Sony Imagesoft
 |
|
| Public | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Fate | Folded into SCEA |
| Successor | 989 Studios |
| Founded | January 1989 |
| Defunct | July 1995 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Hiroaki G. Ishikawa |
| Products |
Video games |
|
Number of employees
|
100 (1995) |
| Parent |
CBS/Sony Group (1989-1991) |
| Website | www |
Video games
CBS/Sony Group (1989-1991)
Sony Imagesoft was a video game publisher that operated from 1989 to 1995 and was located in California. It was established in January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, as a subsidiary of the Japan-based CBS/Sony Group (CSG) and initially named CSG Imagesoft Inc. Focus at the beginning was on marketing games exclusively for Nintendo consoles.
The first release is Super Dodge Ball in summer 1989. Games by UK-based developers, Solstice and Dragon's Lair, followed in 1990. Both were also published in Japan through Epic/Sony Records.
After Sony had set up its North American division, Sony Electronic Publishing in April 1991, Imagesoft operated as Sony Imagesoft Inc. The new logo is a blue square that is diagonally divided by a feather emitting sparks of light from its tip. The first games sporting the new logo are Altered Space for Game Boy and movie tie-in Hudson Hawk for NES and Game Boy.
Other releases are localizations of SNES games previously developed for Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) and published under the Epic/Sony Records brand:Extra Innings and Smart Ball, both published in 1992. Following a shakeup at Sony in 1995, Sony Imagesoft was merged into Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) and has since only supported the PlayStation brand.
On May 20, 1992, Sega of America and Sony Electronic Publishing announced a partnership to create content for Sega's consoles under the direction of Imagesoft. Besides Sega's cartridge-based Genesis and GameGear consoles the partnership targeted the upcoming Sega CD peripheral. Among the first titles released for Sega's consoles after the announcement are Sewer Shark and Hook. Sewer Shark, initially released exclusively to Sega CD, is a rail-shooter that years earlier had been shelved as part of the ill-fated Control-Vision platform. The Hook video games are tie-ins to the Spielberg feature film Hook that premiered in December 1991 and was produced by Sony owned TriStar Pictures. Ports of the video game for Sega platforms are based on the SNES game published earlier by Imagesoft. The Sega CD version was enhanced with better cut scenes with voice actors and digital stills and featured music from the film soundtrack.
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Wikipedia