Cinemaware was an American video game company founded by talent agent Bob Jacob, aimed at creating games that would mix arcade-style action with cinematic storytelling. The company was originally incorporated around 1985 as Master Designer Software, and contracted out the development of its earliest games, which were branded as "Cinemaware Interactive Movies." The company soon changed its name to Cinemaware Corporation, and began to develop games internally. Most of Cinemaware's games originated on the Amiga, though conversions for other computers usually followed. Cinemaware also distributed a number of European computer games under the Spotlight Software label.
With the advent of the CD-ROM, Cinemaware saw in CD-based games the future of the movie-like games it wanted to make, and began to remake its old titles with fully voiced characters and Full Motion Video clips. Unfortunately, this proved to be the company's downfall, and after Cinemaware Corporation went bankrupt in 1991, their planned releases for the TurboGrafx-16, Commodore CDTV and Philips CD-i were picked up by other publishers. Bob Jacob then moved to the UK to found Acme Interactive, a company which developed mostly unambitious console games and went through several owners and names (including Malibu Interactive and Padded Cell Studios); this new company also developed a sequel to Wings.
The company was resurrected in 2000 as Cinemaware, Inc., and produced remakes of several old Cinemaware games. This new company was acquired in 2005 by eGames, Inc., which published a number of independently-developed games under the Cinemaware Marquee label.
Games developed and/or published by Cinemaware Corporation:
- 3 in Three
- Defender of the Crown
- Disney Cartoon Arcade
- It Came from the Desert (1989)
- It Came from the Desert (1992)
- The King of Chicago
- The Kristal
- Lords of the Rising Sun
- Rocket Ranger
- S.D.I. (not to be confused with the Sega game)
- Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon
- The Three Stooges
- Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
- TV Sports series
- Wings
Games published in the U.S. by Spotlight Software:
- Air Strike USA
- Dark Side
- Death Bringer
- Dragon Lord
- FOFT: Federation of Free Traders
- Onslaught
- Speedball
- Stormlord
- Total Eclipse
Games published under the Cinemaware Marquee label:
- Buccaneer's Bounty
- Darwinia
- Moscow to Berlin: Red Siege
- Neighbors from Hell: On Vacation
- Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators
