Majesco Entertainment Company (formerly Majesco Sales Inc.) is an American

video game publisher A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer. They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ( ...

and

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plug ...

based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It ...

in 1986, and was a

privately held company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

until acquiring operation-less company ConnectivCorp in a reverse merger takeover, becoming its subsidiary and thus a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

on December 5, 2003. ConnectivCorp later changed its name to Majesco Holdings Inc. on April 13, 2004. On December 1, 2016, Majesco Entertainment was acquired by PolarityTE, Inc., a biotech company, in another reverse merger takeover, because of which it formally ceased all video game operations on December 8, 2016. In mid-2017,

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

Jesse Sutton re-acquired the company through a management buyout and continued operating it privately held. On January 15, 2018, Liquid Media Group announced the acquisition of Majesco.

History

Majesco Sales Inc. era

Majesco was first known as a reissuer of old titles that had been abandoned by their original publisher. By cutting the prices and eventually arranging the rights to self-manufacture games for both Nintendo and Sega systems, the company found a sustainable market niche. Later, Majesco arranged with Sega to manufacture a version of its Genesis (known as Mega Drive outside North America) 16-bit console, which had been superseded by the 32-bit Saturn. It released this in 1998 as the Genesis 3 and followed up with a version of the handheld

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

called the Game Gear Core System. In 1998, it inked a deal with

Hasbro Interactive Hasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company. Several of its studios were closed in early 2001 and most of its properties were sold to Infogrames (now Atari SA) whi ...

to publish their titles for the 8-bit handheld and 16-bit console formats, notably the Game Boy Color. The company's focus shifted to in-house game development, initially under the brand Pipe-Dream Interactive since few believed they could make the transition successfully. It was originally by two lead producers who were employees of Morning Star Multimedia, Dan Kitchen and Kevin Mitchell. Majesco had a licensing agreement with publisher

Red Storm Entertainment Red Storm Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and studio of Ubisoft based in Cary, North Carolina. Founded in November 1996 between author Tom Clancy, manager Doug Littlejohns, and software development company Virtus Corpo ...

to bring ''

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six'' (often shortened to ''Rainbow Six'') is a tactical first-person shooter video game franchise by Ubisoft, based on the novel ''Rainbow Six'' by American author Tom Clancy. Critically and commercially successful, the ...

'' to the Sega Dreamcast platform in 1999. Pipe Dream Interactive, a Majesco subsidiary would eventually produce their titles for

on the Game Boy Color and the Sega Dreamcast in 2000, most notably ''

Q*Bert ''Q*bert'' (also known as ''Qbert'') is an arcade video game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a Video game graphics, 2D action game with Puzzle video game, puzzle elements that uses Isometric video ...

''. In 2000, Majesco had a licensing agreement with

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

to publish ports of their classic titles for various platforms, most notably the PlayStation 2 and the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

. Majesco focused on developing for console systems, such as Nintendo's GameCube and

, Microsoft's

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

, and Sony's PlayStation 2. A few of the titles it released, involving popular characters, included a few ''

Bomberman is a video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft and currently owned by Konami. The original game, also known as ''Bakudan Otoko'' (''爆弾男''), was released in Japan in July 1983 and has since spawned multiple sequels and sp ...

'' titles for the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance. Majesco also published

PC games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...

with Terminal Reality as the developer, such as ''

BloodRayne ''BloodRayne'' is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco Entertainment which began with the game of the same name in 2002. The franchise ...

'' and ''

BloodRayne 2 ''BloodRayne 2'' is an action hack and slash video game developed by Terminal Reality for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. It does not follow on directly from where '' BloodRayne'' finished; instead, it takes place 60 and 70 years l ...

''. In 2003, Majesco was slated to publish ''Black9'', but producers forced the developers, Taldren, Inc., to shut down when the game was about 85% complete. The publisher had reached financial trouble with its larger-budget games, such as ''

Psychonauts ''Psychonauts'' is a 2005 platform video game developed by Double Fine Productions. The game was initially published by Majesco Entertainment and THQ for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2. In 2011, Double Fine acquired the rights for t ...

