Atomic Planet Entertainment Ltd

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Atomic Planet Entertainment is a video games development studio founded in 2000 by industry veterans Darren and Jason Falcus. Previously the brothers had managed Acclaim Studios Teesside, which was formed by the takeover of Iguana UK. At the start of their career, they had formed and run Optimus Software Ltd.

Atomic Planet Entertainment - commonly referred to as APE - is based in central Middlesbrough in Corporation Road's Multimedia Exchange building.

APE started out by producing the company's first smash hit in the form of Dino Island for Orange mobile phone systems. Before long APE was hired by publishing giant Code Masters to develop its Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, released in 2002. The game received little praise by reviewers (rated 2.6 on IGN.com, 2.5 by Gamespot and, strangely, over 90% by BBC Sport online) and it came at a time when the popularity of the boxer dropped drastically. These two factors left the game with a very short lifespan.

In 2003, APE developed some budget games for the PSone console including Trickshot for Phoenix Games and the virtually unplayable dance mat game Superstar Dance Club for Take 2 Interactive.

A series of titles for the Game Boy Advance system followed. Already gaining plenty of interest due to the industry contacts of the Falcus brothers, the studio progressed with titles for high-profile clients, including a port of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for Capcom, and Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown for Cinemaware, both in 2003.

2004 saw the start of a major growth in the studio, with staff numbers hitting almost 70. At this point titles in development included Jackie Chan Adventures on PS2 for Sony Europe, the poorly-received Miami Vice on PS2, Xbox and PC for Davilex, Guy Game on PS2 for Take 2 Interactive, Game Trak: Dark Wind for In2Games, and the company's biggest hit to date, the Mega Man Anniversary Collection on PS2, GameCube and Xbox.

Following this record period, the studio settled for a slower pace in 2005, producing a number of first-person shooter titles for publisher Midas Interactive. The biggest hit of the year came with Taito Legends, published by Empire Interactive, which saw the studio's experienced veterans reworking some video games classics for the current consoles.

2006 started with Atomic Planet once again looking for expansion. New staff arrived, and games for new systems in the form of Sony's PSP and Microsoft's Xbox 360 are on the horizon.

[edit] Games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment

2000 DinoIsland (Mobile)
2002 Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing (PS2, Xbox)
2002 Aero The Acro-Bat (GBA)
2003 Zapper (GBA)
2003 Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (GBA)
2003 Superstar Dance Club (PSone)
2003 Trickshot (PSone)
2003 Sennari Darts (Mobile)
2003 Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown (Xbox, PC)
2004 Mega Man Anniversary Collection (PS2, GameCube, Xbox)
2004 The Guy Game (PS2)
2004 Jackie Chan Adventures (PS2)
2004 Gametrak: Dark Wind (PS2 with Gametrak Controller)
2004 Miami Vice (PS2, Xbox, PC)
2005 10 Pin: Champions Alley (PS2)
2005 Ultimate Pro Pinball (PS2, Xbox)
2005 Stealth Force (PS2)
2005 Perfect Ace 2 (PS2, PC)
2005 Taito Legends (PS2, Xbox, PC)
2005 Red Baron (PS2, PC)
2005 SAS Anti-Terror Force (PS2, PC)
2005 WWII: Soldier (PS2)
2006 Daemon Summoner (PS2)
2006 Taito Legends 2 (PS2, Xbox, PC)