GameTek
GameTek was an American video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida[1] known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.[2] Originally, IJE licensed these titles to ShareData of Chandler, Arizona; however, when IJE saw ShareData's success with the titles, IJE decided to publish the titles themselves, resulting in the founding of GameTek.[3]
After establishing distribution for the game show titles, GameTek expanded by licensing European titles for the North American market, including Frontier: Elite II and The Humans. In 1991, they attempted to launch the InfoGenius Systems franchise for the Game Boy.[4] In 1994, the company made a deal to purchase game developer Malibu Interactive from Malibu Comics and renamed to Padded Cell Studios.[5]
In 1996, GameTek scaled down its publishing activities, turning most of that aspect of its business over to Philips.[6] GameTek filed for bankruptcy in December 1997,[7][8] citing development delays and disappointing sales,[9] and went out of business in July 1998. Most of the company's assets were acquired by Take-Two Interactive in 1997.[10]
Games
[edit]- Wheel of Fortune
- Wheel of Fortune arcade game (1989, Developed by Incredible Technologies)
- Double Dare
- Hollywood Squares
- Jeopardy!
- Jeopardy! Sports Edition
- Press Your Luck
- Quarantine
- Quarantine II: Road Warrior
- Family Feud
- American Gladiators (Developed by Incredible Technologies)
- Frontier: Elite II
- Alien Incident (European Version)
- Cyberbykes: Shadow Racer VR
- The Humans
- Brutal: Paws of Fury
- Brutal Unleashed: Above the Claw
- Star Crusader (European version)
- Valkyrie (for Macintosh)
- Nomad
- Robotech: Crystal Dreams (Cancelled)
- Super Password
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo (MS-DOS Version)
- Frontier: First Encounters
- Frantic Flea
- NET:Zone
- Daemon's Gate: Volume One, Dorovan's Key
- Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle
- Classic Concentration
- The Price Is Right
- Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing
- Now You See It
- Race Days
- Yogi Bear's Gold Rush (Cancelled for Game Gear)
- Full Throttle: All-American Racing
- Zool (Console and Handheld Versions)
- Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament (MS-DOS Version)
- Pinball Dreams (SNES, Game Boy and Game Gear Versions)
- Pinball Fantasies (SNES and Game Boy Versions)
- Pinball Mania (Game Boy Version Exclusive to Europe)
- Fisher-Price: Firehouse Rescue
- Fisher-Price: I Can Remember
- Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit
References
[edit]- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1994-06-11.
- ^ "Hollywood Squares Game Manual" (PDF). thegameisafootarcade.com. February 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Nes Book Master PDF | PDF | Video Game Consoles | Nintendo". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- ^ "Nintendo Power". Retrieved 20 May 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Michael Heilemann Joins Fox Interactive". DMN Newswire. May 24, 2001.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Svensson, Christian (November 1996). "Small Publishers Feel Pinch". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Media. p. 26.
- ^ Jebens, Harley (December 4, 1997). "GameTek Files for Chapter 11 Protection". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 19, 1998. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ^ "Tidbits...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. February 1998. p. 26.
- ^ "Unhappy Holidays". Next Generation. No. 38. Imagine Media. February 1998. p. 26.
- ^ "Archived copy". api.tenkwizard.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
See also
[edit]- Cybersoft (video game company) (GameTek subsidiary)
 | This United States video game corporation or company article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1987 establishments in Florida
- 1998 disestablishments in Florida
- Video game publishers
- Video game companies established in 1987
- Video game companies disestablished in 1998
- Defunct video game companies of the United States
- Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997
- Defunct companies based in Florida
- United States video game company stubs