Alten8
Encyclopedia
Alten8 Limited is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...

 and publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....

, with offices in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

. It produces both licensed retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...

 games and current format video games. As of 2008, Alten8 has been under contract to develop the emulation code for C64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

 titles on Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

 service.

The company was formed by the former CEO Paul Andrews
Paul Andrews (Alten8)
Paul Andrews is the current CEO of the digital publisher Andrews UK Limited, in Luton, UK. He was most famous previously for his involvement with the retro gaming scene in the UK, , both though physical retail of classic games, and development of retro titles on modern formats...

 after his involvement with the website Retro-Trader
Retro-Trader
Retro-Trader Retro Games Toys Computers And Other Collectables is a British based collector and retailer of retro video games. The website contains a large selection of photos, information and links to other related sites about retrogaming and other retro subjects, including the history of many...

, which lead him to be commissioned to gather retro game licenses for a plug-into-TV video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...

 using games such as Ant Attack (originally on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

). For financial and business reasons out of the control of Andrews, this was never realised. He then formed Alten8 to make use of the gathered licenses. Since then, it has expanded its remit, gaining Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...

, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 and xbox360 developer status, as well as other formats and publishing following . An initial GBA release, GT Racer
GT Racer
GT Racer is a Cinéma vérité television program following classic car racing. In the United Kingdom it is broadcast on the UKTV channel Dave, in the United States it is broadcast by Treasure HD, a high definition channel of VoomHD and can be received on 'Cable Vision' and 'Dish'. The series is...

, through another publisher convinced Alten8 to self-publish all titles where possible from that point onwards, or to develop console titles under contract only from major publishers. Alten8 now bills itself as the "Alten8 way of publishing games".

Alten8 now publishes over 500 licensed retro games across formats such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

 and other computers. With many mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

 games , both developed and owned by Alten8, and with other licensed PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 and Nintendo DS games also published across the globe, including the DS remake of the popular homebrew Dreamcast game, Cool Herders . As well as developing the code for several retro titles on the VC
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

, Alten8 has also worked with new pioneering mobile phone companies such as Greystripe and Vollee
Vollee
Vollee is an Israeli and American technology company that develops software intended to allow users to remotely interact with CPU-intensive PC applications by streaming input and output data back and forth across a network...

. As well as video games, Alten8 also licenses content for release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

, as well as publishing its own DVD content. DVDs like the upcoming Johnny Morris
Johnny Morris
Ernest John "Johnny" Morris OBE ) was a Welsh television presenter. He is best known for narrating the imported, Canadian-produced Tales of the Riverbank series of stories about Hammy the Hamster, Roderick the Rat, GP the Guinea Pig, and their assorted animal friends along a riverbank and...

 DVD; "The Magic Memoirs". Magic Memoirs in particular is a poignant release, as it was the last recorded Johnny Morris episode, and was co-hosted by TV's Terry Nutkins
Terry Nutkins
Terence P. Nutkins is an English naturalist, television presenter and author. He is known for his television appearances, notably in the UK children's programmes Animal Magic, The Really Wild Show, Brilliant Creatures and Growing Up Wild.-Biography:Terry Nutkins was born in Marylebone, London, and...

.
In 2008, Alten8 restructured its corporate layout to accommodate the many new staff and many new directions the company was heading in. Whilst the name of the company is the same, Alten8 itself is more of an umbrella term for the many studios underneath its banner, as well as the publishing brand for upcoming releases. Games development created with new IP will be created by the Skull Monkey Games division, whilst Retro-Soft will take care of the licensing and recreation of classic game brands owned by the company, such as the virtual console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

 conversions and some upcoming retro content for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

. Film and CGI group mangledpixel provide the group with FMV for all internal projects, as well as the creation of external projects like shorts and 4D films
4-D film
4-D film is a marketing term that describes an entertainment presentation system combining a 3-D film with physical effects in the theatre, which occur in synchronization with the film...

; with its first outing, A Dream of Christmas 4D debuting at Babbacombe Model Village
Babbacombe Model Village
Babbacombe Model Village is a miniature village and railway located in Babbacombe in Torquay, Devon, England.This outdoor model village was opened in 1963 by Tom Dobbins. Mr Dobbins had previously opened another model village at Southport in 1957. The site covers and includes over 400 models along...

. Audio division Octave Sound audio to internal development efforts as well as outside clients. Media manufacturer and distributor Entain8 will act as the sister-company to Alten8, catering to the needs of both its sibling company and other external clients.

Alten8 is also involved with the production, licensing and eventual distribution of an upcoming, major movie production, Multiple Destiny.
Recently Alten8 has 'bucked the trend' of larger dev companies shedding employees, and has actually expanded by some 300% by taking on a range of new starters for all roles.