'', which sold poorly although receiving several awards and critical acclaim, and '' Advent Rising'', which generated intense hype but was ultimately panned by critics for being released prematurely and without adequate bug testing. Its best-selling titles in the last few years have been the series of GBA Videos for the Game Boy Advance. It also published the game '' Jaws Unleashed''. On January 19, 2006, the company's financial situation worsened to the degree that it had to cancel two games it was going to publish: ''Demonik'', developed by Terminal Reality, and ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...

'', a sequel to the movie. Majesco's president, Jesse Sutton, said that in the future the company would "focus primarily on publishing value and handheld video games." Since that announcement, the company has followed through with publishing successful budget titles in North America like '' Cooking Mama'' for the DS. On September 14, 2006, Majesco released '' Advent Rising'' and re-released ''

'' and ''

'' on Steam. On November 6, 2007, Majesco announced the opening of a new development facility in the Los Angeles area dedicated to the development of casual game products and properties. On December 10, 2007, Majesco announced that they would be publishing a rhythm-based game, '' Major Minor's Majestic March'', exclusively for the Wii developed by NanaOn-Sha. Majesco has announced that it will be launching an

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

version of Bananagrams on August 18, 2008, that will be available on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

, a social networking website. On November 4, 2009, Majesco released ''

'' and ''

'' on GOG.com. On June 6, 2011, Majesco announced that it was acquiring the assets of social game developer Quick Hit and Quick Hit Football to build out its social gaming strategy. After a disastrous fiscal year of 2013, the company was expected to enjoy a recovering growth in 2014. However, this proved incorrect, as they continued to lose large amounts of money in 2014, resulting in the closure of Midnight City and the cancellation of the console port of ''

Gone Home ''Gone Home'' is a first-person exploration video game developed and published by The Fullbright Company. ''Gone Home'' was first released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux computers in August 2013, followed by console releases for the Pla ...

''. On August 12, 2015, Majesco announced that they had appointed a new CEO, and that only five employees would remain in the company. The company's focus also shifted to develop mobile and downloadable titles. Two new titles, ''Glue'' and a new installment in the ''A Boy and His Blob'' franchise, were announced after the reconstruction. On December 9, 2016, Majesco announced it was ceasing operations in the entertainment industry, and merged with biotech firm PolarityTE. Polarity will obtain Majesco's NASDAQ symbol name, COOL. On June 29, 2017, PolarityTE divested itself entirely of and subsequently sold, Majesco Entertainment's assets, which were subsequently taken private, leading to the rebirth of the company as an independent corporation. On November 9, 2017, Majesco announced that it had re-entered the video game business after having previously been brought back to a privately held company, releasing their '' Romans from Mars'' onto Steam. On January 15, 2018, 51 percent of Majesco was bought by Liquid Media Group, and Jesse Sutton became LMG's Gaming Advisor. On June 15, 2020, Ziggurat Interactive purchased a number of IP formerly owned by Majesco Entertainment, including the rights to ''

'', '' Advent Rising'', '' Flip's Twisted World'', and '' Raze's Hell''. On the same day, Ziggurat announced that the PC release of ''BloodRayne'' would receive updates to improve compatibility with current-day systems, with updates done by original developer Terminal Reality. They also announced plans to continue the franchise.

Subsidiary

* Midnight City: On August 29, 2013, Majesco announced the creation of an indie publishing label, Midnight City, in order to bring various indie games to consoles.

Games published

* '' Advent Rising'' (

, Microsoft Windows) * '' Aeon Flux'' ( PlayStation 2,

) * '' Age of Empires: The Age of Kings'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Air Traffic Chaos'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel'' ( Nintendo DS, Wii) * '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked'' ( Nintendo DS, Wii,

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

) * '' Attack of the Movies 3D'' ( Wii,

) * '' ATV: Quad Frenzy'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Away: Shuffle Dungeon'' ( Nintendo DS), North America * '' Babysitting Mama'' ( Wii) * ''Babysitting Mania'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' BattleBots: Beyond the BattleBox'' (

) * '' BattleBots: Design & Destroy'' (

) * '' Black & Bruised'' ( GameCube, PlayStation 2) * '' Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy'' ( Wii) * '' Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship'' ( PSP) * ''

