ToeJam & Earl Productions
Encyclopedia
ToeJam & Earl Productions, Inc. was an American video game developer
. Founders Mark Voorsanger and Greg Johnson started the company in 1989.
JVP introduced the ToeJam & Earl series with the original ToeJam & Earl
, followed by Ready-Aim-Tomatoes
(a mini-game for Sega's light-gun The Menacer
), and the platformer-sequel ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. Each was developed exclusively for the Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and published by Sega of America
. The latest title in the series was ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth
, co-developed by Visual Concepts
for the original Xbox
.
ToeJam & Earl Productions also created Orly's Draw-A-Story
, a multi-award-winning CD-ROM for kids ages 5 to 10. Orly's Draw-A-Story was designed for PCs and Macs and was published by Broderbund.
game in development, but he has not found a publisher yet, this means it probably won't be a Sega published game.
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...
. Founders Mark Voorsanger and Greg Johnson started the company in 1989.
History
At the beginning, the company was known simply as Johnson Voorsanger Productions, or just "JVP" as they were credited in the original ToeJam & Earl and in its sequel Panic on Funkotron. After the success of the ToeJam & Earl games, the company was renamed into the more iconic brand of ToeJam & Earl Productions, Inc..JVP introduced the ToeJam & Earl series with the original ToeJam & Earl
ToeJam & Earl
ToeJam & Earl is an action video game developed by Johnson Voorsanger Productions and published by Sega for the Mega Drive video game console. Released in 1991, it centers on the titular ToeJam and Earl—alien rappers who have crash-landed on Earth. As they attempt to escape the planet, players...
, followed by Ready-Aim-Tomatoes
Menacer 6-game cartridge
The Menacer 6-game cartridge was the title Sega bundled with the Menacer for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. As the name suggests, the cartridge contains six games that require the Menacer to play...
(a mini-game for Sega's light-gun The Menacer
Menacer
The Menacer is a lightgun created by Sega for the Mega Drive video game console in 1992, as a response to the Super Scope by Nintendo.The Menacer is made up of three sections which can be disassembled...
), and the platformer-sequel ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. Each was developed exclusively for the Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and published by Sega of America
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...
. The latest title in the series was ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth
ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth
ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth is an action video game released for the Xbox on October 22, 2002. Developed by ToeJam & Earl Productions and Visual Concepts, and published by Sega and Microsoft, it is the third installment in the ToeJam & Earl series...
, co-developed by Visual Concepts
Visual Concepts
Visual Concepts is a California-based video game developer best known for developing Sega Sports' 2K series of sports games. After the success of the series, they were picked up by Sega and became a wholly owned studio with Sega, usually termed a first-party developer...
for the original 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...
.
ToeJam & Earl Productions also created Orly's Draw-A-Story
Orly's Draw-A-Story
Orly's Draw a Story is an award-winning computer game released in 1999 by Brøderbund. The game won the 1998 Interactive Achievement Award for Computer Innovation. The game is aimed at the 5-10 year old age-group and carries an age rating of 3+. It was designed by ToeJam & Earl Productions and...
, a multi-award-winning CD-ROM for kids ages 5 to 10. Orly's Draw-A-Story was designed for PCs and Macs and was published by Broderbund.
Disbandment
The company was forced to disband after poor sales of ToeJam & Earl III. Mark Voorsanger currently runs a coaching business out of the same building where ToeJam & Earl Productions was and Greg Johnson started his own video game development studio called HumaNature Studios, and currently owns the ToeJam & Earl intellectual property rights. Greg Johnson currently has a Nintendo DSNintendo 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...
game in development, but he has not found a publisher yet, this means it probably won't be a Sega published game.