Kotaku: history is cool!

History of Activision

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:00:28 MDT

Now that Activision is North America's biggest third party publisher, it's certainly a good time to learn about the place! Game site Gamasutra has a fascinating feature up which tracks the conception and birth of Activision. From the piece:

Crane and Miller left Atari in August of 1979 and Activision was born. They quickly began programming a development system for Activision, working out of Crane's apartment. Bob Whitehead and Larry Kaplan stayed at Atari for a short while longer before handing in their notices to join Activision.
Atari soon realized their error in letting prime talent walk out the door. However, their first response was to try and sue the fledgling company out of existence, accusing them of copyright and patent infringement in a 1980 lawsuit. "Atari bought full-page magazine ads to try to paint us as criminals, when all we were doing was pursuing our chosen craft," Crane remembered. Atari's lawyers would continue to dog Activision over the next two years before their complaint was finally thrown out.

From the company's savvy early marketing to its recent triumphs, this is definitely worth a read. Like I said, it's fascinating.
History of Activision [Gamasutra]

This Day in Gaming, July 9th

Mark Wilson — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:40:53 MDT

1997: Dark Horse Comics announces a new 4-part series based upon the game Myst, 'Myst: The Book of the Black Ships'. Hmmm...Myst in comic form. Exciting panels of valves, levers and lighthouses...the whole idea reeks of a bad Thomas Kinkade prints.

2004: The Federal Trade Commission publishes an undercover investigation where they found that 69% of UNDER-17-year-olds were able to purchase games rated M without adult consent. And then the PTA attacked the FTC for their perversion of statistics.

2007: TDIG hits its 365th day on Kotaku and enters early retirement. Because shuffleboard is the ultimate game.

This Day in Gaming, July 8th

Mark Wilson — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 12:40:44 MDT

2002: Nintendo announces Game Boy Advance Latias/Latios editions. They are special versions released to commemorate (read: promote) the new Pokemon movie. Because nothing says commemorate like ugly purple and pink GBAs.

2003: Playmore Corporation changes their name to SNK Playmore Corporation. We know you don't care, but it might be on the quiz. Do you care now? Good. Because we were just making that quiz stuff up. We would never do that to you. OK, we would, but it would involve large heads of industry "giants."

This Day in Gaming, July 7th

Mark Wilson — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 12:30:25 MDT

1987: Konami releases Metal Gear for MSX2 in Japan. This is the first release in the famous/revolutionary/uberawesome Metal Gear series—so let's commemorate it right. What is your favorite Metal Gear moment in any of the titles? Then let's dream about how great the ~~PS4~~ PS3 version will be when it finally comes out.

2000: Square Co. releases Final Fantasy 9 for PS in Japan. The game sells less than the previous two FF titles, even though it receives rave reviews and overall positive reception. I think it's an issue with cover art that alters the mass appeal of FF titles, because the die hards buy the game no matter what, and obviously the reviews have little to do with the success.

This Day in Gaming, July 6th

Mark Wilson — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:00:18 MDT

1998: Prima Publishing releases Lara's Story: Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider Phenomenon. More than just a compendium of strategy guides, the paperback features a hefty collection of Lara Croft pictures and "facts". Though we're sure prepubescents everywhere bought this literature for the articles.

2000: The 3DO Company releases Vegas Games Midnight Madness: Table Games for PC in the US. Why is it "midnight madness"? Because you are up late. Because you are cool. That's why.

This Day in Gaming, July 5th

Mark Wilson — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:00:50 MDT

1991: Hudson Soft releases Final Soldier for TG in the US. It looks like a great title, a space shooter allowing you to change weapons between levels. Of course, I remembered Bonk as pretty awesome until I recently loaded it up on VC.

2001: Sony confirms the rumors of a hard drive system for the PS2. They were quoted as saying something along the lines of, "Yes, we are releasing a hard drive. It's one of those peripherals console manufacturers will hype up and then never do anything with. Needless to say, we're very excited about the possibilities for disappointment."

This Day in Gaming, July 3rd

Mark Wilson — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:00:45 MDT

2003: KCET releases Silent Hill 3 for PS2 in Japan. You'd think by the third incarnation of the game, people would know to stay away from scary-looking places that are quite quiet. Horror movies rarely take place in the middle of a Starbucks during the morning rush hour, which is probably one reason they are so popular. Hmmm...grande mocha lattes attack...prices are too high for hungry patrons to eat so they eat one another...screw that, I'll take my scary old mansions and ghoul carnivals any day.

This Day in Gaming, July 2nd

Mark Wilson — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:00:18 MDT

1997: After Star Wing failed miserably (the European version of Star Fox), Nintendo decides to release Star Fox 64 under the name Lylat War. Because that sounds so MUCH better. Apparently, a company named Star Vox prevents a more normal/successful titling of the series in the area. Looking at the box is like being trapped in a bad episode of Sliders.

1998: The Big Network launches—it's an online gaming site that offers multiple family gaming channels. And it's a really Big Deal.

This Day in Gaming, July 1st

Mark Wilson — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:00:22 MDT

1987: Capcom releases Section Z for NES in the US. It's a port of their arcade game by the same name, and I'm not sure how many Kotakuites have played it, but the game is trippy for impressionable youth.

1999: Hasbro Interactive releases Mechwarrior 3 for PC in the US. It's a fantastic mech battle simulator, not that any of us would know if it wasn't like the real thing.

2003: Blizzard releases WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne expansion for PC in the US. Releasing expansions for strategy titles is a tough balance, but Blizzard did a good job of releasing more units and expanding the singleplayer storyline.

This Day in Gaming, June 30th

Mark Wilson — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:30:14 MDT

2000: Activision releases Dark Reign 2 for PC in the US. Why do some franchises feel forced to reinvent instead of simply improve? Here's hoping for a Dark Reign 3 the way we all wanted Dark Reign 2.

2005: Atlus releases Trauma Center: Under the Knife for DS in Japan. I seriously just looked at this game and thought, "That was released only last year?" Then I remembered, it's 2007 and half-way to 2008. And I'm never going to med school to please my parents.

This Day in Gaming, June 29th

Mark Wilson — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:00:43 MDT

2000: Blizzard releases Diablo II for PC/Mac in the US. If there was ever a sequel that was the epitome of good sequels, or a game that was an argument for the necessity of sequels in gaming (even if they are horribly overused), it's Diablo II.

The new features are too numerous to list, but playing as a Necromancer and raising little skeletons from fallen corpses was one of many early highlights of the game. Its expansion, Lord of Destruction, was released a year later and brought the ninja class of fighter, which was equally innovative.

Diablo II, you owe us our lives back. Hit the comments and let us know your favorite moments.

This Day in Gaming, June 27th

Mark Wilson — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:00:54 MDT

2001: Funcom releases Anarchy Online for PC in the US. After writing about Star Wars Galaxies yesterday, Anarchy Online makes me remember a time when I thought, "Can anyone ever beat EverCrack? MAYBE Anarchy can do it...but probably not."

2002: Codemasters releases Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing for PS2 in the US. It's not quite the same as my favorite NES boxing game. Maybe it's the more complicated controls, maybe it's the ear-biting. But something is amiss. Mark Wilson