Bomico

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Bomico
legal form GmbH
founding 1986
resolution 1997
Reason for dissolution Renaming to Infogrames Deutschland GmbH and relocation to Frankfurt / Main in 2002
Seat Kelsterbach
management Adi Boiko, Wilhelm Hamrozi
Branch Software development
Website www.bomico.de (archived version) ( Memento from December 10, 1997 in the Internet Archive )

Bomico was a German publisher and distributor for computer games based in Kelsterbach . The company reached its peak in the mid-1990s, when it had large market shares in the German games market thanks to exclusive distribution agreements and its own development capacities. In 1997, Bomico was taken over by the French publisher Infogrames and converted into the German sales branch of the French Atari group . The original subsidiary Sunflowers continued independently until 2007.

history

The company was founded in 1986 by Adi Boiko. At first it successfully sold computer games for home computers like the Amiga or Atari ST as a distributor on the German market. These included the games from Coktel Vision , Domark , Starbyte and Infogrames . One of the early own titles was Die Fugger , for example . In the course of time, two subsidiaries were founded. Laguna Videogames Vertriebs & Marketing GmbH, founded in 1991, was responsible for the distribution and marketing of console games (including Mega Man ). Founded in 1993, Sunflowers focused on the market for PC games and initially also developed games itself ( Die Fugger II , Aufschwung Ost , Holiday Island ).

In May 1996, the Dutch Philips Media, the computer games division of the electronics company Philips , took over both Bomico and Laguna completely. Philips only took a minority stake in Sunflowers. At that time Bomico held a market share of 70% in the German computer game market and had exclusive marketing and distribution agreements with Brøderbund , Maxis , Ocean Software , Sierra Entertainment / Coktel Vision and Blizzard Entertainment . As early as 1997, the Philips group passed its entire computer games division on to the French publisher Infogrames, in which the group had previously held a minority stake. This converted Bomico as Infogrames Germany into its German sales office and dropped the previous company name. Company founder Adi Boiko gave up his management position and from then on concentrated on the management of Sunflowers. In 2000, Boiko's successor as managing director, Sunflowers co-founder Wilhelm Hamrozi, left Infogrames Germany and, after an interlude at Jowood in 2003, also went to Sunflowers. In 2002 the original Bomico company with its seat in Kelsterbach (HRB 34030, AG Offenbach am Main) was dissolved and the company headquarters relocated to Frankfurt am Main (HRB 54793, AG Frankfurt am Main).

Infogrames Germany took part in the group-wide renaming to the Atari Group in 2003 . In 2009 the European branches Ataris were sold to the Japanese group Namco Bandai due to the financial difficulties of the group , which previously held a 34% stake in the European sales units. The company initially operated as Namco Bandai Partners Germany, later as Bandai Namco Entertainment Germany.

Games

  • 1988: The Fugger (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64)
  • 1991: Antares (Amiga)
  • 1991: Steigenberger Hotel Manager (Amiga, C64, DOS)
  • 1991: Project Prometheus (Amiga, Atari ST, C64, DOS)
  • 1993: Railway Challenge (DOS - via Sunflowers)
  • 1993: Upswing East (Amiga, DOS - via Sunflowers)
  • 1993: Cross Check (Amiga - via Sunflowers)
  • 1994: Magic of Endoria (DOS - via Sunflowers)
  • 1995: Nectaris (DOS - via Sunflowers)
  • 1996: Holiday Island (Windows - via Sunflowers)
  • 1996: American Dream (DOS - via Sunflowers)
  • 1996: Ace Ventura (Windows)
  • 1996: The Fugger II (DOS - via Sunflowers)
  • 1997: The Space Bar (Mac OS, Windows)
  • 1997: Obsidian (Mac OS, Windows)
  • 1997: Hugo 2 (Game Boy, Game Boy Color - via Laguna)
  • 1998: Ghostbusters John Sinclair: Evil Attacks (Windows)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Bomico, in: Winnie Forster: Computer- und Video-Spielmacher, p. 52. ISBN 978-3-00-021584-1
  2. ↑ Philips Media buys Bomico and Laguna. Retrieved August 7, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Man! Ac , June 1996, pp. 6-7
  4. ↑ BOMICO. Retrieved August 7, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Infogrames buys Philips Multimedia. February 3, 1997, accessed August 7, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Infogrames, in: Winnie Forster: Computer- und Video-Spielmacher, p. 156. ISBN 978-3-00-021584-1
  7. ^ Wilhelm Hamrozi leaves Infogrames. Retrieved August 7, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Hamrozi goes to Sunflowers. Retrieved August 7, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Goodbye Atari, hello Namco. In: MCV / DEVELOP. Retrieved May 14, 2009, August 7, 2020 (UK English).
  10. ↑ Atari: European business is discontinued, Namco-Bandai takes over EU business. May 14, 2009, accessed August 7, 2020 .