Backbone Entertainment

From Sega Retro

Backbone Entertainment (Formerly: Digital Eclipse Software) is an independent Canadian video game development company with offices in Emeryville, California; Vancouver, British Columbia and formerly in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Backbone Entertainment is the result of a merger between Digital Eclipse Software (which specializes in arcade game emulation), and ImaginEngine (which specializes in children's software).

One of their first franchise projects as Backbone Entertainment was Death Jr., for the PlayStation Portable They have also produced a sequel, Death, Jr. II: Root of Evil, and a Nintendo DS version of the franchise entitled Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom. When Death Jr. was first announced, the CEO of Backbone spoke on making DJ a full-featured franchise, with comic books, a TV show, action figures, and more. Though many of these have happened since the launch of the game, the success of the franchise overall is considered by some to be hampered by the mediocre quality of the games themselves. According to Gamerankings.com [1], the average review score for the three games in the franchise is a 59% (out of 100% total), with Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom scoring the lowest overall.

In 2005 the company merged with another video game developer, The Collective, Inc. in Newport Beach, CA to form a new conglomerate, Foundation 9 Entertainment.

The Foundation 9 Entertainment conglomerate continues to use the Backbone Entertainment brand for its original titles, the Digital Eclipse brand for its arcade emulation titles, and ImaginEngine for many children's titles. This company is also known for making Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2.

They developed Bomberman Live and Shrek N' Roll for the Xbox 360, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. They also created the Halo 3 interactive bonus disc included with Collector's and Legendary versions of the game.

Games developed

Year Video Game Platform(s)
2001 Spyro: Season of Ice GameBoy Advance
2002 Spyro 2: Season of Flame GameBoy Advance
2003 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs GameBoy Advance
2004 Spider-Man 2 NGage
2004 The Incredibles: Escape from Nomanisan Island PC
2005 Rifts: Promise of Power NGage
2005 Death Jr. PSP
2006 Age of Empires: The Age of Kings Nintendo DS
2006 Charlotte's Web Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance
2006 Death Jr. II: Root of Evil PSP
2006 NBA Ballers: Rebound PSP
2006 Sonic Rivals PSP
2006 MechAssault: Phantom War Nintendo DS
2007 Bomberman Live XBLA
2007 Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom Nintendo DS
2007 Sonic the Hedgehog iPod
2007 Brooktown High PSP
2007 Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix PSN, XBLA
2007 Sonic Rivals 2 PSP
2007 Shrek n' Roll XBLA
2008 Monster Lab Wii
2008 Death Jr. II: Root of Evil Wii
2008 Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 PSN, XBLA
2008 1942: Joint Strike PSN, XBLA
2008 Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix PSN, XBLA
2009 Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection/Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection Xbox 360, PS3
2009 Rock Band Unplugged PSP
2009 Lego Rock Band DS
2009 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 PSN, XBLA

Ports

  • Space Invaders Extreme (2009) - XBLA
  • Cyberball 2072 (2007) - XBLA
  • Gyruss (2007) - XBLA
  • Paperboy (2007) - XBLA
  • Root Beer Tapper (2007) - XBLA
  • Green Beret (arcade game)|Rush 'n Attack (2007) - XBLA
  • Super Contra (2007) - XBLA
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007) - XBLA
  • Track & Field (2007) - XBLA
  • Yie Ar Kung-Fu (2007) - XBLA
  • Golden Axe (2007) - XBLA
  • Ecco the Dolphin (2007) - XBLA
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (2007) - XBLA
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2007) - XBLA
  • Streets of Rage 2 (2007) - XBLA
  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (2007) - XBLA
  • Defender (arcade game)|Defender (2006) - XBLA
  • Frogger (2006) - XBLA
  • Contra (2006) - XBLA
  • Robotron: 2084 (2006) - XBLA
  • Scramble (2006) - XBLA
  • Time Pilot (2006) - XBLA
  • Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (2006) - XBLA
  • Joust (2005) - XBLA
  • Gauntlet (2005) - XBLA
  • Smash TV (2005) - XBLA

External links