Sony Imagesoft Inc. was an American

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ...

that operated from 1989 to 1995 and was located in California. It was established in January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, as a subsidiary of the Japan-based CBS/Sony Group (CSG) and initially named CSG Imagesoft Inc. Their focus at the beginning was on marketing games exclusively for

Nintendo is a Japanese 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 produced handmade playing cards ...

consoles.''CSG Imagesoft Enters U.S. Home Video Game Market.'' PR Newswire, Los Angeles, September 6, 1989 The first release was ''

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'' in summer 1989. Games by UK-based developers, ''

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'' and '' Dragon's Lair'', followed in 1990. Both were also published in Japan through Epic/Sony Records. After

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

had set up its North American division, Sony Electronic Publishing in April 1991, Imagesoft operated as Sony Imagesoft Inc. Other releases are localizations of SNES games previously developed for Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) and published under the Epic/Sony Records brand: '' Extra Innings'' and '' Smart Ball'', both published in 1992. Following a shakeup at Sony in 1995, Sony Imagesoft was merged into Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) and has since only supported the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

brand.

Sega partnership

On May 20, 1992, Sega of America and Sony Electronic Publishing announced a partnership to create content for Sega's consoles under the direction of Imagesoft. Besides Sega's cartridge-based

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and

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consoles the partnership targeted the upcoming

Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...

peripheral. Among the first titles released for Sega's consoles after the announcement are '' Sewer Shark'' and ''

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''. ''Sewer Shark'', initially released exclusively to Sega CD, is a rail-shooter that years earlier had been shelved as part of the ill-fated Control-Vision platform. The ''Hook'' video games are tie-ins to the Spielberg feature film ''

'' that premiered in December 1991 and was produced by Sony-owned

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

. Ports of the video game for Sega platforms are based on the

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

game published earlier by Imagesoft. The Sega CD version was enhanced with better cut scenes with voice actors and digital stills and featured music from the film soundtrack.

1995 changes

In March 1995 Sony Imagesoft announced that it had appointed Kelly Flock as president. Flock came from TriMark Interactive where he was executive vice president since March 1993. Starting in July 1995, just two months prior to the release of the

console in Western markets, Sony Electronic Publishing restructured and renamed its divisions. All video game marketing from Sony Imagesoft was folded into Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA), with about 100 employees transferred from Santa Monica to Foster City.Scott Hettrick: ''-- no title given --'' In:

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

, August 8, 1995.''Sony in Disarray on Eve of Playstation Debut.'' In: Television Digest with Consumer Electronics, August 14, 1995, ISSN 0497-1515, page 9. The video game business of Sony Imagesoft was merged with the product development branch of SCEA and became Sony Interactive Studios America''Sony Electronic Publishing Co. renamed; Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. is established.'' Business Wire, August 17, 1995. which would later be renamed to

989 Studios 989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) that developed games for PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their games include ''EverQuest'', '' Twisted Metal III'', '' Twisted Metal 4'', '' Syphon Filt ...

. The computer software business of Imagesoft became Sony Interactive PC Software America and was headed by general manager Ray Sangster.

Games published

Games developed

References

External links

''Sony Imagesoft''
profile on

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{{Sony Imagesoft Defunct video game companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Video game companies established in 1989 Video game companies disestablished in 1995 Video game publishers 1989 establishments in California 1995 disestablishments in California