Hello all!
The video game company that came to mind after the video was DMA Design Ltd (known recently as Rockstar North). DMA was based in Edinburgh, Scotland and founded in 1988. One of the major successes of DMA was that of the game Lemmings (1991). The reason behind the success was that the game was said to have “…tapped into the human instinct for survival in formulating this perfect blend of puzzle, strategy, and action” (Sears, 1991). Upon the first day of sales, Lemmings sold over 55,000 copies. The overall success of this franchise over the years allowed DMA to build a strong success story in the industry.
The success of DMA Design Ltd allowed them to grow even stronger as time continued. Their long time publisher Psygnosis was purchased by Sony in 1993. This gave DMA a powerful foot in the door for developing games for the Playstation (GTA for instance). Even though DMA had their foot in the door with Sony did not mean it would be an easy road. Difficulties also occurred with Nintendo over publishing/design issues during the age of the N64. Through 1988-1994, DMA Design had its ups and downs but their overall success during this time with Lemmings and the sequels that followed provided them with an essential foundation to build upon.
Through the years of 1988-1994, so many companies tried to succeed in the expanding video game market. One of the failures during this timeframe was that of the Amstrad and their GX4000 and the Mega PC. The console GX4000 was similar to that of the Commodore64 GS but failed drastically in the market. One reason for this was that it battled Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) and the Super Nintendo; both were running 16 bits compared to Gx4000’s 8 bit. The other major reason for their failure in the video game market was their high price tag on their consoles. Even when they teamed up with Sega to release the Mega PC, failure came due to the outrageous price. Upon failing in the video game market, they moved back towards focusing on computers and other communication devices.
The Amstrad company could have possibly competed against the SNES and Mega Drive but were behind in the technology and too expensive. In order to have been successful, they could have worked with Sega on the next generation model instead of trying to compete. Both the SNES and Mega Drive had the foundation in the market and the games to back them up. The console wars of this time lead to the success of few and the failure of many.
Sears, David (October 1991). “Lemmings”. Compute!. p. 106. Retrieved from http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue134/106_Lemmings.php
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