Legend Entertainment: Difference between revisions
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}}</ref> Though adventure games were at their peak in the early 1990s, Legend faced difficult competition in the genre from [[Sierra On-Line]] and [[LucasArts]], who had larger budgets and greater sales.<ref name=":0" /> |
}}</ref> Though adventure games were at their peak in the early 1990s, Legend faced difficult competition in the genre from [[Sierra On-Line]] and [[LucasArts]], who had larger budgets and greater sales.<ref name=":0" /> |
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Legend shifted to development |
Legend shifted to development under other publishers in 1996, starting with ''[[Star Control 3]]'' for [[Accolade (company)|Accolade]], and [[Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (video game)|''Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon'']] for [[Take-Two Interactive]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2000-02-01|title=PCGamePro - News|url=http://pcgamepro.com:80/news/news_unreal2.html|access-date=2020-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000201033822/http://pcgamepro.com:80/news/news_unreal2.html|archive-date=2000-02-01}}</ref> The company was purchased by [[GT Interactive]] in [[1998 in video gaming|1998]], particularly to acquire Legend's rights to develop an [[Unreal (video game series)|Unreal]] sequel.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Microsoft buys MechWarrior developer - Jan. 7, 1999|url=https://money.cnn.com/1999/01/07/life/fasa/|access-date=2020-09-28|website=money.cnn.com}}</ref> Their focus then shifted to developing [[Action game|action games]]. They developed a [[first-person shooter]] based on [[Robert Jordan]]'s ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' and finished the development of the second part in the [[Unreal (video game series)|Unreal]] series in [[2002 in video gaming|2002]]. Late in [[2003 in video gaming|2003]], they released a free expansion for ''[[Unreal II: The Awakening]]'', known as XMP (''[[eXpanded MultiPlayer]]''). In 1999, [[Infogrames Entertainment, SA]] (IESA) announced that it would buy GT Interactive.<ref>{{Cite news|last=News|first=Bloomberg|date=1999-11-16|title=Infogrames Gets Control of GT Interactive|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/16/business/infogrames-gets-control-of-gt-interactive.html|access-date=2020-09-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> |
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On Friday, January 16, 2004, Legend Entertainment was shut down. A brief [[press release]] from [[Atari]] cites that it was "purely a business decision", and that "Legend had recently completed its only current project and had no new projects in the pipeline." |
On Friday, January 16, 2004, Legend Entertainment was shut down. A brief [[press release]] from [[Atari]] cites that it was "purely a business decision", and that "Legend had recently completed its only current project and had no new projects in the pipeline." |
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Revision as of 03:41, 24 November 2020
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1989[1] |
| Founder | Bob Bates, Mike Verdu |
| Defunct | January 16, 2004 |
| Fate | Shut down |
| Headquarters | Chantilly, Virginia, United States |
Key people | Bob Bates[2] Mike Verdu[3] Steve Meretzky[4] Michael J. Lindner[5] |
| Owner | Private until acquired in 1998 by GT Interactive (which became Infogrames) |
Legend Entertainment was an American developer and publisher of computer games, best known for their complex, distinctive adventure titles throughout the 1990s.
