RedSpotGames

RedSpotGames
Private
Industry Video games
Founded 2005
Founder Max Scharl
Defunct 2013
Headquarters Munich, Germany
Key people
 Adrian Loudero,
Tobi Fuchs,
Owner Max Scharl
Number of employees
 5+
Website www.redspotgames.com

RedSpotGames (also written as redspotgames and abbreviated as rsg) is a video game publisher, distributor and promoter based in Munich, Germany. Established in 2005, the company is known for releasing new games for the long discontinued Sega Dreamcast video game system, and recently, they have also branched off publishing to digital services such as Xbox Live and WiiWare.

History

Early Years

Dreamcast Petition (2002)

Max Scharl, Co-founder of RedSpotGames launched "Dreamcast-Petition", an online initiative petitioning against the discontinuation of Sega Dreamcast software and GD-Rom production. Additionally direct mailing petitions were also organized to motivate 3rd Party developers such as G.Rev and Alfa System to port arcade games to Dreamcast. Border Down and Castle Shikigami 2 ports were a direct result of each petition respectively.[1]

Feet of Fury (2003)

In 2003, Scharl was involved with GOAT Store Publishing in the development of Feet of Fury. He has also been credited for promotion and marketing for the game in Europe. Scharl also attempted at having Feet of Fury distributed by Big Ben Interactive, who held the distribution rights of Dreamcast games in Europe.[2][3][4][5]

In August 2003, Lik-sang sponsored a booth for DCP at Game Convention where DCP formally received an endorsement from Sega of Europe director Tina Sakowsky.[6]

Dreamcast-Scene

In November 2003, the website evolved into "Dreamcast-Scene" (abbreviated as DCS) and expanded its focus from petitions to include news reporting, downloads. The purpose behind the rebranding was to symbolize the unity of the programming scene, gamers and fans of the Dreamcast. It was also a precursor to Redspotgames as Max's initial plans were to establish DCS as a worldwide brand for publishing new Dreamcast hardware and software which was to be distributed by Lik-Sang.[7]

In December 2004, DCS relaunched with a PMwiki formally establishing a public community driven knowledge base for Dreamcast.[8]

Launching RedSpotGames

The company was formally established in 2005 by Max Scharl along with a couple of friends with private investments.[9] In January 2007, RedSpotGames published their first game for Dreamcast with a port of Neo-Geo game Last Hope.[10] Last Hope was given a modest print run, with 500 units being limited editions (bundled with vinyl style soundtrack CD, double jewel case and hand-written unit numbers). The limited edition sold out in five days after the preorder.[11]

In an interview with RacketBoy Last Hope developers NG.DEV.TEAM stated that they were not satisfied with their publisher and they have published future games independently.[12][13] However, Redspotgames continue to work with them in distribution and promotion.[14][15]

In 2008, the publisher released Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles, an extended port of the GP2X game by Yuan Works.[16][17] Despite positive reviews the game was considered a commercial failure by the publisher.[18]

In 2009, Rush Rush Rally Racing, a top-down 2D racing game developed by Senile Team.[19][20]

Diversification (2009–2013)

Recently, the publisher has expanded their scope by publishing Solar Struggle and Solar Struggle Survival on Xbox Live Indie Games and porting Rush Rush Rally Racing to WiiWare. They announced to start taking part in the development process of the games as well, instead of only publishing them.[21][22][23]

On December 5, 2010, on a German TV show Neues, RedSpotGames announced continued support for the Sega Dreamcast in the form of Sturmwind, developed by Duranik.[24][25][26] A week later the trailer for the game was released on YouTube.[27]

In February 2011, RedSpotGames partnered with NG:DEV.TEAM again and sold Fast Striker via their online store.[28]

On December 19, 2011, RedSpotGames announced that the game had been delayed indefinitely due to the disc pressing plant they had contracted to manufacture the game filing for bankruptcy.[29]

In April 2013, Sturmwind was released in spite of critical and commercial success Redspotgames attracted severe backlash due to the mismanagement of pre-orders and shipping.[30] Redspotgames has not updated their website since September 2013. It is unknown if the company is still in business.

Games published

Title Release Platform Role
Last Hope 2007 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter
Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles 2008 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter
Dux 2009 Dreamcast Distributor for Japan
Last Hope: Pink Bullets 2009 Dreamcast Distributor, promoter
Rush Rush Rally Racing 2009 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter
Solar Struggle 2010 Xbox Live Indie Games Co-producer, publisher, distributor, promoter
Solar Struggle Survival 2011 Xbox Live Indie Games Co-producer, publisher, distributor, promoter
Rush Rush Rally Racing 2012 WiiWare Co-producer, publisher, distributor, promoter
Fast-Striker 2012 Dreamcast Distributor, promoter
Sturmwind 2013 Dreamcast Publisher, distributor, promoter

References

  1. ↑ http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/about/
  2. ↑ archive of www.dreamcast-petition.com
  3. ↑ http://cagames.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1298
  4. ↑ http://www.goatstorepublishing.com/faq/
  5. ↑ http://www.goatstorepublishing.com/projects/dreamcast/feet-of-fury/
  6. ↑ "Another day at the GC: Planet Virtual Boy, Atari vs. Lik Sang, Sega's visit, plenty of free giveaways". Lik-Sang via Archive.org. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Max Scharl. "Dreamcast-Scene launch!". Dreamcast-Scene. Dreamcast-Scene. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Max Scharl. "Official return of Dreamcast-Scene". Dreamcast-Scene. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.redspotgames.com/japanese/
  10. ↑ http://ngdevteam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=5&Itemid=29
  11. ↑ http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/last-hope-limited-edition-sold-out-48614.html
  12. ↑ http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/dreamcast/dux-new-dreamcast-shmup-game
  13. ↑ http://www.ngdevdirect.com
  14. ↑ http://www.redspotgames.com/redspotgames-became-official-dux-distributor-logistic-partner-and-reseller/
  15. ↑ http://www.redspotgames.com/last-hope-pink-bullets-wind-and-water-puzzle-battles-bundle-%E2%80%93-cheapest-on-the-internet/
  16. ↑ http://www.wired.com/2007/08/new-dreamcast-g/
  17. ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gc-2008-they-are-still-making-dreamcast-games/1100-6234455/
  18. ↑ http://dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=100386&hilit=redspotgames
  19. ↑ http://kotaku.com/5355311/happy-birthday-dreamcast-heres-a-new-game
  20. ↑ http://www.1up.com/news/rush-rush-rally-racing-coming
  21. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfThIU9e70 the video shows redspotgames GamesCom booth with Solar Struggle
  22. ↑ http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/21/redspotgames-looking-to-continue-publishing-for-dreamcast/
  23. ↑ http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/22/redspotgames-has-plans-for-further-dreamcast-development/
  24. ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gc-2008-they-are-still-making-dreamcast-games/1100-6234455/
  25. ↑ http://www.gamesradar.com/german-tv-show-reveals-a-new-dreamcast-game/
  26. ↑ http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/52909-german-developer-is-reviving-the-dreamcast
  27. ↑ http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/12/sturmwind_first_trailer_for_ne.php
  28. ↑ http://www.senileteam.com/forum_thread(117696).html
  29. ↑ "Production complications: Sturmwind is about to be delayed". redspotgames. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  30. ↑ http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/news/sturmwind-sold-out/

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, December 07, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.