Universal Interactive (formerly Universal Interactive Studios) was an American video game publisher. The company was established on January 4, 1994, and led by Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz of MCA. It was best known for producing the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro platform game franchises.
In 2000, the merger of Vivendi and Universal Studios consolidated the division into Vivendi's Havas Interactive, which was renamed Vivendi Universal Games the next year. Universal Interactive continued as a label until 2004, when Vivendi began divesting ownership of Universal Studios, retaining the newly renamed Vivendi Games.
History
Predecessors (1982–1993) MCA, Universal's parent company from 1962 to 1990, initially licensed video games directly as merchandise. In 1982, Atari licensed and released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a tie-in game cited as one of the biggest commercial failures in video game history. The licensing deal united director Steven Spielberg and MCA president Sidney Sheinberg with Atari general counsel Charles "Skip" Paul, who joined MCA after 1984. In 1985, MCA purchased LJN, a toy manufacturer which began publishing video games in 1987.
In 1990, MCA was sold to Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic), and LJN was sold to Acclaim Entertainment. Within the next two years, Matsushita partnered with The 3DO Company, pledging Panasonic as a manufacturer for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, and MCA as an entertainment software partner.
Universal Interactive Studios (1994–1999) The company was founded on January 4, 1994, in tandem with the 1994 Winter Consumer Electronics Show. Leading key personnel for the foundation were Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz. On February 10, MCA acquired a minority stake in Interplay Productions, which would publish Disruptor outside of North America, and later enter into a distribution deal with successor Vivendi Universal Games.
The company's first titles in mid-1994 were Jurassic Park Interactive, developed by Studio 3DO and initially announced in 1993; and Way of the Warrior, developed by Naughty Dog.
Universal contracted with Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games to develop games utilizing the facilities at Universal City, under vice president Mark Cerny. They respectively released Crash Bandicoot in 1996 and Spyro the Dragon in 1998, under publishing arrangements with Sony Computer Entertainment.
Starting in 1995, with the purchase of MCA by Canadian beverage company Seagram, Universal Studios was reorganized. By 1998, the Interactive Studios division was brought under the Universal Studios New Media Group, led by Paul Rioux. That year, Cerny resigned to launch Cerny Games, which continued to consult directly with Insomniac and Naughty Dog.
An in-house development unit, Universal Studios Digital Arts, was created to develop Xena: Warrior Princess.
By the end of 1999, UIS transitioned solely from the PlayStation to include PC and Dreamcast development as well, as well as planned support for next-generation systems.
In July 2000, UIS announced one of their first PlayStation 2 projects, a tie-in to the then-upcoming The Mummy Returns, which would release near the time of the movie.
Partnership with Konami
On December 17, 1999, Universal Interactive Studios and Konami announced a global strategic alliance. The deal would allow Konami to distribute and market titles from UIS that were based on existing Universal Studios properties, with franchises part of the deal including The Mummy, Universal Studios Monsters, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Woody Woodpecker.
In January 2000, UIS and Konami officially announced that the first title under their new partnership would be the Dreamcast title Nightmare Creatures 2.
The deal expanded further on April 27, allowing Konami to publish and market more titles.
The four PlayStation titles released as part of this partnership were announced at E3 2000 by Konami: Woody Woodpecker Racing, The Grinch, The Mummy and Monster Force.
In September, the deal was expanded further to include three brand new next-gen titles: The Thing, a sequel to the 1982 movie of the same name for the Xbox, as well as separate titles for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, a tie-in game to the then-upcoming Jurassic Park 3, and an upcoming Crash Bandicoot title.