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Vicious Cycle Software

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Vicious Cycle Software
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedChapel Hill, North Carolina (2000)
DefunctJanuary 2016
HeadquartersMorrisville, North Carolina
Key people
Eric Peterson, Founder/President and CEO
Wayne Harvey, Founder/VP/CTO
Dave Ellis, Founder/Senior Game Designer, Marc Racine Founder/Production Director
ProductsVicious Engine
ParentLittle Orbit
DivisionsMonkey Bar Games
Websitewww.viciouscycleinc.com

Vicious Cycle Software was an American video game development company based in Morrisville, North Carolina.

History

Vicious Cycle was founded in 2000 by Eric Peterson, Dave Ellis, Marc Racine and Wayne Harvey after layoffs at the local MicroProse development studio (then a Hasbro Interactive studio) forced several game developers into finding other work. Racine resigned as Vice President and Director of Production in the Spring of 2005 to pursue other ventures. Ellis left the company in the Summer of 2000, but returned in 2005 to take a position as game designer. Vicious Cycle has released titles for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation Portable systems as well as the Microsoft Windows platform.

In 2005, Vicious Cycle announced the opening of their Monkey Bar Games division. Monkey Bar Games was focused on providing mass-market games to gamers of all ages. Monkey Bar Games released video games incorporating licensed characters from Ben 10, Dora the Explorer, and Curious George. A game was also released in late 2006 to coincide with the release of the Flushed Away animated feature film.

Also in 2005, Vicious Cycle announced the release of their Vicious Engine game engine. The Vicious Engine is a complete game development middleware solution for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, Wii and Microsoft Windows. The Vicious Engine is one of the first game engines to offer full support for the PSP and Wii platforms.[citation needed]

On June 20, 2007, Vicious Cycle was acquired by D3 Publisher, making Vicious Cycle Software a subsidiary of D3Publisher of America and a second‐tier subsidiary of D3 Inc.[1] Vicious Cycle released Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 26, 2009. On October 1, 2009, they announced Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond for Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Store for winter 2009.[2]

The second version of the Vicious Engine, Ve2, was released on March 25, 2009 at the Game Developers Conference. It specifically features improvements for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[3]

In Spring of 2014, Vicious Cycle was acquired by Little Orbit.[4]

As the final two games (Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations and Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends) neared completion, several rounds of layoffs reduced the studio to a skeleton crew. Vicious Cycle closed its doors permanently in January 2016.

Products

Title Year Platform(s)
Robotech: Battlecry 2002 PS2, GameCube, Xbox
Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey 2003 GameCube, Xbox
Robotech: Invasion 2004 PS2, Xbox
Spy vs. Spy 2005 PS2, Xbox
Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet 2005 PS2, GameCube
Curious George 2006 PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Windows
Flushed Away 2006 PS2, GameCube
Marvel Trading Card Game 2007 PSP, Windows
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords 2007 PSP, XBLA
Dead Head Fred 2007 PSP
Ben 10: Alien Force 2008 Wii, PS2, PSP
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard 2009 Xbox 360, PS3
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond 2010 XBLA, PSN
Yogi Bear: The Video Game 2010 Wii
Despicable Me: The Game 2010 PS2, PSP, Wii
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon 2011 Xbox 360, PS3, Windows
Ben 10: Galactic Racing 2011 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PlayStation Vita, 3DS
Ben 10: Omniverse 2012 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U
Madagascar 3: The Video Game 2012 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U
Turbo: Super Stunt Squad 2013 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2013 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 2014 Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS
Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations 2015 Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows, Wii U, 3DS
Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends[5] 2015 Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows, Wii U, 3DS

References

  1. ^ Press Release: D3 Inc. Acquires Vicious Cycle Software from D3 website
  2. ^ Press Release Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Coming to XBLA press release from TeamXbox.com
  3. ^ http://games.ign.com/articles/958/958281p1.html Press Release
  4. ^ "Little Orbit Acquires Vicious Cycle Software" (Press release). Little Orbit. September 4, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015. The acquisition occurred in Spring of 2014...
  5. ^ Little Orbit (May 4, 2015). "Little Orbit Kicks Off Totally Epic Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends Video Game" (Press release). PR Newswire iReach. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
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