Metro3D, Inc. (formerly Metropolis Digital, Inc.) was an American

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 ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. Based in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, and founded in 1998 , the company released several games for the

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...

(GBC),

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

(GBA), and

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

(PS2) consoles. Founded as Metropolis Digital, Inc. , the company developed '' Star Command: Revolution'', published by

GT Interactive Atari, Inc. is an American video gaming company based in New York City, and a subsidiary of the Atari SA holding company. It is the main entity serving the commercial Atari brand globally since 2003. The company currently publishes games based o ...

for

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

in 1996. In 1998, the developer began seeking

beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; or ) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Ancient Greek, beta represented the voiced bilabial plosive . In Modern Greek, it represe ...

testers for its new online game '' Armada''. On April 27, 1999, the company, headed by ex-

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

employees Joe Morici and George Nakayama, renamed itself Metro3D, Inc. after signing an agreement with

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 ...

of America to become a

third-party 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 ...

for

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

and GBC games. The company's CEO, Dr. Stephen C. H. Lin, and the U.S. branch of the company filed

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

on April 19, 2004, after defaulting on a series of loans from

Cathay Bank Cathay Bank () is a Chinese American bank founded in 1962. Cathay is headquartered in Chinatown, Los Angeles, with a corporate center in nearby El Monte, California. It has branches in California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Washington, ...

totaling $6.5 million. The company's European division was sold off in June 2005 to Stewart Green of Green Solutions Limited (the parent of Data Design Interactive), but continued to operate in the region.

Games

*''

Aero the Acro-Bat ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' is a 1993 video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft. It was released for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Aero the Acro-Bat, a red anthropomorphic bat, was created by ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''

Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is a platform game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft as the sequel of ''Aero the Acro-Bat''. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in November 1994 and then for Sega Genesis in January 1995. The ga ...

'' (GBA, unpublished) *'' Armada'' (Dreamcast, 1999) *''Armada II'' (Dreamcast, Xbox, PS2, unpublished) *''

Armada F/X Racers ''Armada F/X Racers'' is a 2000 video game for the Game Boy Color, developed by Metropolis Digital Inc. and published by Metro3D. The game is a futuristic-themed racing game based on the 1999 Dreamcast game '' Armada''. Gameplay ''F/X Racer ...

'' (GBC, 2000) *'' Armored Core 2: Another Age (PS2, 2002) (

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an distribution only)'' *''

Armored Core 3 ''Armored Core 3'' is a 2002 third-person shooter mecha video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2. It is the sixth entry in the '' Armored Core'' series. ''Armored Core 3'' acts as a reboot for the franchise and begins a storyli ...

(PS2, 2003) (

an distribution only)'' *'' Chase H.Q.: Secret Police'' (GBC, 1999) *'' Classic Bubble Bobble'' (GBC, 1999) *''The Cage'' (GBC, unpublished) *'' Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse'' (PS2, 2001) *''Dark Angel II'' (PS2, unpublished) *''Dark Angel: Anna's Quest'' (GBC, unpublished) *''

Defender of the Crown ''Defender of the Crown'' is a strategy game, strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Amiga, Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home co ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''Dinosaur Hunting'' (released in Japan, unpublished in North America by Metro3D) *''DroneZ'' (Xbox, 2004, released in Japan as ''Dennou Taisen ~ DroneZ ~'', unpublished in North America by Metro3D) *''

Dual Blades Dual Blades is a fighting video game published by Metro3D for the Game Boy Advance. It is a fighting game with single player and player versus player modes. It features a "power combining system" which was very new for the genre at that time. Th ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''

Gem Smashers is a puzzle video game developed in Italy by Frame Studios and published by Metro3D for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on July 1, 2003, and in Japan on November 21, 2003. Development and release The game was develo ...

'' (GBA, 2003) *''Maxxis Ultimate ATV'' (Xbox, unpublished) *''Pumpkin Man'' (Xbox, unpublished) *''Puzzle Master'' (GBC, 1999) *''Ninja'' (GBC, unpublished) *''Shayde: Monsters vs. Humans'' (Xbox, unpublished) *'' Smash Cars'' (PS2, 2003) *'' Stake: Fortune Fighters'' (Xbox, 2003) *'' Star Command: Revolution'' (PC, 1996, as Metropolis Digital, Inc.) *'' Sub Rebellion'' (PS2, 2002) *''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

'' (GBA, 2002) *''Threat Con Delta'' (PS2, 2004, released in Japan as ''Kyoushuu Kidou Butai: Kougeki Helicopter Senki'', unpublished in North America by Metro3D) *'' Urban Extreme'' (PS2, 2006) *''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

'' (GBA, 2003) *''

King's Field IV ''King's Field IV'', released in North America as ''King's Field: The Ancient City'', is a 2001 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2. It is the fourth entry in the ''King's Field'' series. It was released in No ...

'' (PS2, 2003) (

an distribution only) *''

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel ''Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel'', released years later in Japan as is a video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft. It is a spin-off/sequel of the ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' series. The game was released in 1994 for the Sega ...

'' (GBA, unpublished)

References

External links

*{{official, https://web.archive.org/web/20031019093222/http://metro3d.com/ (archived) Companies based in San Jose, California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Video game companies established in 1998 Video game companies disestablished in 2004 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game development companies 1998 establishments in California 2004 disestablishments in California