Warthog Games

Warthog Games Limited was a UK-based video game developer, located in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, with studios in Sweden and the USA.

The developer later developed titles as Gizmondo Europe, before the company disbanded; and key staff formed Embryonic Studios which later became TT Fusion but relaunched by CFAO as Warthog Entertainment.

History

Warthog was founded in April 1997, the core of the development team composed of ex-Electronic Arts personnel responsible for, amongst other titles, the hit Privateer 2: The Darkening. With this as the basis, Warthog began to develop something of a speciality in space-flight sims, with follow-up titles Starlancer (which sold over 330,000 units, mainly on PC) and Star Trek: Invasion (achieving over 230,000 units on PlayStation). Since 1999, the company also developed expertise in children's titles, with releases based upon well known franchises such as Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, Harry Potter and Asterix.

In later years, Warthog purchased several other companies. First, in 2002, they purchased Atod, which became Warthog Sweden. Also in 2002, they purchased Zed Two. Then in 2003, they purchased U.S.-based Fever Pitch, which became Warthog Texas. In 2004, Warthog itself was acquired by Tiger Telematics and became a part of Gizmondo Studios. Collectively, the Cheadle and newly acquired Sweden studios became known as Gizmondo Europe, with the recently acquired Warthog Texas becoming Gizmondo Texas. Their focus from then on would be on the Gizmondo handheld console.

After Gizmondo went bankrupt, key staff from the original team established a new development company, Embryonic Studios. This company was then acquired by TT Games in 2006, and renamed TT Fusion, where the team continued to developed console and handheld titles.

Warthog were affiliated with the Manchester Metropolitan University course Computer Games Technology. They provided feedback on course content and a selection of placement jobs for third-year students.

List of Games by Warthog

NameYearPlatformPublisher
Star Trek: Invasion2000PlayStationActivision
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Saves the Day2001Game Boy ColorConspiracy Games
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Stackers2001Game Boy AdvanceConspiracy Games
Tiny Toon Adventures: Plucky's Big Adventure2001PlayStationConspiracy Games
Rally Championship Xtreme2001PCSCi
Loons: The Fight for Fame2002XboxInfogrames
Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction2002Game Boy AdvanceBBC Multimedia
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone2003Multi (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)EA
Rally Championship2003Multi (PS2, GameCube)SCi
Battlestar Galactica2003Multi (PS2, Xbox)VU Games
Looney Tunes: Back in Action2003Multi (PS2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance)Warner Bros. Interactive
Future Tactics: The Uprising2004Multi (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)Crave Entertainment
Richard Burns Rally2004Multi (PS2, Xbox, PC , Gizmondo)SCi
Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter2004Multi (PS2, Xbox, PC)Vivendi Universal
Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt2005Multi (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)Ignition Entertainment
Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action!2005Multi (Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance)Ignition Entertainment

Cancelled titles

Johnny Whatever was announced on July 20, 2004, but was later canceled. It was planned as an action game in a third-person environment, following a punk hero in a futuristic city who used his guitar as his weapon against villains.[1][2] It started off in development for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but became a Gizmondo exclusive when the developer was purchased by Tiger Telematics, makers of the Gizmondo.[3] The game was scheduled for a September 2006 release.

Upon liquidation of Tiger Telematics and their UK subsidiary Gizmondo Europe in February 2006, the ownership of Johnny Whatever was sold back to the CEO of Warthog Games for $20,000. Upon regaining the rights to the game, the code was obtained by RedOctane and Jack McCauley, a developer and former Microsoft employee. The game was never released, but using an Xbox developer kit and motion sensing mouse devices, RedOctane soon developed the framework for what would become Guitar Hero.[4]

References

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