'' ( PlayStation 2, GameCube,

, Microsoft Windows) * ''

'' ( PlayStation 2,

, Microsoft Windows) * '' BloodRayne: Betrayal'' ( PS3,

) * '' BlowOut'' ( PlayStation 2,

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

and Xbox Originals on

, Microsoft Windows) * ''

Bomberman Generation is a 2002 video game released for the GameCube. It was followed up by ''Bomberman Jetters''. Gameplay ''Bomberman Generation'' consists of six worlds consisting of about five levels each. The levels involve puzzles, mini games, Pokémon-like ba ...

'' (

) * '' Bomberman Jetters'' (

) * '' Bomberman Max 2: Blue Advance'' (

) * '' Bomberman Max 2: Red Advance'' (

) * '' Boxing Fever'' (

) * ''

A Boy and His Blob ''A Boy and His Blob'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Majesco Entertainment. It is a re-imagining of the 1989 video game, '' A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia'', which was originally dev ...

'' ( Wii) * '' Brain Boost: Beta Wave'' ( Nintendo DS), North America * '' Brain Boost: Gamma Wave'' ( Nintendo DS), North America * '' Bust-a-Move Bash!'' ( Wii) * ''Bust-a-Move Deluxe'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Bust-a-Move DS'' ( Nintendo DS), North America *
Camping Mama
' ( Nintendo DS), North America * '' Cartoon Network: Block Party'' (

) * ''

Centipede (video game) ''Centipede'' is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Atari, Inc. Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, it was one of the most commercially successful games from the golden age of arcade video games and one of the first ...

) * '' Data East Arcade Classics'' ( Wii) * ''Dawn of Heroes'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Dino Master: Dig, Discover, Duel'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Double Dragon Neon'' developed by

WayForward Technologies WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as ...

( PS3,

) * '' Drake of the 99 Dragons'' (

, Microsoft Windows) * ''Drama Queens'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest'' ( Nintendo DS), North America * ''Escape the Museum'' ( Wii) * ''

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...

(

) * '' F-18 Thunder Strike ( Game Boy Color) * ''F24 Stealth Fighter'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Face Racers: Photo Finish'' ( Nintendo 3DS) * '' Fish Tycoon'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Flip's Twisted World'' developed by

Frozen North Productions ''Flip's Twisted World'' is a platform game published by Majesco Entertainment and developed by Frozen North Productions for the Wii. The game was released on October 19, 2010 to the USA market. Gameplay ''Flip's Twisted World'' is a 3D puzzle pl ...

( Wii) * '' Fortress'' (

) * ''Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery'' ( Wii) * '' Furu Furu Park'' ( Wii), North America * ''

FusionFall ''Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall'' was a massively multiplayer online game developed by Cartoon Network and South Korean studio Grigon Entertainment and released on January 14, 2009. ''FusionFall'' used the Unity engine as its client tech ...

'' ( PC) * '' Gardening Mama'' ( Nintendo DS), North America * '' Gardening Mama 2: Forest Friends'' ( Nintendo 3DS), North America * ''Geminose: Animal Popstars'' ( Nintendo Switch) * ''Girl Fight'' (

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

) * '' Global Touring Challenge: Africa'' ( PlayStation 2) * ''Go Play: Circus Star'' ( Wii) * ''Go Play: City Sports'' ( Wii) * ''Go Play: Lumberjacks'' ( Wii) * '' Golden Nugget Casino DS'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Greg Hastings' Paintball 2'' ( PS3, Wii,

) * '' Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Guilty Gear: Judgment'' ( PSP) * '' Guilty Gear X2 #Reload'' (

) * ''

Gun Metal Gun metal, also known as red brass in the United States, is a type of bronze; an alloy of copper, tin and zinc. Proportions vary but 88% copper, 8–10% tin, and 2–4% zinc is an approximation. Originally used chiefly for making guns, it has ...

