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Factor 5 GmbH was a German-American independent
software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
and
video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...
. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name. In order to have a stronger relationship with Factor 5's North American partners like
LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor, former video game developer and video game publisher, publisher, and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George ...
, Factor 5, Inc. was established in the United States in May 1996 with legal support from LucasArts, and in late 1996 the core of the development team in Germany was relocated to the North American company headquarters in San Rafael,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Julian Eggebrecht, one of the five initial co-founders, served as President of Factor 5's U.S. branch. The U.S. company closed in May 2009, following the closure of Brash Entertainment, with which the company had multiple contracts. The original German company, headed by CEO Achim Moller, remained active due to its unrelated business policy and operations with the North American company. However, in January 2011, Moller liquidated Factor 5 GmbH, and all game licenses were transferred to "Eggebrecht, Engel, Schmidt GbR". On March 15, 2017, Factor 5 co-founder Julian Eggebrecht had announced that the company has returned and re-acquired the rights to the ''Turrican'' franchise.


History

The programming group which would eventually become Factor 5 had originally formed in the 1980s, in what cofounder Julian Eggebrecht described as a culture of hacking and multimedia programming on the local demo scene. Eggebrecht attended the Filmhochschule in Munich to become a movie director, and all the other members studied
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
. While its founders were still university students, Factor 5 started out in game development as a part-time activity under partnership with Rainbow Arts for the Amiga computer. There, they had their earliest moderate success with '' Katakis'', an '' R-Type'' clone of impressive technical performance. Due to the game's obvious similarity to ''R-Type'', rights holder Activision Europe delivered an ultimatum: either Factor 5 accept a contract to perform the official ''R-Type'' conversion for the Amiga home computer, or receive a lawsuit for rights infringement. According to Julian Eggebrecht, this was because "Activision couldn't find any programmers" however the opportunity was "a dream come true". Their first important success, however, came with ''
Turrican ''Turrican'' is a 1990 video game developed by Manfred Trenz. It was developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, and was Video game port, ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz programmed ' ...
'', a game designed by Rainbow Arts designer Manfred Trenz. Factor 5 handled the Amiga and
Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...
versions of the game; and together with the original Commodore 64 version and several others, ''Turrican'' was a major hit across Europe in 1990. In 1991, faced with the prospect of corporate formalities imposed by the video game console industry, the company founders quit school in favor of full-time corporate careers. Eggebrecht explained, " e moment you go into console programming, you won't get a development system from Nintendo unless you have a reputable company." After they finished work on '' Turrican II: The Final Fight'' for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1991, Factor 5 built their own development kits and software environments for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, codenamed Pegasus SNES and Pegasus Mega Drive. Subsequently, they decided to focus their efforts towards console game development in 1992 with several projects for the SNES and Mega Drive/Genesis, including new ''Turrican'' games and other titles contracted by companies like
LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor, former video game developer and video game publisher, publisher, and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George ...
, Hudson Soft and
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
, the latter of which had also Game Boy development contracts with them. In 1993, Factor 5 produced their last Amiga effort, an Amiga conversion of '' Mega Turrican'' handled with programming support from fellow company Neon Studios. They would develop games for the SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Game Boy until 1996, when they switched their efforts to the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
. With the development of PlayStation games for LucasArts, the personnel located in Germany experienced communication difficulties in working with their North American partner due to the distance between both countries and the Internet speeds of that time being insufficient for the requirements of console development. This, together with legal assistance offered by LucasArts, resulted in a new Factor 5 branch in California. There, the core of the development team from Germany was established after they finished work on their PlayStation games in late 1996. For a long time, the North American branch of Factor 5 was an exclusive, prominent development partner with both LucasArts and
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
, developing both game titles for the former and middleware tools for the latter. During that time, the studio gained considerable critical and commercial praise for its technical proficiency, producing what are often cited as some of the most visually advanced titles on the Nintendo 64 and
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
, all based on LucasArts properties. Two high-profile middleware tools were also developed by the company for Nintendo: MusyX, a sound system produced in cooperation with Dolby Laboratories; and the DivX For Games SDK, integrating the functionality of the popular video codec into Nintendo's development tools. In late December 2008, several online media outlets reported that Brash Entertainment (Factor 5's publisher of their current project) would close at the end of the month after encountering financial problems. This sudden interruption in funding left Factor 5 with their own funding difficulties, eventually causing its closure in May 2009. Factor 5 had been involved in litigation with its former employees in the defunct North American Factor 5 company. The suit alleges that Factor 5 did not pay its employees for work during November and December, that employees were laid off without the required notice by law, that employees did not receive their vacation pay, and that the company misled the employees. The suit was filed in Marin Superior Court.


