Crystal Dynamics
Encyclopedia
Crystal Dynamics is an American
video game developer
based in the San Francisco Bay Area
and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris. It was acquired by Eidos Interactive
, a British
video game publisher
, in 1998 and, following Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos in 2009, is now a subsidiary of Square Enix
.
Crystal Dynamics was formed in mid-1992 by Sega
veterans Judy Lang (sales and acting CEO), Madeline Canepa (marketing) and Dave Morse
(Amiga). Crystal was the first licensed developer for 3DO
, a gaming hardware platform simultaneously funded by Kleiner Perkins.
In 1993 Strauss Zelnick, then president of 20th Century Fox
's film studio, was hired to run Crystal Dynamics. This made national news and helped to touch off the frenzy of multimedia investments of the mid-1990s.
3DO's launch during the 1993 Christmas season was a commercial failure, undermining Crystal's one-platform software strategy. Zelnick, Lange and Mark Cerny
all resigned at about this time.
The next strategy was to become a leading publisher for two new 32-bit, 3D-capable consoles, the PlayStation
and the Sega Saturn
. Randy Komisar was hired away from LucasArts
in 1994 to replace Zelnick as CEO. Crystal Dynamics expanded to a staff of 140, and shipped some of the world's first PlayStation and Saturn games for Christmas 1994. However, losses continued to mount.
Sony Computer Entertainment
America, which had the power to set both retail price and cost of goods for licensed publishers of PlayStation games, dictated a reduced retail price for such games. This reduced the contribution margin of Crystal Dynamics games to a point where the company could not make money on its existing sales and cost structure.
In May 1996, with more than $80M gone and no route to profitability in sight, Kleiner Perkins pulled the plug on the publishing strategy laid out two years earlier. Komisar and most senior management resigned within a few days, and forty percent of the staff was laid off. Crystal was recast as a boutique game developer, and buyers were sought. Eidos finally bought the firm in 1998.
Crystal Dynamics has developed games both for the PC
and for various consoles
. At one time Crystal Dynamics was also a publisher, mostly publishing games that it had developed itself. However, it also published several games developed by other companies.
Crystal Dynamics had been most well known for developing the Legacy of Kain
and Gex series, but in 2003 the studio was entrusted the development of the best-selling Tomb Raider
franchise after original developer Core Design
failed to gain critical or commercial success with their later Tomb Raider games, and released in 2006 its first game in the series, Tomb Raider: Legend, which was the fastest selling game in the entire series, with more than 2.6 million units sold worldwide. Crystal Dynamics recently co-developed Tomb Raider: Anniversary with developer Buzz Monkey Software
. Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the first Tomb Raider game from 1996, was released in June 2007. The next installment, Tomb Raider Underworld, was released on November 2008 on next-generation
consoles.
As of April 2, 2007, Crystal Dynamics is now located in Redwood City at 1300 Seaport Blvd. The company left its Menlo Park location after nine years as it had outgrown its office space. Crystal Dynamics shares its new office space with Eidos's North American office which had previously been located in San Francisco before April 2, 2007.
series only. They are currently working on a new Tomb Raider video game.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
based in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris. It was acquired by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, 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 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....
, in 1998 and, following Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos in 2009, is now a subsidiary of Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
.
Crystal Dynamics was formed in mid-1992 by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
veterans Judy Lang (sales and acting CEO), Madeline Canepa (marketing) and Dave Morse
David Shannon Morse
David Shannon Morse was the cofounder of Amiga. In 1982, he left Tonka Toys and became the Chief Executive Officer at Hi Toro, Inc., which he co-founded and which later that year morphed into Amiga, Inc...
(Amiga). Crystal was the first licensed developer for 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
, a gaming hardware platform simultaneously funded by Kleiner Perkins.
In 1993 Strauss Zelnick, then president of 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
's film studio, was hired to run Crystal Dynamics. This made national news and helped to touch off the frenzy of multimedia investments of the mid-1990s.
3DO's launch during the 1993 Christmas season was a commercial failure, undermining Crystal's one-platform software strategy. Zelnick, Lange and Mark Cerny
Mark Cerny
Mark Cerny is a video game industry figure who has worked as a game designer, programmer, producer and business executive. As president of Cerny Games, which he founded in 1998, he now acts as a consultant in the video game industry. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award...
all resigned at about this time.
The next strategy was to become a leading publisher for two new 32-bit, 3D-capable consoles, the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
and the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
. Randy Komisar was hired away from LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
in 1994 to replace Zelnick as CEO. Crystal Dynamics expanded to a staff of 140, and shipped some of the world's first PlayStation and Saturn games for Christmas 1994. However, losses continued to mount.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
America, which had the power to set both retail price and cost of goods for licensed publishers of PlayStation games, dictated a reduced retail price for such games. This reduced the contribution margin of Crystal Dynamics games to a point where the company could not make money on its existing sales and cost structure.
