily concentrated on the development of Cosmic Spacehead, plus the marketing efforts surrounding it. Cosmic Spacehead (released as Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade on the NES is a Video game released in 1993 in video games.
Games
For games with articles, see Codemasters games.
References
- ^ Codemasters ‘on top of the world’ as top 100 games developers league is revealed, Games Industry Biz, 06/05/2005
- ^ "PRESS RELEASE: Balderton Capital buys out founders of Codemasters, company receives £50m funding from Goldman Sachs", Gamesindustry.biz, 2007-06-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the
- ^ Codemasters release statement regarding Colin McRae's Death
- ^ Codemasters unveils Majesco partnership - MCV 06/03/2008
- ^ Codemasters secures official FORMULA ONE video game licence - product line to be jewel in racing game crown.
External links
- Official site
- Codemasters' Youtube Channel
- Advertising material and information from World of Sinclair
- Codemasters category at ODP
- Codemasters at World of Spectrum
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic