Vicarious Visions is an American video game developer . Vicarious Visions' games accounted for over 2.5 billion dollars in retail sales and over 40 million units of its software have been sold worldwide. The headquarters of Vicarious Visions is located in Menands, New York .
Studio history [ edit ]
The studio was founded by brothers Karthik and Guha Bala in 1990 while both were in high school.
In the late 1990s, Vicarious Visions appointed Michael Marvin, an Albany based investor and entrepreneur and founder and former CEO of MapInfo ; and Charles S. Jones, investor, who sat on the boards of various software and industrial companies including Geac and PSDI , to its board of directors. Under their leadership, a sale of the company was negotiated to Activision , earning the original investors over 20x their initial investment.
In January 2005, Vicarious Visions was acquired by publisher Activision .
Game history [ edit ]
Terminus , an online multiplayer space trading and combat simulation game, won two Independent Games Festival Awards in 1999. They became known as a leading developer of handheld games breaking ground by the Tony Hawk's series , developing every Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS title in the franchise's main series as well as one spin off. They developed the first three Crash Bandicoot GBA games. They are also well known for many games including Spider-Man , Spider-Man 2 , Ultimate Spider-Man , Crash Nitro Kart , Jedi Knight II , Jedi Academy , and Doom 3 for the Xbox. Vicarious Visions developed for the Guitar Hero series on the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms. For Guitar Hero: On Tour , Vicarious Visions created the "Guitar Grip" peripheral for the Nintendo DS, which emulates the guitar controller for the portable system.
It was revealed on June 10, 2011, that Vicarious Visions was working on the 3DS version of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure .[ 1]
In 2011 it was announced that Vicarious Visions is working on three unknown projects, Project Nova (revealed as Skylanders: Swap Force ), Atlantis and Phoenix .[ 2]
Games developed [ edit ]
Year
Game
Platform(s)
1996
Synnergist
Microsoft DOS (PC CD-ROM)
1997
Dark Angael
Microsoft Windows
1999
Zebco Fishing!
Game Boy Color
1999
Vigilante 8
Game Boy Color
2000
Polaris SnoCross
Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64 , PlayStation
2000
Terminus
Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux
2000
Spider-Man
Game Boy Color
2000
The Wild Thornberrys: Rambler
Game Boy Color
2000
Pro Darts
Game Boy Color
2000
Barbie: Magic Genie Adventure
Game Boy Color
2000
Jimmy White's Cue Ball
Game Boy Color
2001
Rescue Heroes: Fire Frenzy
Game Boy Color
2001
Blue's Clues: Blue's Alphabet Book
Game Boy Color
2001
SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula
Game Boy Color
2001
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Game Boy Advance
2001
Sea-Doo Hydrocross
PlayStation
2001
Power Rangers: Time Force
Game Boy Advance
2001
Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace
Game Boy Advance
2001
Zoboomafoo: Playtime in Zobooland
Game Boy Color
2001
Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro
PlayStation
2001
Monsters, Inc.
Game Boy Color
2001
Kelly Club: Clubhouse Fun
Game Boy Color
2002
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Game Boy Advance
2002
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Game Boy Advance
2002
Frogger Advance: The Great Quest
Game Boy Advance
2002
SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
Game Boy Advance
2002
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Game Boy Advance, PlayStation
2002
The Powerpuff Girls: Him and Seek
Game Boy Advance
2002
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
GameCube , Xbox
2002
Whiteout
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
2003
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
Game Boy Advance
2003
The Muppets: On With The Show!
Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows
2003
Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend
Game Boy Advance
2003
X2: Wolverine's Revenge
Game Boy Advance
2003
Finding Nemo
Game Boy Advance
2003
Jet Grind Radio
Game Boy Advance
2003
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
Game Boy Advance
2003
Disney's The Lion King 1½
Game Boy Advance
2003
Tony Hawk's Underground
Game Boy Advance
2003
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
Game Boy Advance
2003
Disney's Brother Bear
Game Boy Advance
2003
Crash Nitro Kart
Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, N-Gage
2003
Spy Muppets: License to Croak
Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows
2003
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Xbox
2004
Rivet
Mobile phone
2004
Shrek 2
Game Boy Advance
2004
Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock
Mobile phone
2004
Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy
Game Boy Advance
2004
Shark Tale
Game Boy Advance
2004
Tony Hawk's Underground 2
Game Boy Advance
2004
That's So Raven
Game Boy Advance
2004
Shrek 2: Beg For Mercy!
Game Boy Advance
2004
Kids Next Door: Operation S.O.D.A.
Game Boy Advance
2004
Spider-Man 2
Nintendo DS , PlayStation Portable
2005
Doom 3
Xbox
2005
Madagascar
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS
2005
Batman Begins
Game Boy Advance
2005
Ultimate Spider-Man
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS
2005
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
PlayStation Portable
2005
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS
2005
Madagascar: Operation Penguin
Game Boy Advance
2006
Over the Hedge
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS
2006
Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts
Game Boy Advance
2006
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
Nintendo DS
2006
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
PlayStation Portable, Wii
2007
Shrek the Third
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS
2007
Spider-Man 3
Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii
2007
Transformers: Decepticons
Nintendo DS
2007
Transformers: Autobots
Nintendo DS
2007
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Wii
2007
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
Nintendo DS
2007
Bee Movie Game
Nintendo DS
2008
Kung Fu Panda
Nintendo DS
2008
Guitar Hero: On Tour
Nintendo DS
2008
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Wii
2008
Guitar Hero World Tour
Wii
2008
Quantum of Solace
Nintendo DS
2008
Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades
Nintendo DS
2009
Mixed Messages
DSiWare
2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Decepticons
Nintendo DS
2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Autobots
Nintendo DS
2009
Guitar Hero 5
Wii
2009
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360
2009
Band Hero
Nintendo DS, Wii
2009
Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits
Nintendo DS
2010
Guitar Hero
iOS
2010
Transformers War for Cybertron: Decepticons
Nintendo DS
2010
Transformers War for Cybertron: Autobots
Nintendo DS
2010
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Wii
2011
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
3DS
2012
Skylanders: Cloud Patrol
iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
2012
Skylanders: Lost Islands
iOS, Android
2012
Skylanders: Battlegrounds
iOS, Android
2012
Skylanders: Giants
Wii U
2013
Skylanders: Swap Force
PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U,[ 3] Xbox 360, Xbox One
TBA
Project Atlantis
TBC
TBA
Project Phoenix
TBC
Awards Received [ edit ]
Year
Award
For
1999
GDC Independent Games Festival Awards: Best Programming
Terminus
1999
GDC Independent Games Festival Awards: Best Audio Soundtrack
Terminus
2001
E3 Award: Best Handheld Game
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2001
E3 Award: Best Sports Game for Handheld
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2001
E3 Award: Technological Excellence in Handheld
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2001
Editor’s Choice Award: Best of 2001 for Handheld Games - Best Extreme Sports Game
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2002
Gamespot: Best Sports Game on Game Boy Advance for 2002
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
2003
Gamespy: Best Action Sports Game
Tony Hawk's Underground
2003
Gamespy: #10 GBA Game of the Year
Tony Hawk's Underground
2004
1up: Sports/Extreme Sports Game of the Year
Tony Hawk's Underground
2005
Gamespy: 2005 Xbox Game of the Year: #5 Overall of Top 10
Doom 3
2005
TeamXbox: 2005 Game of the Year First Runner Up for First Person Shooter and Best Graphics
Doom 3
2005
Gamespy: 2005 DS Game of the Year
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
2005
Gamespy: 2005 DS Sports Game of the Year
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
2005
IGN: Best of 2005, Best Action Game
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
2005
IGN: Best of 2005, Best Artistic Design
Ultimate Spider-Man
2005
IGN: Best of 2005, Best RPG
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
2006
IGN: Best of 2006, DS Racing Game
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
2006
IGN: Best of 2006, DS Racing Game
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Music Game of the Year
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Reader’s Choice for Best Music Game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Best Licensed Soundtrack
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Reader’s Choice for Best Licensed Soundtrack
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Best Local Multiplayer Game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Reader’s Choice for Best Local Multiplayer Game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
Gamespy: 2007 Awards, #5 of Top 10 Wii Games of the Year
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Runner Up Best Platform Game
Spider-Man 3
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Runner Up Most Innovative Design
Spider-Man 3
2007
Gamespy: 2007 Awards, Sports Game of the Year
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
2007
Gamespy: 2007 Awards, #9 of Top 10 DS Games of the Year
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
2007
IGN: Best of 2007, Reader’s Choice for Best Sports Game
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
2008
IGN: Best of 2008, Best Music/Rhythm Game
Guitar Hero On Tour
2008
IGN: Best of 2008, Best Music/Rhythm Game
Guitar Hero World Tour
2008
IGN: Best of 2008, Wireless Category, Best Multiplayer Game
Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile
2008
Editor’s Game Chronicles Magazine Choice Award, June 2008
Kung Fu Panda
2009
IGN: Best of 2009, Best Music Game
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
2009
Gameindustry: Game of the Year, Best DS Game of 2009
Guitar Hero On Tour
2009
Nickelodeon: Kid's Choice Awards, Favorite Video Game
Guitar Hero World Tour
2009
IGN: Best of 2009, Best Multiplayer Game
Mixed Messages
2009
IGN: #25 Top 25 Games of all Time 2009
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
2009
IGN: #5 Top 25 GBA Games of all Time 2009
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2009
Webby Award: Best Hands-on Mobile Game
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
2010
28th Annual Golden Joystick Awards: The Golden Joystick
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
References [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
Main series
Band-centric games
Spinoffs
Songs
Developers
Publishers
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Video games
Related games
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