Mattel Interactive (Known as Mattel Media until 1999) was a video game publisher and software distributor.
History Mattel originally founded the company as Mattel Media in February 1996, as an aim to expand into the multimedia unit by producing CD-ROM titles based on Mattel franchises like Hot Wheels, Barbie, Fisher-Price and Polly Pocket. The company's first releases came out in the Fall of 1996, with the company's Barbie Fashion Designer program was the first commercially successful video game made for girls.
With the success of their first wave of products, Mattel Media then set on producing CD-ROM based interactive material for toys such as the Talk with Me! Barbie.
Mattel Media later expanded to video games soon after, publishing titles like Hot Wheels Stunt Track Driver.
In the fall of 1998, Mattel agreed to acquire The Learning Company in a stock-for-stock merger valuing the company at approximately $4.2 billion. With the merger, Mattel themselves laid off 3,000 employees.
Mattel sold both Mattel Interactive and The Learning Company in 2000 at a loss to Gores Technology Group. The total financial losses to Mattel have been estimated to be as high as $3.6 billion. Mattel's acquisition of The Learning Company has been referred to as "one of the worst acquisitions of all time" by several prominent business journals.
In February 2001, Mattel signed a publishing and distribution deal with THQ for the Hot Wheels and Matchbox licenses, and Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing for other major licenses including Diva Starz, Fisher-Price and Barbie. That same month, THQ also acquired Mattel's computer rights to Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants and Rocket Power and Mattel's console and computer rights to The Wild Thornberrys and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
In 2000, the ex-Learning Company and Mattel assets acquired by Gores were split up into three divisions - GAME Studios for video games, The Learning Company for educational software and Broderbund for home software. GAME Studios' was sold to Ubi Soft in March 2001, taking all of the gaming assets formerly held by The Learning Company. The Learning Company itself was acquired by Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited in September 2001 and later acquired all of Broderbund in August 2002.
Games Title Platform(s) Developer(s) Year(s) Barbie Fashion Designer Microsoft Windows Digital Domain 1996 Mac OS Mother Goose's Farm Microsoft Windows Albataion Software Magic Fairy Tales: Barbie as Rapunzel Microsoft Windows Media Station 1997 Mac OS Clueless CD-ROM Microsoft Windows Girl Games Mac OS Barbie Magic Hair Styler Microsoft Windows EAI Interactive Hot Wheels Stunt Track Driver Semi Logic Entertainments 1998 Game Boy Color Lucky Chicken Games 2000 Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper Microsoft Windows Gorilla Systems Corporation 1998 My Interactive Pooh Barbie Riding Club Human Code The Rugrats Mystery Adventures Microsoft Windows KnowWare 1999 Mac OS Magna Doodle Microsoft Windows Stunt Puppy Entertainment Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus:The CD-ROM Game Random Games Nick Click Gorilla Systems Corporation Nickelodeon BrainBender Human Code Presage Studio Detective Barbie 2: The Vacation Mystery Gorilla Systems Corporation The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Children's Television Workshop Create and Draw in Elmo's World Sesame Street Music Maker Barbie Generation Girl: Gotta Groove Stunt Puppy Entertainment Barbie as Sleeping Beauty Gorilla Systems Corporation Pokémon Project Studio Leisure Concepts Barbie Race and Ride PlayStation Runecraft Barbie Super Sports PlayStation Microsoft Windows Uno HotGen Uno Game Boy Color Matchbox Construction Zone Microsoft Windows Prolific Game Boy Color Realtime Associates 2000 Rat Attack Nintendo 64 Pure Entertainment PokéROM Microsoft Windows Basis Applied Technology Elmo's Deep Sea Adventure Sesame Workshop The Wild Thornberrys: Rambler Human Code Game Boy Color Vicarious Visions Tyco RC: Assault with a Battery PlayStation Lucky Chicken Games Rugrats: Totally Angelica Bordom Busters Microsoft Windows KnowWonder Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise PlayStation Runecraft Arthur! Ready to Race The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventures KnowWonder Barbie: Magic Genie Adventure Game Boy Color Vicarious Visions Tyco R/C Racin' Ratz KnowWonder Chessmaster 8000 Microsoft Windows Mattel Interactive Sega Rally 2 Sega AM Annex Championship Surfer Microsoft Windows Krome Studios PlayStation Dreamcast Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots Arena PlayStation Paradox Development Max Steel: Covert Missions Dreamcast Treyarch Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights Avalanche Software
References