2008

  • Civil Disturbance (PC
    Personal computer
    A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

    )
  • Hotwired and Gone (PC
    Personal computer
    A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

    )
  • Boulderdash (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • California Games
    California Games
    California Games is a 1987 Epyx sports video game for many home computers and video game consoles. Branching from their popular Summer Games and Winter Games series, this game consisted of some sports purportedly popular in California including skateboarding, freestyle footbag, surfing, roller...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Impossible Mission
    Impossible Mission
    Impossible Mission is a platform computer game for several home computers. The original version for the Commodore 64 was programmed by Dennis Caswell and published by Epyx in 1984.-Description:...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Impossible Mission 2 (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • International Karate
    International Karate
    International Karate is a karate fighting game created and published by System 3 for various home computers. Of these versions the 1986 releases for Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers, created by Archer MacLean with music by Rob Hubbard, stand out for their good playability and overall high...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • International Karate +
    International Karate +
    International Karate +, often abbreviated as IK+, is a karate fighting video game published in 1987 by System 3 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. The Commodore version was released in the USA under the title Chop N' Drop.-Gameplay:In the game, three karateka fight against each...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Jumpman
    Jumpman
    Jumpman is a platform game written by Randy Glover and released by Epyx in 1983. Originally developed for the Atari 400/800, versions were also released for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC....

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Last Ninja 2
    Last Ninja 2
    Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance is an action-adventure computer game that was developed and published by System 3 in 1988 as a sequel to the 1987 game The Last Ninja. The NES version of the game was named simply The Last Ninja....

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Last Ninja 3
    Last Ninja 3
    Last Ninja 3 is an action-adventure computer game that was developed and published by System 3 in 1991 as a sequel to the 1988 game Last Ninja 2....

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Mayhem in Monsterland
    Mayhem in Monsterland
    Mayhem in Monsterland, released in 1993, was a game produced for the Commodore 64 home computer. Its titular hero, "Mayhem", was a yellow triceratops blessed with the gift of speed. His goal was to return his world from sad to happy, ridding the world of monsters along the way...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Nebulus
    Nebulus (video game)
    Nebulus is a computer game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for various home computer systems...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Paradroid
    Paradroid
    Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It was also remade as Paradroid 90 for the Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Pitstop II
    Pitstop II
    -Summary:This video game allows players to race head-to-head on a split screen. It is a sequel to the 1983 Pitstop and was available on many popular platforms of the era....

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Summer Games II
    Summer Games II
    Summer Games II is a sports video game developed by Epyx and released by U.S. Gold based on sports featured in the Summer Olympic Games. Released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, it was also eventually ported to the Apple II, IBM PC, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Sinclair Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and the Amiga...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • The Last Ninja
    The Last Ninja
    The Last Ninja is an action-adventure game developed and published by System 3 in 1987 for the Commodore 64. As the first in the Last Ninja series, it set the standard for the unique look and feel for its sequels: Last Ninja 2 , Last Ninja Remix and Last Ninja 3...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Uridium
    Uridium
    Uridium is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up for the Commodore 64 . It consists of fifteen levels, each named after a metal element, with the last level being called Uridium...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • World Games
    World Games
    The World Games, first held in 1981, are an international multi-sport event, meant for sports, or disciplines or events within a sport, that are not contested in the Olympic Games...

    (Virtual Console
    Virtual console
    A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...

    )
  • Johnny Morris
    Johnny Morris
    Ernest John "Johnny" Morris OBE ) was a Welsh television presenter. He is best known for narrating the imported, Canadian-produced Tales of the Riverbank series of stories about Hammy the Hamster, Roderick the Rat, GP the Guinea Pig, and their assorted animal friends along a riverbank and...

    : The Magic Memoirs
    (DVD
    DVD
    A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

    )
  • Killing Time 24/7 (DVD
    DVD
    A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

    )
  • Teenage Witchcraft: A Beginners Guide (DVD
    DVD
    A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

    )
  • A Dream of Christmas 4D (4D film
    4-D film
    4-D film is a marketing term that describes an entertainment presentation system combining a 3-D film with physical effects in the theatre, which occur in synchronization with the film...

    )

Controversies

In March 2006, Alten8 declared it would be publishing the mobile phone game, Office Massacre. This precluded a torrent of community and media backlash, with many people feeling offended at the potentially gory and violent content. Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...

 founder Christopher Weaver even went to lengths of name-calling Alten8 "...[a] bunch of idiots who don't understand the first thing about social responsibility". The game was quickly cancelled, with Alten8 CEO and founder Paul Andrews stating "No offence...was intended by this game, and we resent the comments made [and] the unfair and unjust comparison of this game to other extreme games.". Office Massacre re-appeared, some months later as a reskinned, censor-friendly Office Zombies, not too dis-similar to the controversy (and subsequent solution) surrounding Stainless Games
Stainless Games
Stainless Games is a British video game developer based on the Isle of Wight that specialises in developing downloadable games for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade...

' Carmageddon
Carmageddon
Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...

.

More recently, Alten8 has come under fire for stating that they are to publish Luc Bernard's holocaust-themed DS game, Imagination Is The Only Escape
Imagination Is The Only Escape
Imagination Is The Only Escape is an upcoming video game by Luc Bernard, the creator of Eternity's Child. It is currently being developed for the Nintendo DS, but it has also been suggested that the game may be released as a WiiWare game instead....

, which immediately met with a media 'controversy' storm, with everyone from Destructoid to the New York Times having an opinion. According to several erroneous internet sources, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

 themselves claimed that the game would never be released, however this was not the case, and the game is still in development. Imagination and it's intentions was strongly backed by Alten8, though whether the game will ever be finished and/or published is yet to be confirmed.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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