User:Kamrat

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Target Games AB
Company typePublicly traded Aktiebolag
IndustryRole-playing games, Collectible card games, Miniature wargaming & other assorted media
Founded1981 (1981)[1]
FounderFredrik Malmberg, Lars-Åke Thor, Johan Arve, Klas Berndal[1][2]
Defunct2002 (2002)[3]
Headquarters
Stockholm
,
Sweden
Key people
Anders Blixt,[1][4] Nils Gullikson,[5] Bryan Winter[6]
ProductsDrakar & Demoner, Mutant, Mutant Chronicles, Kult, Doom Troopers, Warzone
DivisionsTarget Games Interactive AB
Target Games Adventure AB
Heartbreaker Hobbies & Games[7]

Target Games was a Swedish publisher of role-playing games active in the game market from 1981 until the year 1999. They where the leading producers of Role-playing games and Board Games in Scandinavia.[8] Their most successful product was Warzone.[5]


History[edit]

1981-1984[edit]

Target Games started out with the name Äventyrsspel in 1981, after Fredrik Malmberg had struck a deal with the American publisher Chaosium in 1981, having already licensed the name Drakar och Demoner. At that time it was more of a hobby than a serious business venture. They started out by releasing the First edition of Drakar och Demoner in 1982 which was a poorly translated version of the Role-playing game Magic World which uses the Basic Role-Playing game-system.[1] In 1983 the RPG-magazine Sinkadus saw it's first release, a magazine only covering releases by Äventyrsspel. Sinkadus was never intended to make any money, it was more of a way for the company to keep in touch with the fans before the internet. There was much supplemental material released with the magazine as well.[5] In 1984 the business became more serious with the release of Mutant (which was heavily inspired by the games Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World) and second edition of Drakar och Demoner featuring better translations.[1]

1985-1988[edit]

In early 1985 Anders Blixt joined the company and soon began working on the expansion set Drakar och Demoner: Expert that was released later that same year.[4] 1985 also saw the release of a new version of Drakar och Demoner (called 2.1 internally) that mostly corrected spelling errors as well as Monsterboken (the Monster book) which contained new creatures to use within Drakar och Demoner. They also released a translated version of Chill that same year, called Chock in Sweden in an effort to try out new genres of Role-playing games. The years that followed was a very successful time for Äventyrsspel, they continued releasing expansion packs for both Mutant and Drakar och Demoner as well as translated versions of American role-playing games, titles such as Sagan om Ringen (Middle-earth Role Playing) and Stjärnornas Krig (Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Äventyrsspel also released translated versions of the popular Gamebook series Lone Wolf (Ensamma Vargen) as well as many other translated works of fiction during this time.[1]

1989-1993[edit]

In 1989 Anders Blixt left the company and Nils Gullikson became the new production manager. A new Version of Mutant was released nicknamed 'Nya' Mutant ('New' Mutant) that was more focused on cyberpunk than a post-apocalyptic scenario like the earlier version was. The reason for this decision was that Mutant sales had diminished considerably during the years after it's first release and that the cyberpunk trend was riding high at the time. In 1991 people saw the release of a new Drakar och Demoner (4th Edition) as well as the horror rpg Kult (Cult). Kult was very different from the other games that the company had previously produced. It had a much darker vibe and was the first game released by Äventyrsspel that came with a warning on the cover (Not recommended for people under the age of 15). The release of the game resulted in moral panic in Swedish media.[9][10][5][11] This resulted in many retailers refusing to stock the game.[12] The game was not the commercial hit they had hoped for. In 1992 a new version of Mutant was released, namely Mutant R.Y.M.D (Mutant Space). With countless references to Warhammer 40k in the game manual the production was quickly shut down shortly after release, only one scenario for the game was ever released. In an effort to make a more commercially friendly game Mutant R.Y.M.D and Kult was merged together to what was to become Mutant Chronicles that was released in 1993. Mutant Chronicles was the success they where hoping for.[5] Also released in 1993 was the second edition of the game Kult as well as two board games based on the Mutant Chronicles franchise, Blood Berets and Siege of the Citadel.

