TDK Mediactive

Video game publisher

TDK Mediactive was the brand name used by Japanese company TDK as a media subsidiary in Europe, and as a video game publishing subsidiary in North America.

## TDK Mediactive Europe[edit]

TDK Mediactive Europe

Type| Division
Industry| Video games, Computer software, Home video
Founded| 1999; 24 years ago (1999)
Defunct| May 2005; 18 years ago (May 2005)
Headquarters|

Ratingen

Germany

Parent| TDK Recording Media Europe (1999–2005)

TDK Mediactive Europe was a division of TDK Recording Media Europe founded in 1999[1] that published video games, software and DVDs under the TDK brand.[2] [3]

In April 2000, TDK Mediactive Europe announced they would secure exclusive international publishing rights to Sound Source Interactive's products.[4] This continued after the purchase of the company by TDK in September, with TDK Mediactive Europe became the exclusive European Publishing partner for technology and content licenses held by TDK Mediactive, Inc., which included publication and localisation[5] However, TDK Mediactive Europe continued to publish and distribute their own titles, such as Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade.[6]

On September 6, 2001, TDK Mediactive Europe supplied an exclusive North American licensing agreement to allow TDK Mediactive, Inc. to publish video games based on Mercedes-Benz.[7]

On March 15, 2002, the company signed a deal with O3 Games to publish Templar.[8] In June, it moved from Bascharage, Luxembourg, to Ratingen, Germany, where TDK Electronics Europe was already located.[9]

On May 4, 2005, TDK Mediactive Europe signed a publishing deal with Playlogic Entertainment to allow the latter to publish their existing video game titles.[10] The fate of the TDK Mediactive Europe company itself is currently unknown, although the company's website still remains open.[11]

### Video games[edit]

Title  | Platform(s)  | Release date  | Developer  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Babe and Friends: Animated Preschool Adventure | macOS | 1999 | Sound Source Interactive  | [12]
Microsoft Windows
The Land Before Time: Math Adventure | macOS | 1999 | Digital Media International  | [13]
Microsoft Windows
The Land Before Time: Return to the Great Valley | PlayStation | September 15, 2000 | Realtime Associates | [14]
Casper: Friends Around the World | PlayStation | November 16, 2000 | Realtime Associates | [15]
Elevator Action EX | Game Boy Color | 2000 | Altron  | [16]
Westlife Fan-O-Mania | Microsoft Windows | June 6, 2002 | Runecraft | [17]
PlayStation | June 28, 2002
Outlaw Golf | Xbox | February 4, 2003 | Hypnotix | [18]
Darkened Skye | GameCube | May 28, 2003 | Boston Animation | [19]
Outlaw Volleyball | Xbox | July 3, 2003 | Hypnotix  | [20]
Mercedes-Benz World Racing | Microsoft Windows | September 19, 2003 | Synetic | [21]
PlayStation 2
Outlaw Golf | GameCube | November 4, 2003 | Hypnotix  | [22]
Microsoft Windows | November 21, 2003
PlayStation 2 | November 24, 2003 | Buzz Monkey Software
Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade | GameCube | March 19, 2004 | Starbreeze Studios | [23]
Conan | Microsoft Windows | April 8, 2004 | Cauldron | [24]
PlayStation 2
Xbox
Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade | Microsoft Windows | April 8, 2004 | Starbreeze Studios | [25]
Xbox
Mercedes-Benz World Racing | GameCube | April 8, 2004 | Synetic | [26]
Conan | GameCube | April 30, 2004 | Cauldron | [27]
Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade | PlayStation 2 | June 4, 2004 | Starbreeze Studios | [28]

## Take-Two Licensing[edit]

Take-Two Licensing, Inc.

Formerly|

* Sound Source Interactive, Inc. (1990–2000)
* TDK Mediactive, Inc. (2000–2003)

Type| Subsidiary
Industry| Video games
Founded| 1988; 35 years ago (1988)
Founder| Vincent Bitetti
Defunct| January 25, 2005; 18 years ago (2005-01-25)
Fate| Folded into 2K
Headquarters|

Westlake Village, California

United States

Key people

* Shin Tanabe (president, CEO)
* Martin Paravato (CFO)

Parent|

* TDK (2000–2003)
* Take-Two Interactive (2003–2005)

TDK Mediactive, Inc. (formerly Sound Source Interactive, Inc., later renamed Take-Two Licensing, Inc.) was an American video game publisher based in Westlake Village, California. Founded as Sound Source Interactive by Vincent Bitetti in March 1990, the company acquired BWT Labs in March 1998. In September 2000, the company was acquired by TDK and became TDK Mediactive. Take-Two Interactive acquired the company's North American operations in September 2003, renaming itself as Take-Two Licensing the following December. With the foundation of Take-Two Interactive's 2K Games label in January 2005, Take-Two Licensing was effectively folded into the new subsidiary.

