Metro3D, Inc. (formerly Metropolis Digital, Inc.) 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 ...

. Based in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, and founded in 1998 , the company released several games for the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

(GBC),

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

(GBA), and

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

(PS2) consoles. Founded as Metropolis Digital, Inc. , the company developed '' Star Command: Revolution'', published by

GT Interactive GT, Gt or G-T may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games * GT Interactive, an American video game developer * GameTrailers, a video game website * '' Golden Tee Golf'', golf video game * ''Gran Turismo'' (series), a series of racing video games ...

for

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...

in 1996. In 1998, the developer began seeking

beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

testers for its new online game '' Armada''. On April 27, 1999, the company, headed by ex-

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

employees Joe Morici and George Nakayama, renamed itself Metro3D, Inc. after signing an agreement with

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

of America to become a

third-party 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 ...

for

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

and GBC games. The company's CEO, Dr. Stephen C. H. Lin, and the U.S. branch of the company filed

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

on April 19, 2004, after defaulting on a series of loans from

Cathay Bank Cathay Bank () is an American bank founded in 1962. Cathay is headquartered in Chinatown, Los Angeles, with a corporate center in nearby El Monte, California. It has branches in California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Washington, I ...

totaling $6.5 million. The company's European division was sold off in June 2005 to Stewart Green of Green Solutions Limited (the parent of Data Design Interactive), but continued to operate in the region.

Games

*''

Aero the Acro-Bat ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' is a 1993 video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft. It was released for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Aero the Acro-Bat, a red anthropomorphic bat, was created ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''

Aero the Acro-Bat 2 ''Aero the Acro-Bat 2'' is a platform game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft as the sequel of ''Aero the Acro-Bat''. It was released for the Sega Genesis in April 1994 then for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in ...

'' (GBA, unpublished) *'' Armada'' (Dreamcast, 1999) *''Armada II'' (Dreamcast, Xbox, PS2, unpublished) *''

Armada F/X Racers ''Armada F/X Racers'' is a 2000 video game for the Game Boy Color, developed by Metropolis Digital Inc. and published by Metro3D. The game is a futuristic-themed racing game based on the 1999 Dreamcast game '' Armada''. Gameplay ''F/X Racer ...

'' (GBC, 2000) *'' Chase H.Q.: Secret Police'' (GBC, 1999) *'' Classic Bubble Bobble'' (GBC, 1999) *''The Cage'' (GBC, unpublished) *'' Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse'' (PS2, 2001) *''Dark Angel II'' (PS2, unpublished) *''Dark Angel: Anna's Quest'' (GBC, unpublished) *''

Defender of the Crown ''Defender of the Crown'' is a strategy computer game designed by Kellyn Beck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games. In ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''Dinosaur Hunting'' (released in Japan, unpublished in North America by Metro3D) *''DroneZ'' (Xbox, 2004, released in Japan as ''Dennou Taisen ~ DroneZ ~'', unpublished in North America by Metro3D) *''

Dual Blades Dual Blades is a fighting video game published by Metro3D for the Game Boy Advance. It is a fighting game with single player and player versus player modes. It features a "power combining system" which was very new for the genre at that time. This ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''

Gem Smashers ''Gem Smashers'', known in Japan as , is a puzzle video game developed in Italy by Frame Studios and published by Metro3D, Inc. for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on July 1, 2003, and in Japan on November 21, 2003. ...

'' (GBA, 2003) *''Maxxis Ultimate ATV'' (Xbox, unpublished) *''Pumpkin Man'' (Xbox, unpublished) *''Puzzle Master'' (GBC, 1999) *''Ninja'' (GBC, unpublished) *''Shayde: Monsters vs. Humans'' (Xbox, unpublished) *'' Smash Cars'' (PS2, 2003) *'' Stake: Fortune Fighters'' (Xbox, 2003) *'' Star Command: Revolution'' (PC, 1996, as Metropolis Digital, Inc.) *'' Sub Rebellion'' (PS2, 2002) *''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''Threat Con Delta'' (PS2, 2004, released in Japan as ''Kyoushuu Kidou Butai: Kougeki Helicopter Senki'', unpublished in North America by Metro3D) *''

Wings 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 ...

'' (GBA, 2003) *''

King's Field IV ''King's Field IV'', released in North America as ''King's Field: The Ancient City'', is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. It is the fourth and final game in the ''King's Field'' series. It ...

'' (PS2, 2003) (

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an distribution only) *''

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel ''Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel'' is a video game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft in 1994. It is a spin-off/sequel of the ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' series and was released for the Sega Genesis in October 1994 and for the Supe ...

'' (GBA, unpublished)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , author=Andersen, John , date=January 31, 2006 , title=Metro3D Resurrected As European Branch , url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7978 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222020/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7978 , accessdate=2016-03-31 , archivedate=2016-03-03 , publisher=

UBM plc UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a Multinational corporation, multinational media company. Its main focus was ...

, work=

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...

, quote= he publisher isunder the management of CEO Dr. Stephen C.H. Lin .Metro3D Inc shareholders sold off its European division in June of 2005 to Stewart Green. Green has now re-established Metro3D Europe (M3DE), as a separate UK registered company, and will be unaffected by the on-going chapter 11 status of its former U.S. parent company. . reen's own companyhas three separate divisions related to gaming under its operation: Artworld Studios, Data Design Solutions, and All-Star Gaming. Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Video game companies established in 1998 Video game companies disestablished in 2004 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game development companies 1998 establishments in California 2004 disestablishments in California