Virgin PLAY S.A. (formerly Virgin Interactive España S.A.) was a Spanish video game distributor, and later a video game publisher.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1995 (as Virgin Interactive España SA) November 1, 2002 (as Virgin Play) |
| Founder | Tim Chaney and Paco Encinas |
| Defunct | September 2009 |
| Fate | Liquidation |
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain |
| Subsidiaries | V.2 PLAY V.2 PLAY Portugal PlayV Ltd (50/50 Joint Venture with Playlogic Entertainment) |
History
editIn 1995, Virgin Interactive Entertainment and employees Mariele Isidoro and Paco Encinas formed up a Spanish distribution arm for the company, entitled Virgin Interactive Entertainment España S.A., who would market and distribute the company's titles in Spain, and later titles from Interplay Entertainment, Titus Interactive and Swing! Entertainment, much like its parent. Virgin Interactive España were also the Spanish distributor for titles released by The 3DO Company, Midway Games, Light & Shadow Production, and Midas Interactive.
Separation as Virgin Play
editOn May 14, 2002, Virgin Interactive España SA was purchased from Titus Interactive by Tim Chaney along with former Spanish president and founder Paco Encinas. The branch was then separated from the main Virgin Interactive company, which Titus Software already owned, and due to this sale, the company could keep its own identity as a Virgin brand. On November 1, 2002 the division's name was changed to Virgin PLAY S.A.. Under the new name, Virgin Play signed deals with companies such as Midway Games, Ignition Entertainment and Koch Media which would allow Virgin Play to distribute their games in the Spanish market. Interplay and Titus' games continued to be distributed by the company.
By February 2003, the company secured a Spanish distribution deal with Ignition Entertainment.[1]
In 2004, Virgin Play released the GP32 in Spain, Italy and Portugal in place of Game Park, who went into trading difficulties.[2]
Self-Publication
editIn 2006, Virgin Play announced that they would start self-publishing games. The first title self-published by the company was a game based on the Spanish movie Torrente 3: El Protector, which was the first movie produced in Spain to have a game tie-in released for it.[3] The company would sign a publishing deal with I-Imagine Interactive for the release of Final Armada on the PlayStation 2 and PSP in April 2007.[4] and later published a tactical shooter for the Nintendo DS called Dead 'n' Furious.
In mid-2007, the company's publishing division was renamed to V.2 Play.
In May 2007, the company signed a deal with DTP Entertainment which would allow the publisher to distribute the company's products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[5] The company would sign a similar deal with Koch Media a month later[6] which would allow them to distribute in the United Kingdom.
In June 2007, the company signed a deal with Real Madrid to publish a game based on the football team.[7]
In July 2007, Virgin Play announced they would be opening an office in Lisbon, Portugal in order to expand the market and offer a more personalized treatment to Portuguese companies.[8] The office would be branded under the V.2 Play name.
On March 11, 2008, the company announced they had acquired the rights to produce and distribute a video game based on the animated television series Lola & Virginia.[9]
In May 2008, Playlogic Entertainment and Virgin Play founded a UK joint venture called PlayV, PlayV would bring PC, console and handheld products from both companies to the UK market while also offering PR, marketing and sales solutions to additional partners looking to penetrate the UK retail market.[10]
Liquidation
editIn September 2008, Tim Chaney left Virgin Play and later set up his own gaming platform, called Zattikka in June 2009.[11]
In June 2009, Virgin Play asked a Spanish court for a three-month period to seek a solution with its creditors due to a lack of liquidity. Exactly 3 months later, in September 2009, Virgin Play entered liquidation and ceased all operations.[12]
List of published games
edit| Release | Title | Developer | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Torrente 3: El Protector | Virtual Toys, S.L. | PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows | First self-published game by the company |
| 2007 | Final Armada | I-Imagine | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | |
| 2007 | Dead 'n' Furious | Dream On Studio | Nintendo DS | Published by Eidos Interactive in North America |
| 2007 | Snow X Racing | Coldwood Interactive | PlayStation 2 | European publishing rights only. Published by Valcon Games in North America |
| 2008 | Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come | NeocoreGames | Microsoft Windows | Physical European PC release only, published by NeocoreGames elsewhere |
| 2008 | War Leaders: Clash of Nations | Enigma Software Productions | Microsoft Windows | Physical European PC release only, published by DreamCatcher Interactive in North America |
| 2008 | Donkey Xote | Revistronic | PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PSP | |
| 2008 | Super Hind | Mountain Sheep | PSP | |
| 2008 | Hello Pocoyo! | Zinkia Entertainment | Nintendo DS | |
| 2008 | Warriors of the Lost Empire | Platinum Egg | PSP | European publishing rights only, published by UFO Interactive Games in North America and Ertain in Asian countries including Japan |
| 2009 | B Team: Metal Cartoon Squad | Most Wanted Entertainment | Nintendo DS | |
| 2009 | Lola & Virginia | Frima Studio | Nintendo DS | |
| 2009 | Mind Your Language | Spiral House | Nintendo DS | Available in English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese versions |
| 2009 | Real Madrid: The Game | Atomic Planet Entertainment | PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows, PSP | A Nintendo DS version was also planned, but was scrapped after Virgin Play's liquidation. |
| 2009 | Away: Shuffle Dungeon | Artoon | Nintendo DS | European publishing rights only, published by Majesco Entertainment in North America and AQ Interactive in Japan |
| 2009 | El Internado | Artefacts Studio[13] | Nintendo DS | Only released in Spain. Was to be released in other countries as The Boarding School: Black Lagoon in late 2009, but was scrapped after Virgin Play's liquidation |
References
edit- ^ "Ignition to Distribute Budget GBA Titles - News".
- ^ "GP32 llegará a España en junio". 17 May 2004.
- ^ "Virgin PLAY produces its first videogame based on box-office hit comedy Torrente 3: The Protector for PC and PS2". 14 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Virgin PLAY presents its V.2 Play publishing project FINAL ARMADA for PLAYSTATION 2 and PSP". 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "DTP distributes Virgin Play games". 8 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Virgin Play with Koch!!!". 29 June 2007. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Virgin Play signs Real Madrid". Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Virgin PLAY opens offices in Portugal". 16 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Virgin PLAY adquires [sic] the rights to produce and distribute the videogame for Imira Entertainment´s Lola & Virginia". 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Playlogic and Virgin Play announce joint venture". 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
- ^ "Chaney on the prowl for studios". MCV UK. 2009-06-18. Archived from the original on 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
- ^ "Virgin Play in trouble". MCV UK. 2009-08-20. Archived from the original on 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
- ^ "Developer studio of El Internado". Archived from the original on 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-01-13.