### History[edit]

Sound Source Interactive was founded in 1988[29] by Vincent Bitetti.[30] In March 1998, Sound Source Interactive announced that they had acquired BWT Labs, a Berkeley, California-based video game developer.[31]

On September 11, 2000, TDK acquired a 72% controlling stake in Sound Source Interactive, with an initial investment of US$1.425 million, followed by another of US$3.575 million, totaling to US$5 million.[32] The buyout resulted in Sound Source rebranding under the TDK Mediactive name, with the company's founder, Vincent Bitetti, remaining chief executive officer and Shin Tanabe, President of TDK Recording Media Europe and the European division of TDK Mediactive, becoming the publisher's chief operating officer.[33] As TDK Mediactive, the company published various video games, of which many based on licensed properties.[34] With this, TDK inherited Sound Source's existing licenses with Universal Pictures for The Land Before Time and The Harvey Entertainment Company for the Harvey Comics characters, among others.

On December 20, 2000, the company signed an exclusive video game licensing deal with DreamWorks SKG to produce and publish games based on Shrek.[35]

On April 13, 2001, the company signed a five-year deal with clothing brand No Limits to publish games based on the license.[36] At E3 2001, the company secured the video game licensing rights to RoboTech from Mattel.[37] The company later signed a deal with The Beanstalk Group to produce games based on Dinotopia. In November 2001, the company announced to publish games for the GameCube.[38] This was followed with a licensing agreement from DC to produce video games based on Aquaman in December.[39]

The company continued gaining exclusive video game rights to franchises through 2002. They secured a deal with Jim Henson Interactive to produce games based on The Muppets in April,[40] a Nintendo-only deal with Hasbro for the Tonka franchise in May (under a sub-licensing agreement with Infogrames),[41] and Disney Interactive with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Haunted Mansion from Disney Interactive in July.[42] On October 18, 2002, the company launched TDK Impulse, a publishing label intended for games that had "broad consumer appeal and a low price point".[43]

In January 2003, the company purchased the video game licensing rights to the UFC from Crave Entertainment.[44] May 2003, the company announced a co-publishing collaboration with Activision to co-publish a video game tie-in to Shrek 2.[45][46]

On September 3, 2003, TDK Mediactive, Inc. announced that they were to be acquired by Take-Two Interactive for an estimated US$22.7 million.[47][48] The transaction was finalized on December 2, 2003, with 23,005,885 shares, valued at US$12.6 million, and another US$200,000 in cash awarded to TDK.[49] Afterwards, Take-Two rebranded TDK Mediactive, Inc. as Take-Two Licensing, Inc. and received all their licenses except for the Shrek license, which was fully obtained Activision after they signed a new deal with DreamWorks, with Activision terminating its previous existing licensing agreement they previously had with TDK for Shrek 2 games.[50][51]

On January 25, 2005, Take-Two Interactive announced the opening of publishing label 2K Games, into which Take-Two Licensing was folded.[52]

