Imagic ( ) was an American
video game developer
A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...
and
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
that created games initially for the
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
. Founded in 1981 by
corporate alumni of
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
and Mattel, its best-selling titles were ''
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
'', ''
Cosmic Ark
''Cosmic Ark'' is an Atari 2600 game designed by Rob Fulop and published by Imagic in 1982. The objective is to gather specimens from different planets in a spaceship which contains the survivors from the city of Atlantis. There are two versions ...
'', and ''
Demon Attack
''Demon Attack'' is a fixed shooter written by Rob Fulop for the Atari 2600 and published by Imagic in 1982. It was ported to the Intellivision, Magnavox Odyssey 2, Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Tandy 1000 (as a self-booting disk), T ...
''.
Imagic also released games for
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel, Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. I ...
,
ColecoVision
ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision.
The console offered a closer expe ...
,
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...
,
TI-99/4A
The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. ...
,
IBM PCjr
The IBM PCjr (pronounced "PC junior") was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete mor ...
,
VIC-20
The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
TRS-80 Color Computer
The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer and sometimes nicknamed the CoCo, is a line of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Co ...
, and
Magnavox Odyssey²
The Magnavox Odyssey 2 (stylized as Magnavox Odyssey²), also known as Philips Odyssey 2, is a second generation home video game console that was released in 1978. It was sold in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil and Peru as the P ...
. Their Odyssey² ports of ''Demon Attack'' and ''Atlantis'' were the only
third-party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...
releases for that system in America. The company never recovered from the
video game crash of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...
and was liquidated in 1986.
History
Imagic was the second third-party publisher for the Atari 2600, formed after
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
. Founders included Bill Grubb, Bob Smith, Mark Bradlee,
Rob Fulop
Rob Fulop is an American game programmer who created two of the Atari 2600's biggest hits: the port of arcade game ''Missile Command'' and 1982's ''Demon Attack'', which won '' Electronic Games Game of the Year award. While at Atari, Fulop als ...
, and Denis Koble from
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
,
Jim Goldberger, Dave Durran and Brian Dougherty from
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
.
Grubb previously served as the vp of sales and marketing for Atari for 18 months.
Before that, he was with the marketing department at
Black and Decker
Black+Decker Inc. is an American manufacturer of power tools, accessories, hardware, home improvement products, home appliances and fastening systems headquartered in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, where the company was o ...
for 11 years.
It was Grubb's goal to take Imagic public
and to eventually overtake
Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
as the number one third-party video game publisher.
Atari sued Imagic over ''Demon Attack'' because of its resemblance to ''
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
'',
to which Atari had the exclusive home-version rights. The case was settled out of court.
Despite initial success and sales greater than projections, the company's fortunes reversed after the stock market dumped videogame stocks in late 1982, scuttling Imagic's initial plan to become a publicly traded company.
Fan club
During its height, Imagic ran a fan club for their games, the Numb Thumb Club, which published an annual newsletter.
Only two issues were published before Imagic's demise in 1983.
Decline
Although Imagic grew quickly in its early years, it was irreparably harmed by the
video game crash of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...
. It released 24 titles before going out of business by 1986, but the exact time it disbanded is unknown. In 1983, the company laid off 40 of their 170 employees but appeared at the 1984
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
with plans for four
IBM PCjr
The IBM PCjr (pronounced "PC junior") was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete mor ...
games.
The rights to Imagic's most popular titles have been owned by Activision since the late 1980s, and they have been re-released on several occasions.
Games
Imagic 2600 cartridges were distinct from both Activision and Atari cartridges with an extended ridge at the top of the cart. Packaging was distinctive due to the use of reflective silver on the boxes, with a tapered, ridged end intended for an easy grip. The years are for the original versions only, not subsequent ports.
1982
* ''
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
''
* ''
Cosmic Ark
''Cosmic Ark'' is an Atari 2600 game designed by Rob Fulop and published by Imagic in 1982. The objective is to gather specimens from different planets in a spaceship which contains the survivors from the city of Atlantis. There are two versions ...
''
* ''
Demon Attack
''Demon Attack'' is a fixed shooter written by Rob Fulop for the Atari 2600 and published by Imagic in 1982. It was ported to the Intellivision, Magnavox Odyssey 2, Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Tandy 1000 (as a self-booting disk), T ...
''
* ''Dracula''
* ''
Dragonfire''
* ''
Fire Fighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish conflagration, hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisd ...
''
* ''
Beauty & the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...
''
* ''
Microsurgeon''
* ''
Riddle of the Sphinx
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
''
* ''
Swords & Serpents''
* ''
Star Voyager''
* ''
Trick Shot
A trick shot (also trickshot or trick-shot) is a shot played on a billiards table (most often a pool table, though snooker tables are also used), which seems unlikely or impossible or requires significant skill. Trick shots frequently involve t ...
''
1983
* ''
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. Hi ...
''
* ''
Ice Trek''
* ''
Laser Gates''
* ''
Moonsweeper''
* ''
No Escape!''
* ''
Nova Blast''
* ''
Quick Step
Quick, as an adjective, refers to something moving with high speed.
Quick may also refer to:
In business
* Quick (restaurant), a Belgian fast-food restaurant chain
* Quick (sportswear), a Dutch manufacturer of sportswear
* Quick (automobile) ...
''
* ''
Safecracker
Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key.
Physical methods
Different procedures may be used to crack a safe, depending on its construction. Different procedures are required to open different safes ...
''
* ''
Shootin' Gallery''
* ''
Star Wars: The Arcade Game''
* ''
Subterranea''
* ''
Tropical Trouble
''Tropical Trouble'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Douglass Montgomery, Betty Ann Davies and Alfred Drayton. It was based on the novel ''Bunga-Bunga'' by Stephen King-Hall. A series of misunderstandings lea ...
''
* ''
Truckin'''
* ''
White Water!''
1984
* ''
Chopper Hunt'', formerly ''Buried Bucks'' from
ANALOG Software
* ''
Injured Engine''
* ''
Touchdown Football
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
''
* ''
Tournament Tennis''
* ''
Wing War
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
''
References
{{Atari 2600
Atari 2600
Video game development companies
Video game companies established in 1981
Video game companies disestablished in 1986
Defunct video game companies of the United States
Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area