| Interplay |
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| companies established in 1983 | |
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Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American Video Game and Computer Game Publisher and Developer . It has been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy since mid- 2004 . HISTORY The company was cofounded as "Interplay Productions" in Southern California in 1983 by Christopher Wells, Special Projects Manager, Educational Technology Center UC Irvine Information Computer Sciences Department with Brian Fargo, Fantasy & Role Playing Game Designer / Producer, Newport Beach, California and Iota & Associates, Dr Owen & Irene Thomas, Laguna Beach, California . Its original staff came from former employees of a small Video Game Developer called Boone Corporation . Interplay made a name for itself as a quality computer game developer with the Role-playing Games '' The Bard's Tale '' and '' Wasteland '', which were published by Electronic Arts . Interplay started publishing its own games, starting with '' Neuromancer '' and '' Battle Chess '', in 1988 , and then moved on to publish and distribute games from other companies, while continuing internal game development. In 1993 , Interplay published the hit game '' Descent '', developed by startup Parallax Software . The company also published a number of licensed '''', was in development in the late 1990s , with a script written by ''Star Trek'' writer Dorothy Fontana ; however this title was never completed. In 1997 , Interplay released and developed '' Fallout '', a successful and critically-acclaimed Role-playing Game set in a retro-futuristic post-apocalyptic setting which was followed by a sequel, ''Fallout 2''. The most successful subsequent Interplay franchise was probably '' Baldur's Gate '', a '' Dungeons & Dragons '' game that was developed by BioWare and published by Interplay's Black Isle Studios branch and spawned a successful sequel and several expansion packs. Over the years, Interplay's most successful titles were '', but Interplay was never quite able to establish a long-lasting console franchise. Interplay attempted to get several of its games made into movies, notably ''Descent'', ''Redneck Rampage'' and ''Fallout'', but no such movies were ever made. Interplay went public, with shares sold on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, in 1998 , changing its name to "Interplay Entertainment Corp." The company then reported several years of losses. In 2002 , Interplay shed most of its publisher functions and signed a long-term agreement by which Vivendi Universal would publish Interplay's games. Immediately afterwards, French publisher Titus Interactive completed its acquisition of majority control of the company, and founder Brian Fargo departed. Later in 2002, Interplay's shares were delisted from the NASDAQ due to the company's low share price. In 2004 , the company was given an Eviction notice by its Landlord for non-payment of rent, and was briefly shut down by the California government for non-payment of workers' paychecks. This, combined with sketchy and sporadic information from Interplay representatives, led many in the game industry to speculate that Interplay had shut down. In fact, the company relocated to a small office and continued to operate, issuing occasional press releases about new publishing deals or the sale of an IP to another publisher. The company's Web Site shut down around this time. In Summer 2005 , the Interplay website re-launched with a logo and three links: "About Interplay", "SEC Filings/Financial", "Investor Relations". In Interplay's 10-K is currently accepting new offers for the licensing of its MMO-RTS technology as well as its almost finished game. In Interplay's latest 10-Q SEC filing made on June 21 2005 , it was revealed that under "Commitments and Contingencies" that Interplay Productions has multiple legal proceedings filed against them. Of interest is that Interplay received a notice from the IRS stating that they owe approximately USD$ 117,000 in payroll tax penalties and that Interplay was fined by the California Labor Board $10,000 for failure to meet payroll obligations and that an August 2005 trial date was set, and that Interplay's "general liability, auto, fiduciary liability, workers compensation and employment practices liability, have been cancelled, however Interplay has entered into a new workers compensation insurance plan, Interplay is appealing a separate California Board of Labor fine of $79,000 for having lost their workers compensation plan for a period of time". Under "Contractual Obligations" it is revealed that Interplay does not have a headquarters at present because Interplay, in 2004, forfeited its lease and vacated its office space in Irvine, California . (Source: Interplay's current 10-Q filing ) NOTABLE TITLES
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