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Majesco Entertainment

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This article is about the video game company. For the insurance software company, see Majesco (insurance software company).

Majesco Entertainment
Company typePublic company
Nasdaq: COOL
IndustryVideo games
Founded1986 (1986)
HeadquartersEdison, New Jersey, United States
RevenueDecrease US$75 million
Decrease US$2 million
Decrease US$490 thousand
DivisionsMidnight City
WebsiteOfficial website

Majesco Entertainment Company (formerly Majesco Sales, Inc., commonly referred to as just Majesco) is an American video game publisher and distributor founded in 1986, headquartered in Edison, New Jersey, United States.[1]

History

Majesco was first known as a reissuer of old titles that had been abandoned by their original publisher. By cutting the prices and eventually arranging the rights to self-manufacture games for both Nintendo and Sega systems, the company found a sustainable market niche.[citation needed]

Later, Majesco arranged with Sega to manufacture a version of its Genesis (known as Mega Drive outside North America) 16-bit console, which had been superseded by the 32-bit Saturn. It released this in 1998 as the Genesis 3 and followed up with a version of the handheld Game Gear called the Game Gear Core System.

The company's focus shifted to in-house game development, initially under the brand Pipe-Dream Interactive since few believed they could make the transition successfully.[citation needed] Majesco focused on developing for then-current generation systems, such as Nintendo's GameCube and Game Boy Advance, Microsoft's Xbox, and Sony's PlayStation 2. A few of the titles it released, involving popular characters, included a few Bomberman titles for the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance. Majesco also published PC games with Terminal Reality as the developer, such as BloodRayne and BloodRayne 2.

In 2003, Majesco was slated to publish Black9, but producers forced the developers, Taldren, Inc., to shut down when the game was about 85% complete.[2] The publisher had reached financial trouble with its larger-budget games, such as Psychonauts, which sold poorly although receiving several awards and critical acclaim, and Advent Rising, which generated intense hype but was ultimately panned by critics for being released prematurely and without adequate bug testing. Its best-selling titles in the last few years have been the series of GBA Videos for the Game Boy Advance. It also published the game Jaws Unleashed.

On January 19, 2006, the company's financial situation worsened to the degree that it had to cancel two games it was going to publish: Demonik, developed by Terminal Reality, and Taxi Driver, a sequel to the movie. Majesco's president, Jesse Sutton, said that in the future the company would "focus primarily on publishing value and handheld video games."[3] Since that announcement, the company has followed through with publishing successful budget titles in North America like Cooking Mama for the DS.

On September 14, 2006, Majesco released Advent Rising and re-released BloodRayne and BloodRayne 2 on Steam.

On November 6, 2007, Majesco announced the opening of a new development facility in the Los Angeles area dedicated to the development of casual game products and properties.[4]

On December 10, 2007, Majesco announced that they would be publishing a rhythm-based game, Major Minor's Majestic March, exclusively for the Wii developed by NanaOn-Sha.

Majesco has announced that it will be launching an internet version of Bananagrams on August 18, 2008 that will be available on Facebook, a social networking website.[5]

On November 4, 2009, Majesco released BloodRayne and BloodRayne 2 on GOG.com.

On June 6, 2011, Majesco announced that it was acquiring the assets of social game developer Quick Hit and Quick Hit Football to build out its social gaming strategy.[6]

After a disastrous fiscal year of 2013, the company was expected to enjoy a recovering growth in 2014.[7]

In August 2015, Majesco announced that they had appointed a new CEO, and that only five employees would remain in the company. The company's focus also shifted to develop mobile and downloadable titles. Two new titles, Glue and a new installment in the A Boy and His Blob franchise, were announced after the reconstruction.[8]

Gameography

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Majesco Entertainment". Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  2. ^ "Cyberpunked: the Fall of Black9". The Escapist Magazine. May 20, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  3. ^ "Majesco cans two games, shifts to budget/handheld". Eurogamer. January 19, 2006. Retrieved May 10, 2006.
  4. ^ "Majesco Announces New Casual Game Studio, Appoints Former Sega Exec In Lead Role". Gamasutra. November 6, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
  5. ^ "Banagrams Bound for Facebook". Playthings. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  6. ^ "Majesco Expands Social Strategy With Quick Hit Acquisitions". Gamasutra. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  7. ^ "Majesco Entertainment Co.: Moving Away From Disastrous 2013 Into Potentially Significant Growth In 2014 And Beyond". January 13, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  8. ^ Hillier, Brenna (August 12, 2015). "Majesco is going all digital, new A Boy and His Blob inbound". VG 247. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
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