Titus France
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Titus Interactive SA,Contact
. Titus Interactive. 3 June 2004. Retrieved on 4 September 2012. "Titus Interactive SA : Parc de l'Esplanade 12, rue Enrico Fermi 77462 Lagny sur Marne Cedex. FRANCE"
known as Titus France SA until March 1999,
" Titus Games. 30 June 1998. Retrieved on 4 September 2012. "310 Avenue Daniel Perdrige, 93370 Montfermeil".
Also Known As
. Moby Games. Retrieved on 15 October 2020.
was a French
software publisher A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined (and indeed, may reside in a single person, especially in the case ...
that produced and published
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s for various platforms. Its head office was located in Parc de l'Esplanade in Lagny sur Marne in Greater Paris. At one time, it was instead located in
Montfermeil Montfermeil () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in ...
, also in Greater Paris. The company's mascot was Titus, the title character of ''
Titus the Fox ''Titus the Fox: To Marrakech and Back'' is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Titus France for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. The game was originally released in 1991 under the name ''Lagaf': Les Aventures de Moktar — ...
''.


History


Founding and early years

The company was founded by brothers Eric Caen and Hervé Caen in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1985. In 1991, Titus purchased
Palace Software Palace Software was a British video game publisher and developer during the 1980s based in London, England. It was notable for the ''Barbarian'' and ''Cauldron'' series of games for 8-bit home computer platforms, in particular the ZX Spectrum, ...
, the gaming division of the Palace Group. In 1998, the company purchased the developers
BlueSky Software BlueSky Software was an American video game developer based in California. Formed in 1988, BlueSky closed in March 2001 when parent company, Titus Interactive, was in financial trouble. Titus retained ownership of the BlueSky trademark until t ...
and Digital Integration Ltd.


Interplay Entertainment partnership and distribution agreements (1999–2002)

In late 1999, the company acquired shares in struggling publisher
Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well a ...
, including a stake in publisher/distributor
Virgin Interactive Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...
. Throughout the next few years, Titus signed North American distribution deals with smaller publishers. They signed a deal with
Cryo Interactive Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game developer, video game development and video game publisher, publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo. The company gai ...
in March 2000, with
Rage Software Rage Software plc (formerly Rage Games Limited) was a British video game developer founded in Liverpool in 1992. Games developed See also * Network 23 (company) References External links

* ''Football in the New Media Age'', Ra ...
in September 2000, and
Microids Microids (formerly Microïds) is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. Founded in 1985 by Elliot Grassiano, it attained early success with games published through Loriciel in France and other partners (including Activision ...
in May 2001. In 2002, Titus Japan K.K. signed a similar distribution deal with
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
for Japan. In August 2000, they signed a deal with Viacom Consumer Products to publish games based on the ''
Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...
'' franchise. In August 2001, Titus took the control of Interplay. However prior to this, Titus took over distributing their own titles in the North American market as well as Virgin's from them.


Closure

In June 2004, Titus filed for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
, declaring an unseeable future for Interplay. On January 9, 2005, a French district commercial court declared Titus bankrupt with a €33 million (US$43.8 million) debt. Titus' French subsidiaries were later closed down, while their assets were soon purchased by Interplay.


