Predecessors (1982–1993) MCA, parent of
Universal Pictures, initially licensed video games directly as merchandise. In 1982, MCA licensed its film
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to
Atari, securing a deal worth after negotiations with
Steven Spielberg and MCA president
Sidney Sheinberg. The agreement, finalized in late July 1982, pressured Atari to rush development under programmer
Howard Scott Warshaw, who had just five weeks to create the
Atari 2600 title ahead of the Christmas release tied to the film's success. The resulting game was one of the
biggest commercial failures in video game history, with Atari
burying millions of unsold cartridges in a New Mexico landfill in 1983. In 1985, MCA acquired toy manufacturer
LJN for about , initially purchasing 63% in a stock exchange valued at before completing the deal. Under MCA's ownership, LJN expanded into video game publishing in 1987, with notable releases including
Friday the 13th (1989) and
Back to the Future (1989). By 1990, amid financial losses at LJN, MCA announced the sale of the unit to
Acclaim Entertainment for an undisclosed sum involving cash and stock, taking a charge against earnings; this occurred shortly before Matsushita Electric (now
Panasonic) acquired MCA itself in November 1990 for . In early 1993, Matsushita partnered with
The 3DO Company, with MCA/Universal committing as an equity investor and software provider for the
3DO platform, unveiled at the
Consumer Electronics Show to explore multimedia entertainment.
Universal Interactive Studios (1994–1999) Universal Interactive Studios was founded on January 4, 1994 as a subsidiary of MCA, with Charles "Skip" Paul serving as executive vice president and head of the new division, and Robert Biniaz appointed as chief operating officer. On February 10, MCA acquired a minority stake in
Interplay Productions, which would publish
Disruptor outside of North America, and later enter into a distribution deal with successor Vivendi Universal Games. The company's first titles in mid-1994 were
Jurassic Park Interactive, developed by Studio 3DO and initially announced in 1993; and
Way of the Warrior, developed by
Naughty Dog. Universal contracted with Naughty Dog and
Insomniac Games to develop games utilizing the facilities at
Universal City, under vice president
Mark Cerny. They respectively released
Crash Bandicoot in 1996 and
Spyro the Dragon in 1998, under publishing arrangements with
Sony Computer Entertainment. Starting in 1995, with the purchase of MCA by Canadian beverage company
Seagram, Universal Studios was reorganized. By 1998, the Interactive Studios division was brought under the Universal Studios New Media Group, led by Paul Rioux. In July 2000, UIS announced one of their first
PlayStation 2 projects, a tie-in to the then-upcoming
The Mummy Returns, which would release near the time of the movie.
Partnership with Konami On December 16, 1999, Universal Interactive Studios and
Konami announced a global strategic alliance. The deal would allow Konami to distribute and market titles from UIS that were based on existing Universal Studios properties, with franchises part of the deal including
The Mummy,
Universal Studios Monsters, ''
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Woody Woodpecker''. The deal expanded further on April 27, allowing Konami to publish and market more titles. The four PlayStation titles released as part of this partnership were announced at
E3 2000 by Konami:
Woody Woodpecker Racing,
The Grinch,
The Mummy and
Monster Force. In September, the deal was expanded further to include three brand new next-gen titles:
The Thing, a sequel to the
1982 movie of the same name for the
Xbox, as well as separate titles for the
Game Boy Color and
Game Boy Advance, a tie-in game to the then-upcoming
Jurassic Park 3, and an upcoming
Crash Bandicoot title.
Vivendi merger (2000–2002) In July 2000,
Seagram merged Universal Studios with
Vivendi. After the merger closed, UIS was transitioned to Vivendi's
Havas Interactive division and was eventually downgraded to a publishing label of the now-named Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing. At UIS' first E3 under their new owners in 2001, the company signed an exclusive worldwide partnership with
Microsoft to publish titles based on
Bruce Lee exclusively for the Xbox, with the first being
Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon. No release window was announced for the title. Other announced titles at the event included the first
Spyro title for a non-PlayStation system:
Spyro: Season of Ice for the Game Boy Advance. Previously announced titles
The Mummy Returns and
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex were also showcased. On August 13, UIS announced the first
Crash Bandicoot title for a non-PlayStation system:
Crash Bandicoot XS for the Game Boy Advance (later renamed to
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure for North America), and would be released for an early 2002 release window. Near the end of the year, Universal Interactive Studios' name was shortened to simply Universal Interactive. On January 17, the company announced to publish two titles based on
The Scorpion King:
Rise of the Akkadian for the
GameCube and
Sword of Osiris for the Game Boy Advance. Also on January 17, Universal Interactive announced a deal with
Marvel to publish video games based on
The Incredible Hulk. On January 31, an Xbox version of
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was announced by the company for a Q1 2002 release window. During Vivendi Universal Games' first Game Faire on February 19, 2002, Universal Interactive showcased twelve titles: which featured previously announced titles
Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon (which was announced to be released within the third quarter of 2002),
The Scorpion King: Sword of Osiris,
The Thing, and both
The Scorpion King titles (with a PS2 version announced) and newly announced titles such as
Jurassic Park: Project Genesis for a Q4 2002 window on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC,
Spyro: Season of Flame for Game Boy Advance for Q3 2002, and
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly for the PlayStation 2 for a Q4 2002 release, and
Monster Force for Game Boy Advance for Q3 2002. The already-announced
Lord of the Rings titles for the Xbox and Game Boy Advance were also transferred over from VU's
Sierra Entertainment subsidiary to Universal. Before E3 2002 on May 7, Universal Interactive announced a GameCube port of
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for a Q3 2002 release. On June 11, Universal Interactive announced plans to publish titles based on
The Hulk, with
one for consoles and PCs, and
another for the Game Boy Advance. On July 9, the company's GameCube portfolio expanded with the announcements of a GCN port of
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, and the acquisition of
4x4 Evo 2 within an unknown time frame. In August 2002, Vivendi Universal Games announced that
The Thing and
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring were transferred over from Universal Interactive to the newly formed
Black Label Games label, which would be aimed for more mature titles. Near the summer, another Game Boy Advance
Crash Bandicoot title was announced:
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced.
Under Vivendi Universal Games (2003–2006) On January 28, a Bruce Lee title for the Game Boy Advance titled
Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend was announced. On April 24, Universal Interactive's parent company announced their plans for E3 2003, and announced several new titles to be released under the Universal Interactive label:
Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs for the Game Boy Advance,
Battlestar Galactica for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox,
Crash Nitro Kart for consoles and Game Boy Advance, and
The Fast and the Furious for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox which ultimately never released. By 2004, the Universal Interactive brand was effectively phased out, with publishing consolidated directly under Vivendi Universal Games, though the copyright persisted on select titles. Intellectual property management for flagship franchises like
Crash Bandicoot and
Spyro shifted to
Sierra Entertainment, a Vivendi subsidiary. On March 3, 2006, Vivendi Universal announced that, as a result of divesting Universal Studios to
General Electric, it and several of its divisions, including Vivendi Universal Games, would cease using the "Universal" name and would simply become Vivendi, with Vivendi Universal Games becoming Vivendi Games. == Games ==