In May 1996, with more than $80M gone and no route to profitability in sight, Kleiner Perkins pulled the plug on the publishing strategy laid out two years earlier. Komisar and most senior management resigned within a few days, and forty percent of the staff was laid off. Crystal was recast as a boutique game developer, and buyers were sought. Eidos finally bought the firm in 1998.
Crystal Dynamics has developed games both for the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
and for various consoles
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...
. At one time Crystal Dynamics was also a publisher, mostly publishing games that it had developed itself. However, it also published several games developed by other companies.
Crystal Dynamics had been most well known for developing the Legacy of Kain
Legacy of Kain
Legacy of Kain is a series of action-adventure video games developed initially by Silicon Knights in association with Crystal Dynamics. After a legal battle, Crystal Dynamics continued the series without Silicon Knights and Eidos Interactive became the publisher...
and Gex series, but in 2003 the studio was entrusted the development of the best-selling Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider series
Tomb Raider is a media franchise consisting of video games, comic books, novels, theme park rides and movies, centring around the adventures of the fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft...
franchise after original developer Core Design
Core Design
Core Design was a British video game studio best known today for creating the popular Tomb Raider series.-History:Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was set up in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith and Greg Holmes...
failed to gain critical or commercial success with their later Tomb Raider games, and released in 2006 its first game in the series, Tomb Raider: Legend, which was the fastest selling game in the entire series, with more than 2.6 million units sold worldwide. Crystal Dynamics recently co-developed Tomb Raider: Anniversary with developer Buzz Monkey Software
Buzz Monkey Software
Buzz Monkey Software is a United States video game developer based in Eugene, Oregon. Buzz Monkey was formed in late 2001 by four former Dynamix employees: senior producer Randy Thompson, senior engineers Jon Milnes and Steve Cordon, and lead artist Barry Drew....
. Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the first Tomb Raider game from 1996, was released in June 2007. The next installment, Tomb Raider Underworld, was released on November 2008 on next-generation
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
consoles.
As of April 2, 2007, Crystal Dynamics is now located in Redwood City at 1300 Seaport Blvd. The company left its Menlo Park location after nine years as it had outgrown its office space. Crystal Dynamics shares its new office space with Eidos's North American office which had previously been located in San Francisco before April 2, 2007.
Games
| Name | Platform(s) | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Crash n' Burn | 3DO 3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by... |
1993 |
| Cyberclash | 3DO | 1993 |
| Sample This! (commercial sample title) | 3DO | 1993 |
| Gex Gex (video game) Gex received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review website GameRankings and gave the 3DO version 79.58%, the PC version 71.00%, the Sega Saturn version 69.35% and the PlayStation version 63.33%.... |
3DO, Sega Saturn Sega Saturn The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe... , PlayStation PlayStation The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000... , PC |
1994 |
| Off-World Interceptor Off-World Interceptor Off-World Interceptor is a third-person vehicular car combat game, released only for the 3DO. An alternate version of the game was later released for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation consoles, named Off-World Interceptor Extreme... |
3DO | 1994 |
| Star Control II Star Control II Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters is a critically acclaimed science fiction computer game, the second game in the Star Control trilogy. It was developed by Toys for Bob and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for PC; it was later ported to the 3DO with an enhanced multimedia presentation,... |
3DO | 1994 |
| The Horde The Horde (video game) The Horde is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time... |
3DO, Sega Saturn, SNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short... , PC |
1994 |
| Total Eclipse | 3DO | 1994 |
| Solar Eclipse Solar Eclipse (video game) Solar Eclipse is a video game released for the Sega Saturn, developed and published by Crystal Dynamics... |
Sega Saturn, unreleased for 3DO | 1995 |
| Total Eclipse Turbo | PlayStation | 1995 |
| 3D Baseball 3D Baseball 3D Baseball is a sports game developed and published by Crystal Dynamics. It was released on October 31, 1996 for the PlayStation version, and on November 30, 1996 for the Sega Saturn version. At the time, it presented the most realistic baseball video game ever published... |
PlayStation, Sega Saturn | 1996 |
| Blazing Dragons Blazing Dragons Blazing Dragons is the title of a popular British cartoon series, the brainchild of Monty Python's Terry Jones. A coinciding graphic adventure video game was released for the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996 by Crystal Dynamics... |
PlayStation, Sega Saturn | 1996 |
| Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a cult top-down action-adventure game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics... |
PC, PlayStation | 1996 |
| Pandemonium Pandemonium (video game) Pandemonium! is a platform game, for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows, N-Gage, and iPhone OS. It features Fargus, a joker, and Nikki, who unwittingly casts a spell that destroys the town. The goal of the game is to reach the Wishing Engine, where they can wish the town back to... |
PlayStation, Saturn, NGage, PC, iPhone OS | 1996 |
| Slam 'N Jam '96 featuring Magic and Kareem | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC | 1996 |
| Titan Wars | PlayStation | 1995 |
| Off-World Interceptor Extreme | PlayStation | 1997 |
| Pandemonium 2 Pandemonium 2 Pandemonium 2 is the sequel to Pandemonium, released for PlayStation and PC. a platform game, developed by Crystal Dynamics, for the PlayStation and PC. It features Fargus, a pyromaniac court jester, and Nikki, a would-be sorceress, who seek the power from a legendary comet... |
PlayStation, PC | 1997 |
| Gex: Enter the Gecko Gex: Enter the Gecko Gex: Enter the Gecko is a platform game released in 1998. It is the sequel to the 1994 game Gex. The game involves collecting 3 types of remotes to unlock different levels, and to aid in the fight against Rez.-Story:Since his retirement from the public eye in 1996, Gex has resided himself to a... |
PlayStation, N64 Nintendo 64 The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil... , PC |
1998 |
| The Unholy War The Unholy War The Unholy War is a PlayStation game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in Europe and Eidos Interactive in North America. It is a fighting game in which characters fight in a 3D environment using mêlée and projectile attacks... |
PlayStation | 1998 |
| Akuji the Heartless Akuji the Heartless Akuji the Heartless is an action-adventure video game, released in 1998 on the PlayStation. It uses a modified Gex: Enter the Gecko engine, and both games were developed by Crystal Dynamics... |
PlayStation | 1999 |
| Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko is the last in the trilogy of Gex video games. Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules provided the voice for Gex in the UK and European release, but comedian Dana Gould reprised the role for the American release, also starring the Playboy model Marliece Andrada as Agent Xtra, the... |
PlayStation, N64 | 1999 |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1999 and for the Dreamcast in 2000. As the second game in the Legacy of Kain series, Soul Reaver is the sequel to... |
PC, PlayStation, Dreamcast | 1999 |
| 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue is a videogame based on the live-action Disney movie 102 Dalmatians. It made its debut in 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast and Sony PlayStation... |
PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color Game Boy Color The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than... |
2000 |
| Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour is an interactive game based on attractions at the Walt Disney World Resort. Players compete in races on tracks inspired by attractions such as the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to acquire... |
Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, PlayStation | 2000 |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 is an action-adventure game that was released on the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and the third game in the Legacy of Kain series. It was released in 2001 developed by Crystal Dynamics & published by Eidos... |
PC, PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... |
2001 |
| Mad Dash Racing Mad Dash Racing Mad Dash Racing is a racing game for the Xbox and was released as a launch title in November 2001... |
Xbox Xbox The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... |
2001 |
| Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain Blood Omen 2 is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the fourth game in the Legacy of Kain series... |
Xbox, PC, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube Nintendo GameCube The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia... |
2002 |
| Legacy of Kain: Defiance Legacy of Kain: Defiance Legacy of Kain: Defiance is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos. It is the fifth and thus far final game in the Legacy of Kain series. It was released in North America in November and December 2003, and in Europe in February 2004... |
PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox | 2003 |
| Whiplash | Xbox, PlayStation 2 | 2003 |
| Project Snowblind Project Snowblind Project: Snowblind is a first-person shooter video game released for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2 on February 22, 2005. It was originally conceived as a multiplayer-focused third game in the Deus Ex series, Deus Ex: Clan Wars... |
PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 | 2005 |
| Tomb Raider: Legend | PlayStation 2, PSP PlayStation Portable The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004... , PC, Xbox, Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , 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... , Nintendo GameCube, 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... |
2006 |
| Tomb Raider: Anniversary | PlayStation 2, PSP, PC, Xbox 360, 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... , Mac OS X Mac OS X Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems... , 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... |
2007 |
| Tomb Raider: Underworld Tomb Raider: Underworld Tomb Raider: Underworld is the eighth instalment of the Tomb Raider series. The story continues from the events in Tomb Raider: Legend as a direct sequel, but also addresses unexplained plot elements by association with Tomb Raider: Anniversary; the 2007 remake of the original Tomb Raider... |
PlayStation 3 PlayStation 3 The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... , PC, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 |
2008 |
| Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a fixed-camera 3D platform viewpoint action video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix for the PC, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and the iOS as part of the Tomb Raider series for digital download... |
PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox 360, iPhone OS | 2010 |
| The Tomb Raider Trilogy | PlayStation 3 | 2011 |
| Tomb Raider | PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox 360 | 2012 |
| Name | Platform(s) | Year(s) |
Future
From January 2009 to June 2009, Crystal Dynamics laid off 55 employees to refocus their efforts on the Tomb RaiderTomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
series only. They are currently working on a new Tomb Raider video game.
External links
- Crystal Dynamics profile on MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Crystal Dynamics at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...