### Games published[edit]

#### As TDK Mediactive[edit]

Title  | Platform(s)  | Release date  | Developer  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure | PlayStation | May 4, 2001 | Vision Scape Interactive  | [53]
Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown | Game Boy Color | May 30, 2001 | Prolific  | [54]
Wendy: Every Witch Way | Game Boy Color | September 2001 | WayForward Technologies | [55]
Casper: Spirit Dimensions | PlayStation 2 | October 1, 2001 | Lucky Chicken Games | [56]
Lady Sia | Game Boy Advance | October 16, 2001 | RFX Interactive  | [57]
No Rules: Get Phat | Game Boy Advance | November 15, 2001 | Flying Tiger Development | [58]
Shrek | Xbox | November 15, 2001 | Digital Illusions Canada  | [59]
Rainbow Islands | Game Boy Color | 2001 | Dreams Co.  | [60]
Shrek: Swamp Kart Speedway | Game Boy Advance | March 25, 2002 | Prolific Publishing  | [61]
Dinotopia: The Timestone Pirates | Game Boy Advance | April 30, 2002 | RFX Interactive  | [62]
Pryzm: Chapter One - The Dark Unicorn | PlayStation 2 | June 10, 2002 | Digital Illusions CE | [63]
Robotech: Battlecry | GameCube | August 23, 2002 | Vicious Cycle Software | [64]
PlayStation 2 | September 23, 2002
Xbox
Casper: Spirit Dimensions | GameCube | October 1, 2002 | Lucky Chicken Games | [56]
Shrek: Hassle at the Castle | Game Boy Advance | October 10, 2002 | Tose | [65]
Shrek: Treasure Hunt | PlayStation | October 18, 2002 | The Code Monkeys | [66]
Shrek Extra Large | GameCube | October 30, 2002 | Digital Illusions Canada  | [59]
Masters of the Universe: He-Man - Power of Grayskull | Game Boy Advance | November 2, 2002 | Taniko  | [67]
Robotech: The Macross Saga | Game Boy Advance | November 15, 2002 | Lucky Chicken Games | [68]
Shrek: Super Party | PlayStation 2 | November 15, 2002 | Mass Media Games | [69]
Xbox
The Land Before Time: Big Water Adventure | PlayStation | November 27, 2002 | Digital Illusions CE | [70]
Ultimate Fighting Championship: Tapout 2 | Xbox | March 20, 2003 | DreamFactory | [71]
SeaBlade | Xbox | March 28, 2003 | Vision Scape Interactive  |
The Muppets: On with the Show | Game Boy Advance | April 17, 2003 | Vicarious Visions | [72]
Shrek: Super Party | GameCube | May 29, 2003 | Mass Media Games | [69]
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Game Boy Advance | July 1, 2003 | Pocket Studios  | [73]
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis | GameCube | July 23, 2003 | Lucky Chicken Games | [74]
Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey | GameCube | July 23, 2003 | Vicious Cycle Software | [75]
Shrek: Reekin' Havoc | Game Boy Advance | July 31, 2003 | Tose | [76]
Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey | Xbox | August 5, 2003 | Vicious Cycle Software | [75]
Disney's The Haunted Mansion | GameCube | October 14, 2003 | High Voltage Software | [77]
PlayStation 2
Xbox
Corvette | Game Boy Advance | November 11, 2003 | Visual Impact  | [78]
Jim Henson's Muppets Party Cruise | GameCube | November 11, 2003 | Jim Henson Interactive / Mass Media Games | [79]
PlayStation 2
Spy Muppets: License to Croak | Game Boy Advance | November 18, 2003 | Vicarious Visions | [80]
Tonka Rescue Patrol | GameCube | November 18, 2003 | Lucky Chicken Games | [81]

#### As Take-Two Licensing[edit]

Title  | Platform(s)  | Release date  | Developer  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Corvette | Microsoft Windows | December 10, 2003 | Steel Monkeys  | [82]
Xbox
Star Trek: Shattered Universe | PlayStation 2 | January 13, 2004 | Starsphere Interactive  | [83]
Xbox | January 14, 2004