Games

Titus began releasing titles for home computers such as the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
,
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...
,
Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...
,
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 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 ...
,
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
, and
IBM PC compatible An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central p ...
s before moving on to consoles like the
Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...
,
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
,
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
, and
Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
,
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
,
Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
and
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
, followed by games for the
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, and
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
. Titus designed games such as ''
Virtual Kasparov ''Virtual Kasparov'' is a chess video game developed by Titus Interactive Studio, published by Titus Interactive and distributed in Europe by Virgin Interactive for the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. Game can be played against beginners, novic ...
'', '' Automobili Lamborghini'', '' Virtual Chess 64'', ''
Roadsters __NOTOC__ Roadster may refer to: Transportation * Roadster (automobile), an open, two-seat, often sporty car ** Roadster utility, an automobile with an open-topped roadster body and a rear cargo bed * Roadster (bicycle), a utilitarian bicycle, t ...
'' (the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
version), '' Incredible Crisis'' (developed by Polygon Magic), '' Prehistorik Man'' and '' Lamborghini American Challenge'', that were given positive reviews. Titus however was also involved in the creation of games that were notable due to their negative reception. ''
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'' for the Nintendo 64 was notorious for its negative status among gamers.
GameTrailers ''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
called it the worst game of all time. As of 2018, it holds a score of 23% at
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
. Similarly, the 2003 game ''
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
'' also received negative reviews. GameSpot gave it 2.2/10 saying "''RoboCop'' has a bevy of horrible problems that render the game practically unplayable". 1988 * ''Crazy Cars'' * ''Fire and Forget'' * ''Galactic Conqueror'' * ''Off Shore Warrior'' 1989 * ''Crazy Cars 2'' * ''
Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
'' * '' Knight Force'' 1990 * ''Crime Does not Pay'' * ''Dark Century'' * ''
Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the '' Detroit Mirror'', and was distributed by the Chicago T ...
'' * '' Fire & Forget II'' * ''Un Indien dans la ville'' (''Little Indian: An Indian in the City'' for US release), developed by TF1 Video and Titus * ''Wild Streets'' 1991 * ''
The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...
'' * '' Prehistorik'' 1992 * ''Battlestorm'' * '' Crazy Cars 3'' * ''
Titus the Fox ''Titus the Fox: To Marrakech and Back'' is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Titus France for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. The game was originally released in 1991 under the name ''Lagaf': Les Aventures de Moktar — ...
'' (aka ''Moktar'') 1993 * '' Ardy Lightfoot'' (developed by
ASCII ASCII ( ), an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for representing a particular set of 95 (English language focused) printable character, printable and 33 control character, control c ...
and published by Titus in North America) * '' Prehistorik 2'' * '' Super Cauldron'' 1994 * ''
Monster Max ''Monster Max'' is a 1994 action-adventure game, action-adventure puzzle video game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Titus Interactive, Titus France in Europe for the Game Boy. The player is the titular aspiring rock star, who, ...
'' * '' Lamborghini American Challenge'' * '' Quik the Thunder Rabbit'' 1995 * ''
Virtua Chess ''Virtua Chess'' (also known as ''Virtual Chess'') is a 1995 chess video game developed and published by Titus France SA for the MS-DOS. It was later ported to Windows. Two sequels were released: ''Virtual Chess 2'' for the Windows in 1997 and ...
'' 1996 * ''Metal Rage'' * ''
The Brainies ''The Brainies'' is a puzzle game released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System console and Atari ST, Amiga, Apple IIgs, Macintosh, and Amstrad CPC computers. Even though its European title is ''Tiny Skweeks'', the connection to the popula ...
'' * ''
Incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...
'' * ''
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
'' (
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...
version) * ''
Power Piggs of the Dark Age ''Power Piggs of the Dark Age'' is a 2D hack and slash platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Titus France. It was released in 1996 for the Super NES in North America, and in the PAL regions the following year. A Sega ...
'' * '' Prehistorik Man'' * '' Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame'' (SNES version) * ''
Realm A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire. Etymo ...
'' 1997 * ''
Virtual Chess 2 ''Virtua Chess'' (also known as ''Virtual Chess'') is a 1995 chess video game developed and published by Titus France SA for the MS-DOS. It was later ported to Windows. Two sequels were released: ''Virtual Chess 2'' for the Windows in 1997 and ' ...
'' * '' Superman (Game Boy)'' * '' Automobili Lamborghini'' 1998 * '' Virtual Chess 64'' * ''
Quest for Camelot ''Quest for Camelot'' (released internationally as ''The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot'') is a 1998 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation, directed by Frederik Du Chau, and very loosely based on the ...
'' (published by Nintendo America Inc.) 1999 * '' Rival Realms'' (developed by Activ Pub) * ''
Roadsters __NOTOC__ Roadster may refer to: Transportation * Roadster (automobile), an open, two-seat, often sporty car ** Roadster utility, an automobile with an open-topped roadster body and a rear cargo bed * Roadster (bicycle), a utilitarian bicycle, t ...
'' * '' Superman: The New Superman Adventures'' * '' Evil Zone'' (developed by YUKE's Future Media Creators) * '' Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate'' (developed by Saffire) 2000 * '' Incredible Crisis'' * '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' * '' Carmageddon 64'' * ''
Blues Brothers 2000 ''Blues Brothers 2000'' is a 1998 American musical action comedy film directed by John Landis from a screenplay written by Landis and Dan Aykroyd, both of whom were also producers, and starring Aykroyd and John Goodman. The film serves as a seq ...
'' * ''
Kao the Kangaroo ''Kao the Kangaroo'' (Polish: ''Kangurek Kao'') is a series of platform video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, co ...
'' (Dreamcast/PC versions) * ''
F/A-18E Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The Super Hornet is in service with the armed forces ...
'' * ''Rox'' (GBA version only)


Subsidiaries

Titus had several subsidiaries. The United States subsidiary, Titus Software Corporation, had its head office in Chatsworth,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The Japanese subsidiary, Titus Japan K.K., had its head office on the eighth floor of the Kotubuki Dogenzaka Building in
Dōgenzaka is a district of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. As of October 2020, the population of this district is 591. The postal code for Dōgenzaka is 150–0043. Local landmarks here include Shibuya 109, Bunkamura and the Statue of Hachikō. Geography Dō ...
( JA),
Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. The UK subsidiary, Titus Software UK Limited, had its head office in
Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
.Contacts
. Titus Interactive. 3 February 2002. Retrieved on 4 September 2012.


References


External links


Titus Interactive
(Archive)
Titus Games
(Archive) {{Authority control Defunct video game companies of France Video game companies established in 1985 Video game companies disestablished in 2005 Video game development companies Video game publishers French companies established in 1985 French companies disestablished in 2005