Avantgarden
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game industry Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Massimo Guarini |
| Headquarters | Varese , Italy |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Murasaki Baby |
| Owner | Massimo Guarini (51%) Digital Bros S.p.A. (49%) |
| Parent | Independent |
| Website | www.ovosonico.com |
Ovosonico is an Italian video game developer founded in 2012 by industry veteran Massimo Guarini. The company, located by the shores of Lake Varese, debuted with the critically acclaimed Murasaki Baby, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in 2014 for the PS Vita.
History
Before the establishment of the studio, Guarini was the director for Grasshopper Manufacture's Shadows of the Damned and Ubisoft's Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. During his employment at Grasshopper Manufacture he worked closely with world-famed creators such as Goichi Suda, Shinji Mikami and Akira Yamaoka. He also has production credits in games for the Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six franchises.[1] After the release of Shadows of the Damned, Guarini decided to move from Japan back to his home country and go independent. He wanted to do something different in life after being in the video game industry for over fifteen years. His approach towards video games is more about trying to connect with humans, not just gamers. [2]
Back to Italy, he founded Ovosonico with his former colleague Gianni Ricciardi, Audio Director and Music Composer for numerous video game developers and publishers amongst which Ubisoft, Capcom, Namco and Milestone. They established the operative headquarter in an 18th century villa in the Lake Region in Northern Italy in 2012.
In March 2013, Ovosonico announced a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the development of a new intellectual property, becoming the first Italian game studio to work with Sony.[1] The game, Murasaki Baby, was announced at Sony's press conference during GamesCom 2013 for the PS Vita.[3] The game was released in North America and Europe in September 2014.[4]
In 2015, Digital Bros, parent company to 505 Games, invested €1.44m in Ovosonico.[5]
Games
- Murasaki Baby - 2014
References
- ^ a b Makuch, Eddie (19 March 2013). "Shadows of the Damned director partners with Sony for new IP". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ Rose, Mike (4 September 2013). "Games for humans: Shadows of the Damned's creator finds his calling". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ Davis, Justin (20 August 2013). "GAMESCOM 2013: MURASAKI BABY REVEALED FOR PS VITA". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ Page, Dennis (11 September 2014). "PS VITA EXCLUSIVE MURASAKI BABY RELEASE DATE ANNOUNCED". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ Calvin, Alex (14 September 2015). "505 Games parent invests in Murasaki Baby studio Ovosonico". MCV. Intent Media. Retrieved 10 October 2015.