## References[edit]

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3. ^ "TDK mediactive vertreibt DVDS über Naxos".
4. ^ "CD Media World -".
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6. ^ "TDK Mediactive E3 Lineup - News".
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8. ^ "O3 Games tecknar avtal med TDK". March 15, 2002.
9. ^ "TDK Mediactive zieht es nach Deutschland" [TDK Mediactive is drawn to Germany]. GamesMarkt (in German). June 27, 2002.
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11. ^ "TDK Mediactive Europe".
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15. ^ "Casper: Friends Around the World (2000) PlayStation release dates". MobyGames. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
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18. ^ Outlaw Golf Gets Legal on the Xbox - IGN, April 24, 2001, retrieved November 27, 2019
19. ^ "Darkened Skye ships". GameSpot. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
20. ^ Outlaw Volleyball in Stores - IGN, July 9, 2003, retrieved November 27, 2019
21. ^ World Racing to PC - IGN, July 21, 2003, retrieved November 27, 2019
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30. ^ "Form 10KSB 1 FORM 10KSB". October 13, 1999. p. 10. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
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33. ^ Hong, Quang (September 12, 2000). "TDK Buys Sound Source". Gamasutra. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
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36. ^ "No Rules for Game Boy Advance". Ign. April 12, 2001.
37. ^ "E3 2001: TDK Mediactive snags Robotech license".
38. ^ "Shrek and Robotech to GameCube". November 30, 2001.
39. ^ "TDK Hooks Aquaman License". October 9, 2001.
40. ^ "TDK grabs the Muppets".
41. ^ "TDK Mediactive Gets Tonka License". May 21, 2002.
42. ^ "It's a Pirates Life for TDK". July 9, 2002.
43. ^ "TDK Mediactive Launches New Publishing Label". Gamasutra. October 18, 2002. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
44. ^ "TDK signs the UFC".
45. ^ https://investor.activision.com/news-releases/news-release-details/activision-and-tdk-mediactive-set-debut-shrek-2tm-game-e3-expo
46. ^ IGN staff (May 6, 2003). "E3 2003: TDK reveals lineup". IGN. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
47. ^ Fahey, Rob (September 3, 2003). "Take-Two buys TDK Mediactive, brings GTA to Xbox as profits rise". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
48. ^ IGN (September 3, 2003). "Take-Two Acquires TDK Mediactive". IGN. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
49. ^ Jenkins, David (December 2, 2003). "Take-Two Acquire TDK Mediactive". Gamasutra. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
50. ^ https://investor.activision.com/news-releases/news-release-details/activision-signs-agreement-dreamworks-video-game-rights-upcoming[bare URL]
51. ^ Lewis, Ed (December 2, 2003). "Take-Two Takes One". IGN. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
52. ^ Jenkins, David (January 25, 2005). "Take-Two Acquires Visual Concepts, Announces 2K Games Brand". Gamasutra. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
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54. ^ Shrek: Fairy Tale FreakDown - IGN, May 9, 2001, retrieved November 26, 2019
55. ^ Another Witch for Game Boy Color - IGN, April 17, 2001, retrieved November 26, 2019
56. ^ a b TDK Mediactive Officially Announces Casper - IGN, April 5, 2001, retrieved November 26, 2019
57. ^ Lady Sia Ships on Game Boy Advance - IGN, September 27, 2001, retrieved November 26, 2019
58. ^ Get Phat on GBA - IGN, November 22, 2001, retrieved November 26, 2019
59. ^ a b Shrek Ships - IGN, October 30, 2002, retrieved November 26, 2019
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61. ^ Shrek Skids to Shelves - IGN, March 20, 2002, retrieved November 26, 2019
62. ^ Dinotopia Ships - IGN, April 30, 2002, retrieved November 26, 2019
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64. ^ "Robotech: Battlecry goes gold". GameSpot. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
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67. ^ "He-Man ships". GameSpot. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
68. ^ Robotech GBA Ships - IGN, October 16, 2002, retrieved November 27, 2019
69. ^ a b A Party on Xbox - IGN, September 25, 2002, retrieved November 27, 2019
70. ^ "TDK delivers Pryzm". GameSpot. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
71. ^ "TDK ships two". GameSpot. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
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83. ^ E3 2003: Star Trek: Shattered Universe Update - IGN, May 16, 2003, retrieved November 27, 2019

* v
* t
* e

Take-Two Interactive

2K|

| Current studios|

* 31st Union
* Cat Daddy Games
* Cloud Chamber
* Firaxis Games
* games
* Hangar 13
* HB Studios
* Visual Concepts

|

Former studios|

* 2K Australia
* 2K China
* 2K Czech
* 2K Los Angeles
* 2K Marin
* Frog City Software
* Indie Built
* Irrational Games
* PopTop Software
* Venom Games

Notable games|

* Battleborn
* BioShock series
* Borderlands series
* Civilization series
* Duke Nukem series
* Evolve
* Mafia series
* Prey
* Spec Ops series
* The Darkness series
* XCOM series

| 2K series|

* MLB 2K series
* NBA 2K series
* NBA 2K League
* NHL 2K series
* PGA Tour 2K
* WWE 2K series

|

Rockstar Games|

| Current studios|

* Rockstar Dundee
* Rockstar India
* Rockstar Leeds
* Rockstar Lincoln
* Rockstar London
* Rockstar New England
* Rockstar North
* Rockstar San Diego
* Rockstar Toronto

|

Former studios|

* Dhruva Interactive
* Rockstar Vancouver
* Rockstar Vienna

Notable games|

* Agent
* Bully
* Grand Theft Auto series
* L.A. Noire
* Max Payne series
* Midnight Club series
* Red Dead series
* The Warriors

Technology|

* Rockstar Advanced Game Engine

Zynga|

| Current studios|

* NaturalMotion
* BossAlien
* Peak Games
* Small Giant Games

|

Notable games|

* Chess with Friends
* Clay Jam
* Drop7
* Empires & Allies
* FarmVille
* Gems with Friends
* Hit It Rich!
* Word Streak with Friends
* Words with Friends
* Zynga Poker

Technology|

* Chartboost
* Euphoria

Other|

* Ghost Story Games
* Nordeus
* Private Division
* Roll7
* Socialpoint
* List of games
* List of acquisitions

Former labels|

* Double Take Comics
* Gathering of Developers
* Global Star Software
* Gotham Games
* Take-Two Licensing
* TalonSoft

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Other|

* MusicBrainz label

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