Animation Magic
Founded | 1991 (Massachusetts branch) 1992 (Saint Petersburg branch)[1] |
---|---|
Founders | Igor Razboff and Dale DeSharone |
Defunct | 2001[2] |
Fate | Dissolved by Vivendi and BullHorn Games Studios |
Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 3 |
Products | Video games and animation |
Owner | Capitol Multimedia Vivendi (1998–2001) |
Number of employees | ~150 |
Subsidiaries | ООО "АМИ" |
Animation Magic (Russian: «Магия анимации», romanized: Magiya Animatsii) was a Russian-American animation studio created in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a 100% owned subsidiary located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It developed animations for CD-based software.
The company was acquired in December 1994 by Capitol Multimedia.
In 1994 it had 90 employees, including 12 software engineers and approximately 60 animators, computer graphic, background and sprite artists. Its products include Link: The Faces of Evil,[3] Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon,[4] Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam, Pyramid Adventures[5], I.M. Meen,[6] Chill Manor, Hotel Mario, King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride, Darby the Dragon, and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans.[7][8]
In April 1997, Animation Magic was acquired by Davidson & Associates, for whom the company had been developing Warcraft Adventures, a point and click graphical adventure game based on the Warcraft franchise.
In being bought by Davidson & Associates, Animation Magic became part of CUC Software, and its founder and CEO Igor Razboff, was made a Vice President of CUC Software. In 1998, CUC Software was renamed to Cendant Software after parent CUC International merged with HFS, Inc.
In December 1998, Cendant Software was sold to Havas, a subsidiary of Vivendi and became Vivendi Universal Games.
In 2001, Vivendi Universal Games closed Animation Magic.
References
- ^ Puffer, Sheila M.; McCarthy, Daniel J.; Satinsky, Daniel M. (2018). Hammer and Silicon: The Soviet Diaspora in the US Innovation Economy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 152–153. ISBN 1107190851.
I went back to computer design and computer manufacturing, and in 1991, I started my own business in multimedia called Animation Magic. When I started that business, Russia opened up and my partner, who was also from Massachusetts but originally from California, suggested that we should probably hire some animators from Russia because that would make us more competitive in the marketplace. We would have better animation and therefore more success, so I went to Russia and we opened a business there in 1992.
- ^ Игорь Варнавский (Igor Varnavsky) (January 31, 2008). Закрытые страницы истории. Крупные игровые компании в России были еще в 90-е, но мы об этом не знали. Igromania (in Russian). Vol. 1, no. 124 (published January 2008). Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Link: The Faces of Evil". MobyGames. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon". MobyGames. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Pyramid Adventures Episode 1: Treasures of the Lost Pyramid - The Cutting Room Floor". tcrf.net. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ Brad Cook. "Test of I.M. Meen". Allgame. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Animation Magic". The Video Animation Company. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- Vivendi subsidiaries
- American animation studios
- Video game companies established in 1992
- Mass media companies established in 1992
- Video game companies disestablished in 2001
- Mass media companies disestablished in 2001
- Defunct video game companies of the United States
- Defunct companies based in Maryland
- Companies based in Gaithersburg, Maryland
- United States video game company stubs
- Animation studio stubs