Camerica was a Canadian

video game 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 ...

company founded in 1988. It released various unlicensed video games and accessories for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

, such as the

Game Genie The Game Genie was a line of Video game accessory, video game accessories that allowed players to alter codes transmitted between ROM cartridge, game cartridges and a video game console, known informally as a cheat cartridge. Developed by Codemas ...

, and was the North American publisher for British developer

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

History

The company was owned and operated by David J. Harding and was originally formed in 1988 as a wholesale association with giftware such as

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is an Irish manufacturer of crystal glassware, especially cut glass products. It is named after the city of Waterford in Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was cl ...

and Blue Mountain Pottery. The company entered the video game market, featuring Nintendo World Championship of 1990 winner

Thor Aackerlund Thor Aackerlund is an American esports gamer, considered one of the first to go professional. Early life As a child, Aackerlund started playing computer games while waiting for a new school year to begin after having missed one due to ...

as the spokesperson, considered one of the first

professional gamer A gamer is someone who plays interactive games, either video games, tabletop role-playing games, skill-based card games, or any combination thereof, and who often plays for extended periods of time. Originally a hobby, gaming has evolved in ...

s. Camerica held the rights to publish most

games from Codemasters in North America. Camerica also released the Codemasters-designed

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the UK. They had a distribution deal with toy company

Galoob Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc., was a toy company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. They are best known for creating Micro Machines, which accounted for 50% of its sales in 1989, and distributing the Game Genie in the United States. Hi ...

. The company created several early peripherals for the NES, including the Aladdin Deck Enhancer expansion peripheral and Supersonic: the Joystick a.k.a. Turbotronic, a wireless controller. Camerica was notable for being an unlicensed distributor,

reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...

cartridges that would bypass Nintendo's

10NES The Checking Integrated Circuit (CIC) is a lockout chip designed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game console in 1985; the chip is part of a system known as 10NES, in which a ''key'' (which is stored in the game) i ...

lock-out chip In a general sense, a lockout chip is a chip within an electronic device to prevent other manufacturers from using a company's device to perform certain functions. A notable example is the lockout chip found in Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment S ...

. Like the circuit used in

Color Dreams Color Dreams ( d/b/a StarDot Technologies) is an American company formerly known for developing and publishing unlicensed video games for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The company left the video game industry in the mid-1990s, ...

cartridges, Camerica's workaround generates

glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...

pulses that freeze the lock-out chip. These cartridges are shaped and colored slightly differently from Nintendo's official cartridges, though they still fit in the NES. All Camerica cartridges were originally produced gold-colored, and later silver. In '' Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc'',

, distributor of Camerica products in the United States, was ruled not an infringer of the

Copyright Act Copyright Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States relating to the copyright. The Bill for an Act with this short t ...

because the Game Genie was not a

derivative work In copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major copyrightable elements of a first, previously created original work (the underlying work). The derivative work becomes a second, separate work independent from ...

and was protected by

fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...

. In '' Nintendo of America Inc. v. Camerica Corp'' (

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

), it was held that it did not violate Nintendo's trademark for Camerica to advertise compatibility with the NES despite being an unlicensed distributor. Camerica declared bankruptcy and ceased operations in 1993.

Games

*'' Bee 52'' *'' Big Nose Freaks Out'' *'' Big Nose the Caveman'' *'' Dizzy the Adventurer'' *'' Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy'' *'' FireHawk'' *''

Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade ''Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade'' is a video game released in 1992 by Codemasters for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A remake of the game, retitled ''Cosmic Spacehead'', was released in 1993 for Amiga, MS-DOS, Game Gear, Master System, an ...

'' *''

Micro Machines Micro Machines are a line of toys originally made by Galoob (now part of Hasbro) from 1987 and throughout the 1990s. Micro Machines are tiny scale component style "playsets" and vehicles that are slightly larger than N scale. History The toys ...

'' *''

Mig 29 Soviet Fighter ''MiG-29: Soviet Fighter'' is a shoot 'em up game developed by Codemasters in 1989 and released for several contemporary home computers. An unlicensed version was also released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Camerica. Gameplay The p ...

'' *'' Quattro Adventure'' *'' Quattro Arcade'' *'' Quattro Sports'' *''

Super Robin Hood ''Super Robin Hood'' is a Robin Hood-themed platform game published in November 1986 by Codemasters. The Oliver Twins developed the game for the Amstrad CPC when they were age 17; it was their first game published by Codemasters. Codemasters of ...

'' *''Stunt Kids'' *'' The Ultimate Stuntman''

References

External links

The Warp Zone - Camerica, Codemasters, and Acemore
{{Camerica Unlicensed Nintendo hardware Video game publishers Defunct video game companies of Canada Video game companies established in 1987 Video game companies disestablished in 1993

History

Games

See also

References

External links