42 Entertainment is an American company based in Burbank which specializes in creating and producing

alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by inten ...

s (ARGs). The company was founded in 2003 as an independently owned, creative content and interactive agency under the name ''4orty 2wo Entertainment''. The company started with a nine-person management team and was originally based in Emeryville, California. It produces

s, including campaigns for Xbox and PS3 titles, the movie ''The Dark Knight'', and the

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

Year Zero A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year . However, the ...

'' album.

History

Pre-founding

While the company did not officially launch until 2003, many of those who would become the management team were involved with creating and producing " The Beast" for Warner Brothers to promote the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

film ''

A.I. Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech rec ...

'' The project was developed by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Founding

The company began as 4orty 2wo Entertainment in 2003 and was launched by a management team which included Bob Fagan,

Elan Lee Elan Lee is an American game designer, developer, and creator. He has designed games for the Xbox; helped create the world’s first Alternate Reality Games; and with Matthew Inman created the card game '' Exploding Kittens'', whose Kickstarter c ...

Sean Stewart Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angliciz ...

and

Jordan Weisman Jordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded five game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry. Biography Weisman graduated from Francis W. Parker High School, ...

from the team which created " The Beast". Notable employees and collaborators between 2003 and 2006 also included Susan Bonds, Joe DiNunzio,

Jane McGonigal Jane McGonigal (born October 21, 1977) is an American author, game designer, and researcher. McGonigal advocates using mobile and digital technology to channel positive attitudes and collaboration in a real-world context. Biography Early years ...

, Jim Stewartson and John Ziffren.

Merge with 3 Pin Media

In early 2006, 42 Entertainment merged with 3 Pin Media. The executive team of Michael Borys, Alex Lieu and Johnny Rodriquez joined the company at this time.

Changes in 2007

In 2007, Jordan Weisman left the company to found Smith & Tinker. That same year, Elan Lee, Sean Stewart and Jim Stewartson stepped down to found Fourth Wall Studios.

Changes in 2008

Creatives Steve Peters,

Maureen McHugh Maureen F. McHugh (born February 13, 1959) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Career McHugh's first published story was published as a ''Twilight Zone'' under a male pseudonym in 1988. It was followed by a pair of publication ...

and Behnam Karbassi left the company in late 2008, and founded No Mimes Media in March 2009.

Projects

In 2004 42 Entertainment produced ''

I Love Bees ''I Love Bees'' (also known as ''ilovebees'' or ''ILB'' for short) was an alternate reality game (ARG) that served as both a real-world experience and viral marketing campaign for the release of developer Bungie's 2004 video game ''Halo 2''. Th ...

'', the prequel to the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

game ''

Halo 2 ''Halo 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox console. ''Halo 2'' is the second installment in the ''Halo'' franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed '' ...

''. Other projects followed in 2005, such as (client in parentheses) ''Hex 168'' (Microsoft Gaming Studios/Xbox 360), ''MSN Found'' (Windows Live Search) and ''Last Call Poker'' (Activision’s

GUN A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

). In 2006, the company created ''Dead Man’s Tale'', an interactive game for

Windows Messenger Windows Messenger is a discontinued instant messaging client included in Windows XP. Designed for use by both corporate and home users, it was originally created, in 2001, as a streamlined and integrated version of MSN Messenger. It was upgrade ...

and Disney’s '' Pirates of the Caribbean''. In 2007, 42 Entertainment created ''The Vanishing Point'' for Windows Vista, which offered a sub-orbital trip to space as a grand prize. The company was also behind ''

'', which had them working with

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

to build out a world for the

album ''

''. The ''Year Zero'' game was hailed by ''Rolling Stone'' as "the most innovative promotion scheme since the leaked sex tape." Although Reznor insisted that the game was an extension of the album rather than a marketing attempt, it nonetheless was awarded a Cyber Grand Prix for

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development duri ...

at the 2008 Cannes Lions.Diaz, Ann-christine
"'Uniqlock' Wins Cyber Grand Prix, and 'Voyeur' Snags More Gold,"
''Advertising Age'', June 18, 2008. Retrieved 2010-12-27 Starting in 2008, projects from 42 Entertainment include ''Stop the International'' (Columbia Tri-Star), ''If Looks Could Kill'' (Burrell/Toyota Camry), ''Bizarro is Here'' (Six Flags), ''Project Abraham'' (SCEA's Resistance 2), and '' Why So Serious?'', an alternate reality game for the Warner Bros. movie ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...

''. In 2009, 42 Entertainment started the ''Flynn Lives'' Campaign for the Disney film '' Tron: Legacy''.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Corporate website
Companies based in Burbank, California Mass media companies established in 2003