1994-1999[edit]

In 1994 the fifth edition of Drakar och Demoner was released, called Drakar och Demoner: Chronopia, it would be the last release published by Target Games.[5] It was the first release that came with an integrated world description, the new world received mixed reactions from the fan base who had grown accustomed to the previous game world of Ereb Altor.[2] The popular Mutant Chronicles collectible card game Doom Trooper also saw a release this year. In 1995 the Kult CCG was released as well as the hugely popular tabletop wargame Warzone that would go on to become Target Games best selling product.[5] The Doom Troopers video game was released in 1995 as well for both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, the game was only released in North America.[13] In 1997 the second edition of Mutant Chronicles was released and another collectible card game based on the Mutant Chronicles franchise, Dark Eden. Also released in 1997 was the board game Svea Rike as well as a computerized version of the same game. In 1999 a Drakar och Demoner Computer game was released called Drakar och Demoner: Själarnas Brunn (Called Dragonfire internationally), it received mostly negative review scores.[14][15][16] With a significant decline in customers plus the loss of a large chunks of capital the company had to go trough debt restructuring to survive. This meant the subsidiary company Target Interactive AB bought the rights to all of the company's intellectual property's and Target Games became free of all debt's in this process. Target Interactive soon thereafter changed their name to Paradox Entertainment and Target Games became an investment company[5][17][18]

2000-2002[edit]

Target Games started investing in Telecom-companies in late 2000,[19] and only two years later in 2002 the company went bankrupt.[3]

Publications[edit]

Main products[edit]

Drakar & Demoner[edit]

Main article: Drakar & Demoner

Drakar & Demoner was the first Swedish Role-playing game and also the best selling RPG in Sweden, today the Drakar & Demoner brand is owned by Swedish company Neogames.[20]

Mutant[edit]

frame|right|1989 version box cover The name Mutant was used for a series of unrelated science fiction themed role-playing games. The 1984 version was set in a post-apocalyptic world similar to the one in Gamma World. The 1989 version was a cyberpunk game while the later Mutant RYMD and Mutant Chronicles where science fantasy games set in space. All versions used variants of the Basic Role-Playing for rules.

Mutant Chronicles[edit]

Main article: Mutant Chronicles

The Mutant Chronicles brand later became so popular that it spawned multiple spin-off's as well, most notably the Doom Trooper trading card game as well as the Warzone tabletop game.

Kult[edit]

Main article: Kult

Kult was released in 1991 and is known to have caused some controversy in Sweden on multiple occasions.[11][21] This resulted in Swedish toy stores refusing to sell the game.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Anders Blixt (2005). "Svenska Rollspelens Historia, Kapitel 1" (PDF). Runan (in Swedish) (37): 24–27. Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b Löf, Pontus (1999). "Target Games ställs emot väggen". Runan (in Swedish) (29). Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b Andreas Cervenka (3 June, 2002). "Target Investment i konkurs". Affärsvärlden (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 June, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b Löf, Pontus (2000). "Anders Blixt – ett legendariskt namn". Runan (in Swedish) (34). Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Fredrik Malmberg (2006). "Svenska Rollspelens Historia, Kapitel 3" (PDF). Runan (in Swedish) (39): 20–23. Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ John Stone. "10 questions with Paul Beakley" (PDF). Kult-RPG.com. Retrieved 17 June, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ Matt Forbeck (18 June, 2004). "Mutant Memories" (PDF). Retrieved 17 June, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  8. ^ John Breeden. "Interview: Fredrik Lindgren (Paradox Entertainment)". Game Industry News. Retrieved 17 June, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ Gunnar Söderberg (20 April, 2011). "Debatt: Svartlistning var moralpanik". Expressen: GT (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 June, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Har kritikstormen blåst över?". Sinkadus (in Swedish) (36): 5. June, 1992. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b "Motion 1997/98:Kr501 Rollspel" (Press release) (in Swedish). Sveriges Riksdag. Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |Date= ignored (|date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b Barkå, Jonas (04 July, 2005). "Rollspelet som chockade Sverige" (PDF). Fenix (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Doom Troopers Tech Info". Gamespot. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  14. ^ Therese Granlund (07 June, 1999). "Inget för mörkrädda" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 17 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Langweiliges Fantasyabenteuer" (in German). PcGames.de. 07 March, 2001. Retrieved 17 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "MobyRank". MobyGames. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Pressmeddelande Stockholm" (Press release) (in Swedish). Paradox Entertainment. 2000. Archived from the original on 15 May, 2001. Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "Aktieindikatorn: Intensivt rapportflöde". Affärsvärlden (in Swedish). 9 February, 2000. Retrieved 18 June, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  19. ^ Isaac Pineus (14 September, 2000). "Ny VD i Target Games". Affärsvärlden (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 June, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Neogames köper upp Drakar & Demoner och Götterdämmerung" (in Swedish). 2010. Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Zendry Svärdkrona; Lennart Håård (03 March, 2003). "Läkare: Förbjud lekarna". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 June, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
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