UTV Ignition Games
Ignition Entertainment Limited, doing business as UTV Ignition Games, was a video game publisher of Indian media conglomerate UTV Software Communications. After The Walt Disney Company acquired UTV Software Communications as a wholly owned subsidiary for The Walt Disney Company India, UTV Ignition Games assets were liquidated.
 Logo used since 2011 | |
| |
| Formerly |
|
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Fate | Liquidation |
| Founded | 26 September 2001 in Waltham Abbey, London, England. |
| Defunct | 20 January 2012 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Jatin Talwar |
| Parent | UTV Software Communications |
| Subsidiaries | Ignition London Limited Ignition Entertainment Limited USA |
History
UTV Ignition Games originated as a British video game publisher in September 2001 called Valecombe Limited and was located in Waltham Abbey. The company was renamed Ignition Entertainment on 30 March 2002. It was created from a selection of smaller developers and publishers, such as Archer MacLean's Awesome Studios. In 2007, the company was acquired by UTV Software Communications and opened two new branches: Ignition Tokyo in Japan and Ignition Florida in the United States.
Focused on the production of games for the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS, the company has produced a selection of budget titles for the Game Boy Advance: Pool Paradise from Awesome Studios as well as the Nintendo DS game Zoo Keeper. The company also published SNK's full lineup in Europe which includes the Metal Slug series, Samurai Shodown series as well as The King of Fighters series. In 2005, the company had several games planned, including Mercury, The King of Fighters Neowave and Pool Paradise International. The company had acquired the rights to the tactical role-playing game Spectral Force Genesis. The game was released later that year in North America and Europe.
On 20 April 2007, the company announced the completion of their acquisition by UTV Software Communications, a media conglomerate based in India. On 17 December 2007, they announced the opening of two development studios - Ignition Florida, and Ignition Tokyo. Both studios were said to be working on proprietary intellectual property for next-generation platforms. The Tokyo studio was composed of former members of Clover Studio and Capcom, worked on the game El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. On 21 April 2009, Ignition announced that they would be publishing Muramasa: The Demon Blade for the Wii in North America.[1] On 22 October, they announced they would be publishing Arc Rise Fantasia. Ignition Entertainment also published The King of Fighters XII in North America and Europe for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during Summer 2009.
On 2 November 2010, sources at UTV confirmed the closing of the Florida-based studio. Staff were given opportunities to relocate to Texas or find other work. This announcement followed the widespread allegations of sexual harassment by once boss Paul Steed and mis-management of company funds. The title they were producing, Reich, had completed 2 of 9 major levels' costing roughly US$23 million. Despite major setbacks, the London office will continue on in a more limited scope.[2] Leaked footage of Reich was uploaded to YouTube in November 2010 by an unknown source.[3]
Games published
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Developer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Monster! Bass Fishing | Game Boy Advance | AIA USA |
| Demon Driver: Time to Burn Rubber! | |||
| Super Dropzone: Intergalactic Rescue Mission | Game Boy Advance, PlayStation | Eurocom | |
| 2003 | Chop N' Drop | System 3 | |
| Strike Force Hydra | Digi-Guys | ||
| Archer Maclean's Pool | Archer Maclean | ||
| Stadium Games | Game Boy Advance | Ignition Entertainment | |
| 2004 | Metal Slug 3 | PlayStation 2, Xbox | SNK Playmore |
| Metal Slug Advance | Game Boy Advance | Noise Factory | |
| The King of Fighters 2000 | PlayStation 2 | SNK Playmore | |
| The King of Fighters 2001 | |||
| Archer Maclean Presents Pool Paradise | GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 | Awesome Studios | |
| 2005 | The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact | PlayStation 2, Xbox | SNK Playmore, Noise Factory |
| Zoo Keeper | Nintendo DS | Success | |
| SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom | PlayStation 2, Xbox | SNK Playmore | |
| Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt | PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube | Warthog | |
| Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action! | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS | ||
| Archer Maclean's Mercury | PlayStation Portable | Awesome Studios | |
| The King of Fighters 2002 | PlayStation 2, Xbox | SNK Playmore, Eolith | |
| Metal Slug 4 | Mega Enterprise, BrezzaSoft, Noise Factory, SNK Playmore | ||
| 2006 | Metal Slug 5 | Noise Factory, SNK Playmore | |
| The King of Fighters 2003 | SNK NeoGeo | ||
| PoPoLoCrois | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | Epics | |
| Samurai Shodown V | PlayStation 2, Xbox | Yuki Enterprise | |
| Mercury Meltdown | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable | Ignition Banbury | |
| Puyo Pop Fever | Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable | Sonic Team | |
| The King of Fighters Neowave | PlayStation 2, Xbox | SNK Playmore | |
| NeoGeo Battle Coliseum | PlayStation 2 | SNK Playmore, Arc System Works | |
| Mercury Meltdown Remix | PlayStation Portable | Ignition Branbury | |
| 2007 | Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light | Hit Maker | |
| Metal Slug Anthology | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 | Terminal Reality | |
| Art of Fighting: Anthology | PlayStation 2 | SNK Playmore | |
| The King of Fighters XI | Terminal Reality, Alpha Denshi, SNK Playmore | ||
| Mercury Meltdown Revolution | Wii | Ignition Banbury | |
| New Zealand Story Revolution | Nintendo DS | Taito | |
| 2008 | SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS | SNK Playmore | |
| George of the Jungle and the Search for the Secret | PlayStation 2 | 7 Studios, Payapa Studios | |
| World Heroes Anthology | Prosoft | ||
| SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii | Terminal Reality, Alpha Denshi, SNK Playmore | |
| Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 1 | PlayStation 2 | SNK Playmore | |
| Metal Slug 7 | Nintendo DS | ||
| Obscure II | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii | Hydravision Entertainment | |
| The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga | PlayStation 2 | Terminal Reality | |
| Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! | Nintendo DS | inLight Entertainment | |
| Tornado | SKONEC Entertainment | ||
| 2009 | Blue Dragon Plus | Mistwalker, Feelplus, Brownie Brown | |
| Boing! Docomodake DS | Suzack, AQ Interactive | ||
| Lux-Pain | Killaware | ||
| Nostalgia | Matrix Software, Red Entertainment | ||
| Muramasa: The Demon Blade | Wii | Vanillaware | |
| The King of Fighters XII | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | SNK Playmore | |
| Samurai Shodown Anthology | PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii | SNK Playmore, Terminal Reality | |
| The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match | PlayStation 2 | SNK Playmore | |
| 2010 | Arc Rise Fantasia | Wii | Imageepoch |
| Deadly Premonition | Xbox 360 | Access Games | |
| Spectral Force Genesis | Nintendo DS | Idea Factory | |
| Blacklight: Tango Down | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Zombie Studios | |
| 2011 | Swarm | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Hothead Games |
| El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron | Ignition Tokyo | ||
| Faxion Online | Microsoft Windows | UTV True Games | |
| National Geographic Challenge! | Wii | Gusto Games | |
| 2012 | Magical Drop V | Microsoft Windows | Golgoth Studio |
| Fractured Soul: Deep Void | Nintendo 3DS | Endgame Studios | |
| Order Up!! | SuperVillain Studios | ||
| Planet Crashers | Renegade Kid | ||
| 2013 | Kung-Fu: High Impact | Xbox 360 | Virtual Air Guitar Company |
| Cancelled | Reich | N/A | UTV True Games |
References
- "Ignition Nabs Muramasa". IGN. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- "Ignition closes US Studio". Develop-Online.net. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- "In-Game Reich footage". Retrieved 14 November 2010.