Overview
Cinemaware Corporation was founded in 1985. The company was
Robert Jacob's and
Phyllis Jacob's software development house. Established in 1985, it existed for seven years before going under in 1991.
Cinemaware was responsible for creating games that, true to their name, were almost of a movie-like quality, or at least a reasonable facsimile, given the technology of the time. The company was an active developer of award-winning games on the Amiga, C64, Apple IIGS, PC, NES, NEC Turbografx and other computers and console systems.
In the early 1990's NEC asked Cinemaware to do a CD-enhanced remake of
It Came from the Desert for its TurboGrafx CD console, in exchange for buying 20 percent of the company. Cinemaware sank $700,000 in the project, almost five times as much as a regular budget at the time. The movie-like production skills drained the funds quickly and the company went under in 1991, before the game was finished. Under the leadership of
David Riordan the game was completed on a tight budget and released in 1992.
Many of Cinemaware's original programmers, designers, artists, and producers left to work for top developers and publishers around the industry, such as
Microsoft,
Cavedog Entertainment,
Disney Interactive and
Electronic Arts.
In 2000 a new company called
Cinemaware, Inc. was formed based on the name and assets of the original Cinemaware. The original team was not involved.
Also Known As
- Master Designer Software, Inc. (from Jan 17, 1986 to Jan 15, 1988)
Games
Trivia
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