Games


Factor 5 GmbH


Amiga

*1988: '' Katakis'' *1989: '' R-Type'' *1990: ''
Turrican ''Turrican'' is a 1990 video game developed by Manfred Trenz. It was developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, and was Video game port, ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz programmed ' ...
'' *1990: '' Masterblazer'' (intro only) *1991: '' Turrican II: The Final Fight'' *1991: '' The Adventures of Quik & Silva'' (under the pseudonym ''New Bits on the RAM'') *1992: ''Metal Law'' (under the pseudonym ''New Bits on the RAM'') *1992: '' BC Kid'' *1993: '' Turrican 3'' (conversion program by Neon Studios) *1994: ''Tony & Friends in Kellogg's Land''


Atari ST

*1990: ''
Turrican ''Turrican'' is a 1990 video game developed by Manfred Trenz. It was developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, and was Video game port, ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz programmed ' ...
'' *1991: '' Turrican II: The Final Fight'' *1991: '' The Adventures of Quik & Silva'' (under the pseudonym ''New Bits on the RAM''; port of Amiga version)


Super Nintendo Entertainment System

*1993: '' Super Turrican'' *1994: '' Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures'' *1995: '' Super Turrican 2''


Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

*1993: '' Mega Turrican'' (released in 1994) *1994: '' Mega Bomberman 8-players'' (unpublished demo) *1996: '' International Superstar Soccer Deluxe''


Game Boy

*1994: '' Contra: The Alien Wars'' *1995: ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
''


MS-DOS

*1994: ''Tony & Friends in Kellogg's Land''TheLegacy
, Retrieved October 30, 2008.


PlayStation

*1996: '' Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire'' *1997: '' Ballblazer Champions''


Cancelled games

*'' Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures'' (completed but unreleased) ( Sega Mega Drive/Genesis)


Factor 5, Inc.


Nintendo 64

*1998: '' Star Wars: Rogue Squadron'' *1999: '' Pokémon Stadium'' (Sound Compression Technology) *1999: '' Resident Evil 2'' (Sound Compression Technology) *1999: '' Elmo's Letter Adventure'' (Sound Compression Technology) *2000: '' San Francisco Rush 2049'' (Sound Compression Technology) *2000: '' Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo'' *2000: '' Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine'' *2000: '' Pokémon Stadium 2'' (Sound Compression Technology)


Microsoft Windows

*1999: '' Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D'' *2001: '' Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo''


GameCube

*2001: '' Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader'' *2003: '' Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike''


PlayStation 3

*2007: '' Lair''


Cancelled games

*''Animal Wars'' ( PS3) *''Icarus'' reboot of '' Kid Icarus'' ( Wii) *''Untitled Pilotwings project'' (
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
) *''Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rogue Leaders Wii'' (completed but unreleased) ( Wii) *''
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'' ( PS3,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
, Wii) *'' Thornado'' ( Nintendo 64) *'' Thornado'' (
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
) *'' Turrican: Cyclone'' ( PS3) *''Virus'' ( PS3) *''WeFly'' ( Wii)


Technology

*MusyX: Dolby Sound Tools - Developed for Nintendo 64, GameCube, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance * DivX For Games SDK - Developed for GameCube


References


External links

*
Factor 5
profile at
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

Factor 5
profile at
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Factor 5 Video game companies of Germany Video game companies of the United States German companies established in 1987 Video game companies established in 1987 Video game companies established in 1996 Video game companies disestablished in 2011 Video game development companies Companies based in San Rafael, California Companies based in Cologne Re-established companies