Virtuos
Encyclopedia
Virtuos Ltd. is a provider of digital entertainment production services for the game and movie industries. It was founded in 2004. Virtuos has development centers in Shanghai and Chengdu, China, and offices in Paris, Vancouver and Tokyo. It has over 600 employees.
The company's services include 3D art, concept art and animation, full game co-development and adaptations, software engineering, sound design and QA testing. As a video game developer
, Virtuos creates both parts of games as well as full game “co-development,” which includes porting and adaptations. Virtuos is a licensed developer on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, NDS and PSP. Its clients include Activision
, Electronic Arts
, LucasArts
, Microsoft
, Sony
, Ubisoft
and Zynga
. The company does not create or own its own IP, focusing solely on a service model for its clients.
In September 2011, Virtuos acquired Sparx* 3D Animation and added a Saigon development center dedicated to 3D animation, digital production for film and TV and game cinematics.
When asked about the issue by gaming industry website Gamasutra in 2006, Gilles Langourieux, the CEO of Virtuos pointed to the extra number of man-months required to produce titles on new-gen platforms and the larger number of platforms to cover as the main reasons for the rise of outsourced production, stating that he "doesn't think it's a disservice to the industry in the West."
The company's services include 3D art, concept art and animation, full game co-development and adaptations, software engineering, sound design and QA testing. As a 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...
, Virtuos creates both parts of games as well as full game “co-development,” which includes porting and adaptations. Virtuos is a licensed developer on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, NDS and PSP. Its clients include Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, 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...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
and Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
. The company does not create or own its own IP, focusing solely on a service model for its clients.
In September 2011, Virtuos acquired Sparx* 3D Animation and added a Saigon development center dedicated to 3D animation, digital production for film and TV and game cinematics.
Games developed by Virtuos
| Game Title | Platform | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Generator Rex: Agent of Providence Generator Rex: Agent of Providence Generator Rex: Agent of Providence is an action adventure video game based on the Cartoon Network television series Generator Rex. The game was developed and published by Activision. A release date is set for November 1, 2011 in North America and for November 18, 2011 in Europe. In Canada the game... |
PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, NDS | Activision |
| Dreamworks Super Star Kartz | Nintendo DS | Activision |
| Hasbro Family Game Night Value Pack | Nintendo Wii | Electronic Arts |
| Monopoly Collection | Wii | Electronic Arts |
| Hole in the Wall Hole in the wall Hole in the wall may refer to:Places*Hole-in-the-Wall, Seaham Harbour, County Durham, England*Hole-in-the-Wall, Herefordshire, England*Hole in the Wall Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada... |
Xbox 360 Kinect | Microsoft |
| MLB 2K12 | PSP, PS2, NDS | Activision |
| NBA 2K12 NBA 2K12 NBA 2K12 is a basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released on October 4, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, Wii and for the first time on iOS iPhone and iPad... |
PS2 | 2K Games |
| Monster Jam: Path of Destruction | PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP | Activision |
| Sid Meier's Pirates! | Wii | 2K Games |
| Ghost Recon Predator | PSP | Ubisoft |
| Dora the Explorer | Explorer | Leapfrog |
| Ben 10 Ultimate Alien | Explorer | Leapfrog |
| Press Your Luck | PS3, iPad | Ludia |
| Family Feud | PS3, iPad | Ludia |
| The Price is Right | PS3, iPad | Ludia |
| MotorStorm: Arctic Edge MotorStorm: Arctic Edge MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is the third entry in the MotorStorm series of video games, developed by Bigbig Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable... |
PS2 | Sony Computer Entertainment Europe |
| Pimp My Ride Street Racing | PS2, Nintendo DS | Activision |
| Madagascar Kartz Madagascar Kartz Madagascar Kartz is a racing game based on DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar. It was released on October 27, 2009 and the second game on Madagascar's spin-off series. The game uses the Wii Wheel, despite the cover.- Gameplay :... |
Nintendo DS | Activision |
| Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 | Nintendo DS | Activision |
| Crash: Mind over Mutant Crash: Mind over Mutant Crash: Mind over Mutant is a platform video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360. The Nintendo DS version of the game was developed by TOSE... |
PSP | Activision |
| Wolverine | DIDJ | Leapfrog |
| Indiana Jones | DIDJ | Leapfrog |
| Hannah Montana | DIDJ | Leapfrog |
| Speed Racer Speed Racer (2008 video game) Speed Racer is a racing video game developed by Sidhe Interactive for the PlayStation 2 and Wii consoles and by Virtuos Games for the Nintendo DS console, and published in-house by a new division of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, WB Games. It is a tie-in to the 2008 film adaptation of the... |
Nintendo DS | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| Beowulf Beowulf: The Game Beowulf: The Game is a hack and slash game for PC and consoles, based on Robert Zemeckis' version of the poem Beowulf. The game was announced by Ubisoft on 22 May 2007 during its Ubidays event in Paris. It was released on November 13, 2007 in the United States... |
PSP | Ubisoft |
| Street Riders Street Riders Street Riders is an urban street racing game on the PlayStation Portable. There is fierce weapon-based combat during races. In total there will be 66 missions, 14 weapons and 30 vehicles. It is based on the console game, 187 Ride or Die.... |
PSP | Ubisoft |
| Asphalt: Urban GT 2 Asphalt: Urban GT 2 Asphalt: Urban GT 2 is racing game developed and published by Gameloft for the Nintendo DS, N-Gage and PlayStation Portable. A 2.5D Java ME version for mobile phones was also released.... |
PSP, Nintendo DS | Gameloft |
History of Virtuos
- December 2004: Virtuos is established
- July 2005: Virtuos opens its European office in Paris: Gamesource
- June 2006: Virtuos receives investment from Legend Capital
- November 2006: Virtuos opens its North-American office in Los Angeles
- January 2008: Virtuos opens in Chengdu
- March 2009: Virtuos acquires BSP Audio Production Studios
- May 2009: Terminator Salvation is released in theaters, featuring 3D art made by Virtuos
- December 2009: Virtuos enters Japan, signing partnership with Kyos
- January 2010: Virtuos acquires Russian concept art studio
- March 2010: Virtuos reaches 500 employees
- March 2010: Virtuos announces new-gen work-for-hire game development
- May 2010: Virtuos releases The Price is Right on PSN
- November 2010: Virtuos ships Monster Jam: Path of Destruction for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, NDS and PSP
- January 2011: Virtuos receives China SME Entrepreneur Award 2010
- March 2011: Rango reaches the top box office spot, including 3D models from Virtuos
- August 2011: Virtuos reaches 800 Staff, and signs work-for-hire online game development agreement with Tencent
- September 2011: Virtuos acquires Sparx* 3D animation studio
Controversy
As a prominent game outsourcing company, Virtuos has occasionally found itself at the center of the debate about outsourcing’s impact on game-industry jobs in the west.When asked about the issue by gaming industry website Gamasutra in 2006, Gilles Langourieux, the CEO of Virtuos pointed to the extra number of man-months required to produce titles on new-gen platforms and the larger number of platforms to cover as the main reasons for the rise of outsourced production, stating that he "doesn't think it's a disservice to the industry in the West."