Mindscape

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Mindscape

logo
legal form Personal corporation
founding 1983
resolution 2011
Seat Novato (USA)
management Jean-Pierre Nordman ( CEO )
Number of employees 150 (as of 2005)
sales 38 million EUR (as of 2005)

Mindscape was an initially American computer game developer and publisher that was based in Novato, California for a long time . The company experienced a high phase in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mainly driven by the official licensing for the consoles of the Japanese manufacturer Nintendo . After several changes of ownership within a few years, the company name was continued to be used by a former manager from 2001. The company, which has since been based near Paris, was no longer able to build on its earlier successes and ended its activities in the computer game industry in 2011.

history

Old Mindscape logo from 1994

Mindscape was founded in 1983 by the Australian computer analyst Roger M. Buoy as a subsidiary of the SFN Companies in Northbrook near Chicago in the US state of Illinois . The company began as a software publisher specializing in educational software , computer games and application software for home use. The first products came on the market in 1984. The application programs sold included VideoWorks , produced by MacroMind , which was later incorporated into Adobe Director . In 1987 SFN sold the company to Buoy and former SFN manager John Purcell for $ 3 million. Mindscape was listed on the stock exchange in June 1988. From 1988 Mindscape also published games for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a Nintendo licensee . In the late 1980s, the company expanded and opened offices in Australia, France, the UK and Japan.

In December 1989, the American software developer The Software Toolworks took over the game developer by swapping shares at a ratio of 1 to 0.4375. In return, founder Buoy became the company's chief creative officer . The Software Toolworks wanted to diversify its product portfolio and tap additional sources of income. Mindscape's work for Nintendo consoles in particular was one of the main sales drivers of the merged company. In March 1994, the media group Pearson submitted a takeover offer of 462 million US dollars for The Software Toolworks, mainly to increase its multimedia skills and to be able to market its print brands in digital formats in the future. In the same year the company name was changed from The Software Toolbox to Mindscape and the American computer game developer Strategic Simulations (SSI) was taken over.

Pearson sold Mindscape to The Learning Company (TLC) in March 1998 for a purchase price of $ 150 million. Several major changes took place in a short period of time. First, the new owner consolidated his subsidiary Brøderbund , which he had acquired in June 1994 , by integrating its learning division into the main company and passing the games division along with the Red Orb Entertainment label to Mindscape. In December 1998, TLC was finally taken over by the toy manufacturer Mattel , which was itself financially faltering due to TLC's continuing losses and dismissed the managing director Jill Barad, who was largely responsible for the takeover policy in February 2000. The Wall Street Journal described the takeover as "disastrous" and "worst deal in recent history". In September 2000, Mattel sold The Learning Company to Gores Technology Group , which was looking for a suitable buyer for its assets. In this context, the games division was reorganized as the Games Group. Most of the assets went to the French publisher Ubisoft in March 2001 , while the former TLC manager Jean-Pierre Nordman took over the rights to the name Mindscape and ran the company from the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt .

Since 2004 Mindscape had offices in France , England , Ireland , Germany , the Netherlands , Asia , Australia and Latin America . Mindscape had revenues of 38 million euros (as of 2005) and employed 150 people. In 2009 the company opened the Punchers Impact development studio in Paris. With U-Sing , the studio was able to land a respectable success despite high music license costs, while the racing game Crashers flopped. In August 2011, Punchers Impact was closed and Mindscape's withdrawal from the computer and video game market was announced. Only a few sales offices remained active under the old name.

Well-known games (selection)

year game genre Studio
1984 Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom Jump 'n' run Mindscape
1984 Crime and Punishment Simulation game Mindscape
1985 Déjà Vu: A Nightmare Comes True Adventure ICOM simulations
1985 James Bond 007: A View to a Kill Adventure Angelsoft
1985 Balance of power Strategy game Mindscape
1991 Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight Action RPG Mindscape
1996 Silent Hunter Simulation game Strategic simulations
1997 Adventure on the Lego Island 3D action adventure Mindscape

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christine Winter: MINDSCAPE TO BUY SOFTWARE GROUP . In: Chicago Tribune . March 13, 1987. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved on April 12, 2019.
  2. ↑ Christine Winter: MINDSCAPE . In: Chicago Tribune . December 2, 1985. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ Christine Winter: NORTHBROOK SOFTWARE COMPANY BOUGHT BY NEW CORPORATION . In: Chicago Tribune . January 19, 1987. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  4. ↑ Christine Winter: $ 9.6 MILLION STOCK SALE PLANNED BY MINDSCAPE . In: Chicago Tribune . June 7, 1988. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  5. ↑ COMPANY BRIEFS . December 6, 1989. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  6. ↑ Software Tool Works Acquires Mindscape . In: Computer Gaming World . No. 67, January 1990, p. 64. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Carole Gould: Mutual Funds; When Small Is Beautiful . July 1, 1990. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ Steve Lohr: Pearson Enters Multimedia Software Arena . April 1, 1994. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  9. ↑ TOP OF MIND . In: Nielsen Business Media (Ed.): Billboard . 106, No. 46, November 12, 1994, p. 90.
  10. ↑ Mindscape: Mindscape, Inc. Acquires Strategic Simulations, Inc .; Acquisition Strengthens Entertainment Development Efforts ( English ) In: Press Release . The Free Library. October 20, 1994. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  11. ^ Dow Jones: COMPANY NEWS; LEARNING COMPANY SETS DEAL FOR MINDSCAPE . March 7, 1998. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  12. ^ Learning Co. cuts 500 jobs . September 11, 1998. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  13. ^ Alan Dunkin: Red Orb Stays With Mindscape . In: GameSpot . October 2, 1998. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  14. ^ Mattel to buy Learning Company. In: CNET. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  15. ^ Mattel To Ditch The Learning Company. In: Forbes. Retrieved July 14, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Lisa Bannon & Nikhil Deogun: Mattel Will Sell Learning Co. To Gores Technology Group . In: Wall Street Journal . September 30, 2000, ISSN  0099-9660 ( wsj.com [accessed July 14, 2020]).
  17. ↑ Lisa BannonStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal: Mattel, After Selling Learning Co., Faces a Big Job in Bouncing Back . In: Wall Street Journal . October 2, 2000, ISSN  0099-9660 ( wsj.com [accessed July 14, 2020]).
  18. ^ Jack Schofield: Games watch . January 18, 2001. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  19. ^ Ubi Soft Acquires The Learning Company's Entertainment Division . GameZone. March 7, 2001. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  20. ↑ Frank Cifaldi: Report: Mindscape Video Game Industry Leaves After Nearly 30 Years . August 10, 2011. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  21. ↑ Matt Martin: Mindscape opens new digital studio Punchers Impact . December 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  22. ^ Rob Crossley: 40 jobs gone as Mindscape quits games. (No longer available online.) Develop-online.net, August 10, 2011, archived from the original on August 30, 2011 ; Retrieved August 11, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.develop-online.net
  23. ↑ MCV editorial team: Mindscape Asia-Pacific unaffected by French withdrawal from games . August 12, 2011.
  24. ↑ Adventure on the Lego Island for PC - Profile. In: Gamers Global. Retrieved July 23, 2019 .