Silverball Studios Limited, formerly known as Fuse Games Limited, was a British

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 ...

known for developing

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

games for

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 ...

History

Fuse Games Limited era

The company was founded in 2002 by Adrian Barritt and Richard Horrocks, makers of the award-winning ''

Pro Pinball ''Pro Pinball'' is a pinball video game series developed by Cunning Developments and published by Empire Interactive. Games * 1996: Pro Pinball: The Web - SEGA Saturn, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Windows * 1997: Pro Pinball: Timeshock! - Micros ...

'' series of

computer games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

. As an idea to show what they were capable of, they developed a

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

pinball demo and pitched the idea to Nintendo, who then hired the company to make ''

Mario Pinball Land ''Mario Pinball Land'', known in Europe and Japan as ''Super Mario Ball'', is a pinball video game developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance, released in 2004. It is the ninth Mario game for the Game Boy Advance ...

'' for the

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 ...

. The whole game was made by just five people. Later, Fuse Games developed

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

games, the most notable being ''

Metroid Prime Pinball ''Metroid Prime Pinball'' is a pinball video game themed after the ''Metroid'' series. The game uses the graphical style and various story elements from '' Metroid Prime''. It was developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Ninte ...

'', a pinball adaptation of the

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 ...

game ''

Metroid Prime ''Metroid Prime'' is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main '' Metroid'' game and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspec ...

''. The studio also became the only developer outside Japan to create a

Touch! Generations is a brand created by Nintendo to denote games on the Nintendo DS and Wii that are intended to appeal to a broader audience (mainly adults and the elderly) than the traditional gamer. Nintendo originally introduced the brand in Japan in April 2 ...

game, with ''Active Health with Carol Vorderman''.

Silverball Studios Limited era

In 2009, the company nearly went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

after completing ''Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon'' for

DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 20 ...

, but reformed as Silverball Studios. The company attempted to revive the ''Pro Pinball'' series through

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

in 2012. The project's goal was unsuccessful, and the company eventually merged into Barnstorm Games as the in-house development team. Afterwards, the Kickstarter was revived in 2013, but was limited to the single table Timeshock!. This campaign reached its goal and the Ultra Edition of Pro-Pinball: Timeshock! was released for several platforms.

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Game Boy Advance

*''

'' (2004)

Nintendo DS

*''

'' (2005) *''Active Health with Carol Vorderman'' (2009) *''Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon'' (2009) *''Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails'' (2010)

Wii

*''Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails'' (2010) *''American Mensa Academy'' (2012)

iPhone

*''Mensa Brain Test'' (2010) *''Frogger Pinball'' (2011)

Nintendo 3DS

*''BearShark: The Game'' (2013)

Windows/Xbox 360 Arcade

*''American Mensa Academy'' (2012) *'' Pro Pinball: Timeshock! - The Ultra Edition'' (2014)

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Fuse Games LimitedSilverball Studios Limited
Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game development companies Video game companies established in 2002 British companies established in 2002