'' (

, Microsoft Windows) * ''Hello Kitty Party'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''The Hidden'' ( Nintendo 3DS) * ''Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure'' ( Nintendo DSiWare) * '' Hulk Hogan's Main Event'' ( Kinect) * '' HSX: Hypersonic Xtreme'' ( PlayStation 2) * '' Infected'' ( PSP) * '' Jaws Unleashed'' ( PlayStation 2,

, Microsoft Windows) * '' Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009'' ( Wii) * '' Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010'' ( Nintendo DS, Wii) * ''Jillian Michaels' Pocket Trainer'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Kengo: Legend of the 9'' (

) * ''Kong: King of Atlantis'' (

) * ''Left Brain, Right Brain'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Left Brain, Right Brain 2'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Let's Draw'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Lion's Pride: Adventures in the Serengeti'' ( Nintendo 3DS) * '' Mad Dog McCree: Gunslinger Pack'' ( Wii) * '' Major Minor's Majestic March'' ( Wii) * ''Marker Man Adventures'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Maximum Chase'' (Xbox), published * '' MechAssault: Phantom War'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Mega Brain Boost'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Monaco: What's Yours is Mine'' (

) * '' Monster Bomber'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Monster Tale'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Monster Trucks'' (

) * ''Monster Trucks DS'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' My Baby 3 & Friends'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''

Nacho Libre ''Nacho Libre'' is a 2006 sports comedy film directed by Jared Hess and written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and Mike White. It stars Jack Black as Ignacio, a Catholic friar and lucha libre fan who secretly moonlights as a luchador to earn money fo ...

'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Nancy Drew: The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Nano Assault'' ( Nintendo 3DS) * '' Nanostray'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Nanostray 2'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''

NBA Baller Beats ''NBA Baller Beats'' is a rhythm game developed by HB Studios and released by Majesco Entertainment on the Xbox 360 for use with the Kinect motion sensing controller. Unlike most rhythm games that revolve around dancing or playing musical instrume ...

'' ( Kinect) * '' The New York Times Crosswords'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'' ( Nintendo DS, Wii,

, Microsoft Windows) * ''Operation: Vietnam'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Orchard'' ( Microsoft Windows) * ''Our House'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Pajama Sam: Don't Fear The Dark'' ( Wii) * '' Pet Pals: Animal Doctor'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Pet Zombies in 3D'' ( Nintendo 3DS) * '' Phantom Dust'' (

) * '' Pirates Plund-Arrr'' ( Wii) * ''Pizza Delivery Boy'' ( Wii) * ''Powerbike'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''

'' ( PlayStation 2,

and Xbox Originals on

, Microsoft Windows) * ''Puffins: Island Adventure'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Quad: Desert Fury'' (

) * '' Raze's Hell'' (

and Xbox Originals on

) * ''Rollin' Rascals'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Sharknado: The Video Game'' (

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

) * ''Sideswiped'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"'' ( Wii) * '' Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Summer Camp Showdown'' ( Wii) * ''Super Black Bass Fishing'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Super Hornet F/A 18F'' (

) * ''Super Speed Machines'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Swords'' ( Wii) * ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' (

) * ''

'' ( PlayStation 2, GameCube,

), Originally published by THQ * '' Teen Titans 2: The Brotherhood's Revenge'' (

) * ''

Texas Hold 'Em Poker Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fac ...

'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Toon-Doku'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Totaled!'' (

) * '' Toy Shop'' ( Nintendo DS) * ''Turn It Around'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Twister Mania'' ( Kinect) * ''Ultimate Game Room'' ( Nintendo DS) * '' Ultra Bust-a-Move'' (

) * ''Wild Earth: African Safari'' ( Wii) * '' Wonder World Amusement Park'' ( Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Wii) * '' Worms 4: Mayhem'' (

), North America * ''Zoo Hospital'' ( Nintendo DS, Wii) * '' Zumba Fitness'' ( Kinect,

PlayStation Move is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4 in 2013, its Pla ...

, Wii)

References

External links

*
''Majesco Entertainment''
profile on MobyGames * {{Authority control Companies based in Monmouth County, New Jersey Hazlet, New Jersey Video game companies established in 1986 American companies established in 1986 Video game companies of the United States Video game development companies Video game publishers 1986 establishments in New Jersey Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 2003 initial public offerings 2016 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions