Atomic Planet Entertainment is a video games development studio founded in 2000 by industry veterans Darren and Jason Falcus. Previously the brothers had managed Acclaim Studios Teesside, which was formed by the takeover of Iguana UK. At the start of their career, they had formed and run Optimus Software Ltd. This article is about the year 2000. ... Darren Falcus has been a creator of video games from the age of 14, and had his first game published in 1983 (Castle of Doom, Dragon 32). ... Acclaim Studios Teesside (AST) was formerly known as Iguana UK (the British half of Iguana Entertainment) and was acquired by Acclaim Entertainment in 1995. ... Iguana UK was the UK branch of Austin, Texas based video games developer Iguana Entertainment. ... Optimus Software Ltd was a small video games development company based in North-East England. ...

Atomic Planet Entertainment - commonly referred to as APE - is based in central Middlesbrough in Corporation Road's Multimedia Exchange building.

APE started out by producing the company's first smash hit in the form of Dino Island for Orange mobile phone systems. Before long APE was hired by publishing giant Code Masters to develop its Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, released in 2002. The game received little praise by reviewers (rated 2.6 on IGN.com, 2.5 by Gamespot and, strangely, over 90% by BBC Sport online) and it came at a time when the popularity of the boxer dropped drastically. These two factors left the game with a very short lifespan. Dino Island is a PC economic strategy game developed and published by Monte Cristo. ... Orange SA [IPA: ɔʀɑ̃ʒ] is a mobile phone operator and an internet service provider that is a subsidiary of France Télécom. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) ) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft. ...

In 2003, APE developed some budget games for the PSone console including Trickshot for Phoenix Games and the virtually unplayable dance mat game Superstar Dance Club for Take 2 Interactive. It has been suggested that PlayStation be merged into this article or section. ... Superstar Dance Hits is a game created by XS Games. ... Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ...

A series of titles for the Game Boy Advance system followed. Already gaining plenty of interest due to the industry contacts of the Falcus brothers, the studio progressed with titles for high-profile clients, including a port of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for Capcom, and Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown for Cinemaware, both in 2003. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, or more casually known as Puzzle Fighter, is a 1-to-2 player puzzle game that was first released in Japan in the spring of 1996 by Capcom on the CPS-2 arcade system. ... Capcom ) TYO: 9697 is a leading Japanese developer and publisher of video games. ... Cinemawares first release in 1986, Defender of the Crown, redefined computer game graphic quality of the era and secured its reputation as a developer of graphically superior games in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

2004 saw the start of a major growth in the studio, with staff numbers hitting almost 70. At this point titles in development included Jackie Chan Adventures on PS2 for Sony Europe, the poorly-received Miami Vice on PS2, Xbox and PC for Davilex, Guy Game on PS2 for Take 2 Interactive, Game Trak: Dark Wind for In2Games, and the company's biggest hit to date, the Mega Man Anniversary Collection on PS2, GameCube and Xbox. Jackie Chan Adventures was a successful childrens animated television series chronicling the adventures of a fictionalized version of action film star Jackie Chan. ... Miami Vice was a popular television series (five seasons on NBC from 1984-1989) starring Don Johnson (James Sonny Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (Ricardo Rico Tubbs) as two Miami police detectives working undercover. ... Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ... Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a compilation of ten video games featuring Capcoms hero Mega Man. ... The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally code-named Dolphin during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the 128-bit era; the same generation as Segas Dreamcast, Sonys PlayStation 2, and Microsofts Xbox. ...

Following this record period, the studio settled for a slower pace in 2005, producing a number of first-person shooter titles for publisher Midas Interactive. The biggest hit of the year came with Taito Legends, published by Empire Interactive, which saw the studio's experienced veterans reworking some video games classics for the current consoles. Midas Interactive Entertainment is a European publisher of computer, PDA, mobile phone and video games. ... Taito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. ... Empire Interactive is a UK based video game company. ...

2006 started with Atomic Planet once again looking for expansion. New staff arrived, and games for new systems in the form of Sony's PSP and Microsoft's Xbox 360 are on the horizon. The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in co-operation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information...

Games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment

2000 DinoIsland (Mobile)
2002 Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing (PS2, Xbox)
2002 Aero The Acro-Bat (GBA)
2003 Zapper (GBA)
2003 Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (GBA)
2003 Superstar Dance Club (PSone)
2003 Trickshot (PSone)
2003 Sennari Darts (Mobile)
2003 Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown (Xbox, PC)
2004 Mega Man Anniversary Collection (PS2, GameCube, Xbox)
2004 The Guy Game (PS2)
2004 Jackie Chan Adventures (PS2)
2004 Gametrak: Dark Wind (PS2 with Gametrak Controller)
2004 Miami Vice (PS2, Xbox, PC)
2005 10 Pin: Champions Alley (PS2)
2005 Ultimate Pro Pinball (PS2, Xbox)
2005 Stealth Force (PS2)
2005 Perfect Ace 2 (PS2, PC)
2005 Taito Legends (PS2, Xbox, PC)
2005 Red Baron (PS2, PC)
2005 SAS Anti-Terror Force (PS2, PC)
2005 WWII: Soldier (PS2)
2006 Daemon Summoner (PS2)
2006 Taito Legends 2 (PS2, Xbox, PC)
Zapper is an adventure game for the Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Sony Playstation 2 consoles as well as for PC. The game was developed by Blitz Games and published by Infogrames. ... Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, or more casually known as Puzzle Fighter, is a 1-to-2 player puzzle game that was first released in Japan in the spring of 1996 by Capcom on the CPS-2 arcade system. ... Superstar Dance Hits is a game created by XS Games. ... Defender of the Crown is a strategy computer game by Cinemaware, and designed by Kellyn Beck. ... Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a compilation of ten video games featuring Capcoms hero Mega Man. ... The Guy Game is an adult video game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. Presented in a trivia gameshow style supporting up to four players, it consists of 20 episodes containing about 1000 questions. ... Jackie Chan Adventures was a successful childrens animated television series chronicling the adventures of a fictionalized version of action film star Jackie Chan. ... Gametrak Gametrak is a 3-dimensional input device, designed for use with videogames systems. ... Miami Vice was a popular television series (five seasons on NBC from 1984-1989) starring Don Johnson (James Sonny Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (Ricardo Rico Tubbs) as two Miami police detectives working undercover. ... Taito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. ...

External link

• Official website