Bit Managers, formerly known as New Frontier, was a video game developer based in Barcelona (Spain). It was co-founded by Alberto Jose González, who composed the music for all of their games except Bang!, a coin-operated arcade machine.[1]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1988 (as "New Frontier") |
| Founder | Alberto Jose González (co-founder) |
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Fate | Bought by Virtual Toys |
| Headquarters | Barcelona, Spain |
History edit
The company was founded in 1988 as "New Frontier", initially programming games for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and MSX computer systems. The company at first met with only modest success. In 1992, the company changed its name to Bit Managers and began to make games for Nintendo consoles (especially for Game Boy). It focused on creating innovative games based on Franco-Belgian comics such as Asterix, The Smurfs or The Adventures of Tintin for a client company, Infogrames.
In 1997, Bit Managers was chosen by Acclaim Entertainment to develop some games of the Turok series for Game Boy. In 1998, the year of the launch of Game Boy Color, Bit Managers was the first third-party developer to finish two Game Boy Color titles (Turok 2 and Sylvester & Tweety).
That same year, the company was bought by a Spanish arcade video gaming company Gaelco. Bit Managers also ported the Gaelco arcade game Radikal Bikers to PlayStation shortly afterward.
In 2001, the former principals of Bit Managers re-purchased the company. Bit Managers continued their relationship with Infogrames, developing several games for Game Boy Advance.
In 2005, the Spanish video game company Virtual Toys, bought Bit Managers. That business relationship continues and Bit Managers is a subsidiary of Virtual Toys Barcelona.[2]
Games edit
| Title | Console | Publisher | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Morning Adventure | Game Boy Advance | Virtual Toys | Summer 2003 |
| Inspector Gadget Racing | Game Boy Advance | LSP | Christmas 2002 |
| The Revenge of the Smurfs | Game Boy Advance | Infogrames | Autumn 2002 |
| Droopy's Tennis Open | Game Boy Advance | LSP | Summer 2002 |
| Asterix & Obelix: Bash Them All! | Game Boy Advance | Infogrames | February 2002 |
| Baby Felix Halloween | Game Boy Color | LSP | Christmas 2001 |
| Tintin in Tibet | Game Boy Color | Infogrames | Spring 2001 |
| Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun | Game Boy Color | Infogrames | Christmas 2000 |
| Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion | Game Boy Color | Acclaim | Summer 2000 |
| UEFA 2000 | Game Boy Color | Infogrames | Summer 2000 |
| Radikal Bikers | PlayStation | Infogrames | Summer 2000 |
| Ronaldo V-Football (Ronaldo V-Soccer in the USA) | Game Boy Color - B/W | Infogrames | 2001, January 1, 2002 (USA) |
| Turok: Rage Wars | Game Boy Color | Acclaim | 2000 |
| Die-Maus | Game Boy Color | Infogrames | Autumn 1999 |
| Asterix & Obelix | Game Boy Color | Infogrames | Summer 1999 |
| Hugo 2½ | Game Boy Color - B/W | Infogrames | Summer 1999 |
| Turok 2: Seeds of Evil | Game Boy Color - B/W | Acclaim | Christmas 1998 |
| Sylvester & Tweety: Breakfast on the Run (Looney Tunes: Twouble! in the USA) | Game Boy Color - B/W | Infogrames | Christmas 1998 |
| Ottifanten | Game Boy | Infogrames | Autumn 1998 |
| Sea Battle | Game Boy | Infogrames | Autumn 1998 |
| Bang! | Coin-op | Gaelco | Spring 1998 |
| Die-Maus | Game Boy | Infogrames | Spring 1998 |
| Turok: Battle of the Bionosaurs | Game Boy | Acclaim | Christmas 1997 |
| Hugo 2 | Game Boy | Laguna | Christmas 1997 |
| Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun | Game Boy | Infogrames | Spring 1997 |
| Spirou | Game Gear | Infogrames | Unpublished (1996 copyright date) |
| Spirou | Game Boy | Infogrames | Christmas 1996 |
| Tintin in Tibet | Game Gear | Infogrames | Autumn 1996 |
| Tintin in Tibet | Game Boy | Infogrames | Summer 1996 |
| Asterix & Obelix | Super NES | Infogrames | Christmas 1995 |
| Asterix & Obelix | Game Boy | Infogrames | Summer 1995 |
| The Smurfs | Master System | Infogrames | Christmas 1994 |
| The Smurfs | Game Gear | Infogrames | Christmas 1994 |
| The Smurfs | NES | Infogrames | Autumn 1994 |
| The Smurfs | Game Boy | Infogrames | Summer 1994, 1998 (USA) |
| Metal Masters | Game Boy | Electro Brain | Christmas 1993 |
| Asterix | NES | Infogrames | Autumn 1993 |
| Asterix | Game Boy | Infogrames | Summer 1993 |
| Bomb Jack | Game Boy | Infogrames | Summer 1992 |
| Pop Up (Cool Ball in the USA) | Game Boy | Infogrames, Takara (USA) | Spring 1992, August 1994 (USA) |
| Mystical | Spectrum | Infogrames | Autumn 1991 |
| The Light Corridor | Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX | Infogrames | Summer 1991 |
| North & South | Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX | Infogrames | Christmas 1990 |
| Hostages | Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX | Infogrames | Spring 1990 |
| Magic Johnson Basketball | Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX | Zafiro | Spring 1990 |
| Time Out | Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX | Zafiro | Christmas 1988 |
Bang! edit
Bang! is a wild west shoot 'em up game created for the Gaelco GG-1v machine, and released by Gaelco in 1998.[3] It featured cartoon graphics; single-player and 2-player modes, and offered the use of a light gun and control button inputs.[4][5]
References edit
- ^ Interview with Alberto González; Good vs Evil net; retrieved .
- ^ "Press Start!" (PDF). Retro Maniac. May 2012. pp. 20–21. Retrieved January 21, 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Bang! at the Killer List of Videogames
- ^ Note: The rules are the same as Point Blank: the player starts up with three lives, with a goal to complete each stage by reaching the requested quota of hits (or points). If the player fails; gets hit by a bandit; or shoots the wrong target; they lose a life.
- ^ Bang!; at Arcade History; retrieved .