BAM! Entertainment, Inc. (formerly Bay Area Multimedia, Inc.) was an American video game publisher based in San Jose, California, that was founded by Ray Musci in October 1999.[1] BAM!'s partnership with Cartoon Network in 2000 led to the development of a number of licensed video games featuring Cartoon Network IPs, including The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Ed, Edd n Eddy.
 | |
| Formerly | Bay Area Multimedia, Inc. (1999–2000) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | October 7, 1999 |
| Founder | Ray Musci |
| Defunct | May 2005 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people | Ray Musci (CEO) |
A 2001 distribution deal allowed French publisher Ubi Soft to distribute BAM!'s games internationally. BAM! suffered financial turmoil beginning in 2002, during which time the NASDAQ threatened to delist it from the stock exchange. The company sold off their London-based development studio to VIS Entertainment in 2003. BAM! acquired VIS in 2004 but was delisted from the NASDAQ. The company continued to publish licensed games until 2005, when the company went defunct after filing for bankruptcy.
History
editFormation
editAmerican entrepreneur Ray Musci founded Bay Area Multimedia on October 7, 1999.[2][1] The company signed a deal with Takara in April 2000 to localize and publish Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals for the Nintendo 64 in North America as a rental-only release.[3] The company also signed distribution deals with Virgin Interactive and Victor Interactive Software to distribute Jimmy White's 2: Cueball and Contender 2 for the North American market.
In 2000, Bay Area Multimedia secured an exclusive licensing deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Cartoon Network to publish games based on Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and Yogi Bear. The company also secured a licensing agreement with Franchise Pictures to publish video games based on their films.[4] A separate licensing agreement with Warner Bros. and DC Comics was also made for the licensing of Sgt. Rock.[5]
Expansion
editIn December 2000, the company was renamed BAM! Entertainment.[1]
Shortly afterward, the company opened an office in the United Kingdom to publish their games in Europe. They soon signed a deal with Ubi Soft in February 2001 for the distribution of BAM!'s games in the entirety of Europe except for the United Kingdom.[6] The company launched their first Palm OS titles Strike it Rich[7] and CardTopia[8] at the end of June 2001. From September onward, the company secured more publishing and licensing deals, including a deal to publish the Game Boy Advance port of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars on September 17,[9] a licensing agreement with Spyglass Entertainment for a video game based on Reign of Fire on October 9 and 16[10][11]
On January 8, 2002, BAM! announced that their Cartoon Network partnership would expand to include Samurai Jack[12] and later and Ed, Edd n Eddy. Shortly afterwards, BAM! signed a five-year agreement with Aardman Animations to publish games based on Wallace and Gromit.[13] In February, the company announced a port of Driven as their first GameCube title.[14] and at the end of the month signed a publishing agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to release World Rally Championship in North America.[15] The SCEE agreement soon expanded to include Wipeout Fusion and Dropship: United Peace Force in March.[16] In June, a deal was made with Riverdeep for video games based on the Carmen Sandiego educational franchise.[17] In November, BAM! signed a publishing deal with Disney Interactive to release two Winnie the Pooh educational titles and My Disney Kitchen for the PlayStation.[18]
Fate and bankruptcy
editIn 2002, BAM! started to suffer from financial problems, which led to the NASDAQ threatening to delist the company.[19]
In April 2003, the company's London-based development studio was purchased by VIS Entertainment,[20] however, VIS later announced that the studio would close following the completion of its remaining projects.[21] In the same year, following the expiration of their distribution deal with Ubi Soft, BAM! entered into a new distribution deal with Acclaim Entertainment in August. Unlike the Ubi Soft partnership, the Acclaim deal included all PAL region countries. The deal ended after Acclaim's bankruptcy the following year.[22]
In 2004, BAM! acquired VIS Entertainment and fellow subsidiary State of Emergency Development. The NASDAQ finally delisted BAM!'s stock in the same year.[23] VIS Entertainment was placed into bankruptcy in April 2005; BAM! then sold the rights to VIS's State of Emergency 2 to DC Studios in May that year and filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter.[24]
Games
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "BAM! History". Bam4Fun.com. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on April 19, 2005. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ "Business Search—Business Entities - Business Programs - California Secretary of State". BusinessSearch.sos.ca.gov. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ IGN Staff (April 8, 2000). "Transformers 64 Heading to the US". IGN. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "New Publisher Snags Licenses from Cartoon Network and Moviemaker". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). August 1, 2000. Archived from the original on March 6, 2001. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ IGN Staff (October 24, 2000). "Sgt. Rock: On the Frontline". IGN. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Software Distribution Agreement - BAM Entertainment Ltd. and Ubi Soft Entertainment S.A. - FindLaw". FindLaw.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "Strike It Rich on the Palm OS". Bam4Fun.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2001. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "CardTopia for the Palm OS". Bam4Fun.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2001. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Bam! Entertainment Signs Deal to Publish Broken Sword for the Game Boy Advance and Is Releasing Its First Set of Official Screens". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. September 17, 2001. Archived from the original on August 3, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Bam! Entertainment to Bring Spyglass Entertainment's Upcoming Action Movie Reign of Fire to the PlayStation®2". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. October 9, 2001. Archived from the original on June 21, 2003. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Bam! Entertainment to Publish and Distribute Reign of Fire for Xbox". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. October 16, 2001. Archived from the original on August 3, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "BAM! Entertainment Expands License Agreement with Cartoon Network(TM) and Warner Bros. Consumer Products to Include Samurai Jack(TM)" (Press release). San Jose, California. PR Newswire. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ "BAM! Entertainment Partners with the Creators of "Wallace & Gromit" and "Chicken Run"". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. January 24, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "BAM! Entertainment Enters Gamecube Market". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. February 14, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Sony Chooses BAM! Entertainment to Publish World Rally Championship in North America". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. February 26, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and BAM! Entertainment Expand North American Agreement". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. March 21, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Riverdeep and BAM! Entertainment Announce Partnership to Deliver the Legendary Carmen Sandiego to the Gaming World". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). Cambridge, Massachusetts. June 25, 2002. Archived from the original on June 10, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "BAM! Entertainment Ships Family Favorites Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse for PlayStation This Week". Bam4Fun.com (Press release). San Jose, California. November 18, 2002. Archived from the original on August 2, 2003. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ Fahey, Rob (February 12, 2004). "BAM! Threatened with NASDAQ Delisting". GamesIndustry.biz. Eurogamer Network. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ IGNPS2 (October 3, 2003). "VIS Entertainment Axes London Studio". IGN. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Fahey, Rob (September 30, 2003). "VIS Shuts London Studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ Calvert, Justin (July 23, 2003). "Acclaim Signs PAL Games from Bam". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "Bam! Entertainment, Inc. Announces Nasdaq Delisting Notice and Plans Appeal". PR Newswire. United Business Media. February 11, 2004. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2012 – via TheFreeLibrary.com.
- ^ Sinclair, Brendan (June 5, 2006). "Report: State of Emergency 2 Developer Shuttered". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
External links
edit- Bam4Fun.com (archive) at the Wayback Machine (archived May 23, 2005)