Backbone Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. The company was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between developers Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine. In 2005, Backbone merged with The Collective to form Foundation 9 Entertainment.
History Backbone Entertainment was formed in 2003 through a merger between Digital Eclipse, a developer of emulations of arcade games, and ImaginEngine, an edutainment games developer. ImaginEngine remained an independent studio, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, while Digital Eclipse's studios were absorbed by Backbone, becoming Backbone Emeryville and Backbone Vancouver, respectively. In 2004, in co-operation with the University of Hawaii, Backbone opened an office in Honolulu, Hawaii, under the lead of Backbone's chairman, Mark Loughridge. On March 29, 2005, Backbone Entertainment announced that it was merging with another developer, The Collective, to form Foundation 9 Entertainment. By this point, Backbone also operated Games2Learn, another edutainment game developer. Later in 2005, Backbone first rose to prominence with the release of Death Jr., a game for PlayStation Portable.
In February 2006, Backbone opened another subsidiary studio, Backbone Charlottetown, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, under the lead of Andrew Ayre. In May 2007, the new studio, including Ayre and several former Digital Eclipse employees, spun off from Backbone and became Other Ocean Interactive, aiming at showcasing Digital Eclipse's former traits in a smaller fashion. In September 2008, Backbone let go most people employed at its Vancouver studio, followed by a full closure of the studio in May 2009. In October 2012, Backbone laid off the majority of its Emeryville-based staff to avoid closing completely. A few days later, it was reported that ImaginEngine had shut down, leaving 25 people, including studio head Randall Sanborn, out of work.
Subsidiaries Backbone Charlottetown (2006–2007) Backbone Emeryville (2003–2015) Backbone Vancouver (2003–2009) Games2Learn ImaginEngine (2003–2012)
Games developed Year Title Platform(s) 2004 The Incredibles: Escape from Nomanisan Island Microsoft Windows 2005 Rifts: Promise of Power N-Gage Death Jr. PlayStation Portable Rayman: Hoodlums' Revenge Game Boy Advance Namco Museum 50th Anniversary GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox Smash TV Xbox 360 Gauntlet Joust 2006 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Time Pilot Scramble Robotron: 2084 Contra Frogger Defender Age of Empires: The Age of Kings Nintendo DS Charlotte's Web Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS Death Jr. II: Root of Evil PlayStation Portable, Wii NBA Ballers: Rebound PlayStation Portable Sonic Rivals MechAssault: Phantom War Nintendo DSIWL: Interstellar Wrestling LeagueMattel Hyperscan 2007 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Xbox 360 Streets of Rage 2 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Ecco the DolphinXbox 360 Golden Axe Yie Ar Kung-Fu Track & Field Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Super Contra Rush'n Attack Root Beer Tapper Paperboy Gyruss Cyberball 2072 Bomberman Live Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom Nintendo DS Sonic the Hedgehog iOS Brooktown High PlayStation Portable Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Sonic Rivals 2 PlayStation Portable Shrek n' Roll Xbox 360 Yaris 2008 Discs of Tron Monster Lab Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 1942: Joint Strike Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Tron Xbox 360 2009 Altered Beast Comix Zone Diner Dash Gunstar Heroes Military Madness: Nectaris Phantasy Star II Space Invaders Extreme Shinobi Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Sonic & Knuckles Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Nintendo DS Rock Band Unplugged PlayStation Portable Lego Rock Band Nintendo DS Marvel vs. Capcom 2 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 2010 X-Men Rock Band 3 Nintendo DS, Wii 2011 Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Sonic Generations (Emulation for Sonic the Hedgehog) Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone 2012 The Simpsons Arcade Game Dance Central 3 Xbox 360 Midway Arcade Origins PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
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