History
Legend Entertainment was founded in 1989 by Bob Bates and Mike Verdu, after Activision closed their development studio at Infocom.[6] Infocom had been a celebrated creator of adventure games before declaring bankruptcy.[7] According to Bates, investors needed to see how a new company could succeed where Infocom had stumbled, and he eventually convinced investors that "there was still life in the adventure genre, but that it needed more than just text."[8] For their first titles, they hired other Infocom veterans, particularly developer and author Steve Meretzky.[9]
The company's debut title was Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls, which evolved beyond simple text-based adventures with graphics for each of the game's "rooms".[10] Meretsky describes this as a "fusion of the depth and detail of Infocom games with a graphical presentation that would be more in keeping with what audiences circa 1990 demanded", which led to greater sales than their former company.[9] Starting in 1993, Legend switched to a new development system for graphic-only adventures. Several of their adventure games were based on book licenses, including Frederik Pohl's Gateway, Terry Brooks' Shannara, Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Piers Anthony's Xanth, and Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's The Death Gate Cycle.[citation needed] By 1994 games like Xanth and Eric the Unready gave Legend a reputation for comedy adventures.[11] Though adventure games were at their peak in the early 1990s, Legend faced difficult competition in the genre from Sierra On-Line and LucasArts, who had larger budgets and greater sales.[9]
Legend shifted to development under other publishers in 1996, starting with Star Control 3 for Accolade, and Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon for Take-Two Interactive.[12] The company was purchased by GT Interactive in 1998, particularly to acquire Legend's rights to develop an Unreal sequel.[13] Their focus then shifted to developing action games. They developed a first-person shooter based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time and finished the development of the second part in the Unreal series in 2002. Late in 2003, they released a free expansion for Unreal II: The Awakening, known as XMP (eXpanded MultiPlayer). In 1999, Infogrames Entertainment, SA (IESA) announced that it would buy GT Interactive.[14]
On Friday, January 16, 2004, Legend Entertainment was shut down. A brief press release from Atari cites that it was "purely a business decision", and that "Legend had recently completed its only current project and had no new projects in the pipeline."
Gameography
Interactive fiction
- Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls (1990)
- Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance (1991)
- Timequest (1991)
- Gateway (1992)
- Spellcasting 301: Spring Break (1992)
- Eric the Unready (1993)
- Gateway II: Homeworld (1993)
Graphic adventures
- Companions of Xanth (1993)
- Death Gate (1994)
- Superhero League of Hoboken (1994)
- Mission Critical (1995)
- Shannara (1995)
- Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (1997)
- John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles (1998)
Other
- Star Control 3 (1996)
- Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali (1999)
- Wheel of Time (1999)
- Unreal II: The Awakening (2003)
- Unreal II: eXpanded MultiPlayer (2003)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003, support developer for Black Ops Entertainment)
Reception
In October 1998, Greg Costikyan quoted Legend Entertainment's Bob Bates as saying that the company "typically sells 100,000-150,000 copies of the adventure games they release, with overseas sales basically doubling the total number sold."[15]
See also
References
- ^ "GT Interactive Acquires Award-Winning Software Developer, Legend Entertainment". January 6, 1999. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Bob Bates - Game Credits". www.mobygames.com.
- ^ "Mike Verdu - Game Credits". www.mobygames.com.
- ^ "Steve Eric Meretzky - Game Credits". www.mobygames.com.
- ^ "Michael Lindner - Game Credits". www.mobygames.com.
- ^ Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2012-08-21). Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-136-13758-7.
- ^ "Mission Critical Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Interview: Bob Bates - Adventure Collective - Game Reviews, Previews, Articles, Features, Editorials, Interviews, News, Solutions, Solves, Walkthroughs, FAQ, Guides, Hints, Tips". 2001-03-01. Archived from the original on 2001-03-01. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
- ^ a b c Cifaldi, Frank (October 31, 2005). "Playing Catch-Up: Infocom's Steve Meretzky". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rouse III, Richard (2005). Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition. Wordware Publishing. 189-191. ISBN 1-55622-912-7.
- ^ Wilson, Johnny L. (August 1994). "The Toxic Humormonger". Computer Gaming World. pp. 46–48.
- ^ "PCGamePro - News". 2000-02-01. Archived from the original on 2000-02-01. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
- ^ "Microsoft buys MechWarrior developer - Jan. 7, 1999". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
- ^ News, Bloomberg (1999-11-16). "Infogrames Gets Control of GT Interactive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Costikyan, Greg (October 21, 1998). "The adventure continues". Salon.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
External links
- The Unofficial Legend Text Adventure Page
- Legend Entertainment at MobyGames
- Korseby Online (has some reviews of Legend games)