Difference between revisions of "Activision"
(adding info about the short lived Mediagenic name and the fact that Activision purchased most of Vivendi's shares in Activision Blizzard in 2013) |
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Activision is a gaming company formed in 1976 by Jim Levy and former [[Atari]] programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead. In 1988, they branched out to other forms of software than video games, and changed the name of their corporate name to Mediagenic. Under the Mediagenic holding company, they continued to produce and publish games as Activision. Following a lawsuit that resulted in Mediagenic having to pay millions in damages, an investor group consisting of Robert Kotick and Brian Kelly purchased Mediagenic in 1990. They renamed the company back to Activision in 1992. In 2008, Activision was merged with Vivendi Games to form the holding company Activision Blizzard in 2008. In 2013, Activision Blizzard purchased most of Vivendi's shares of the Activision Blizzard stock to become an independent company. As in the Mediagenic years, they still produce and publish games under the Activision name while under the Activision Blizzard holding company. | Activision is a gaming company formed in 1976 by Jim Levy and former [[Atari]] programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead. In 1988, they branched out to other forms of software than video games, and changed the name of their corporate name to Mediagenic. Under the Mediagenic holding company, they continued to produce and publish games as Activision. Following a lawsuit that resulted in Mediagenic having to pay millions in damages, an investor group consisting of Robert Kotick and Brian Kelly purchased Mediagenic in 1990. They renamed the company back to Activision in 1992. In 2008, Activision was merged with Vivendi Games to form the holding company Activision Blizzard in 2008. In 2013, Activision Blizzard purchased most of Vivendi's shares of the Activision Blizzard stock to become an independent company. As in the Mediagenic years, they still produce and publish games under the Activision name while under the Activision Blizzard holding company. | ||
Activision purchased [[Infocom]] in 1986. Activision acted as publisher on [[Return to Zork]] which | Activision purchased [[Infocom]] in 1986, and shut down the Infocom development studio in 1989. Some of the Infocom staff remained at Activision after that, and the Infocom label was still used to designate the developer of sequels to Infocom games until 1993. | ||
Activision acted as publisher on [[Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2]] and [[Return to Zork]] which were credited to Infocom as developer. The other games made with the [[MADE]] engine were credited to Activision as developer. | |||
*[[The Manhole|The Manhole: New and Enhanced]] | *[[The Manhole|The Manhole: New and Enhanced]] | ||
*[[Rodney's Funscreen]] | *[[Rodney's Funscreen]] | ||
They also developed two more games in the [[Zork series]], [[Zork Nemesis]] and [[Zork: Grand Inquisitor]], using the [[Z-engine]]. | They also developed two more games in the [[Zork series]], [[Zork Nemesis]] and [[Zork: Grand Inquisitor]], using the [[Z-engine]]. | ||
Revision as of 08:30, 1 January 2015
Activision is a gaming company formed in 1976 by Jim Levy and former Atari programmers David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead. In 1988, they branched out to other forms of software than video games, and changed the name of their corporate name to Mediagenic. Under the Mediagenic holding company, they continued to produce and publish games as Activision. Following a lawsuit that resulted in Mediagenic having to pay millions in damages, an investor group consisting of Robert Kotick and Brian Kelly purchased Mediagenic in 1990. They renamed the company back to Activision in 1992. In 2008, Activision was merged with Vivendi Games to form the holding company Activision Blizzard in 2008. In 2013, Activision Blizzard purchased most of Vivendi's shares of the Activision Blizzard stock to become an independent company. As in the Mediagenic years, they still produce and publish games under the Activision name while under the Activision Blizzard holding company.
Activision purchased Infocom in 1986, and shut down the Infocom development studio in 1989. Some of the Infocom staff remained at Activision after that, and the Infocom label was still used to designate the developer of sequels to Infocom games until 1993.
Activision acted as publisher on Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2 and Return to Zork which were credited to Infocom as developer. The other games made with the MADE engine were credited to Activision as developer.
They also developed two more games in the Zork series, Zork Nemesis and Zork: Grand Inquisitor, using the Z-engine.
Activision also published games made by LucasArts in Europe, South-East Asia and Australia.