Backbone Entertainment

Backbone Entertainment

Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Digital Eclipse, ImaginEngine
Founded	2003
Defunct	2015
Fate	Merged with The Collective to form Foundation 9 Entertainment (2005); later closed
Headquarters	Emeryville, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Video games (including Death Jr., Namco Museum 50th Anniversary, Sonic Rivals)

Backbone Entertainment was a video game development company located in Emeryville, California, United States. Established in 2003 through the consolidation of Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine, Backbone combined forces with The Collective in 2005, resulting in the creation of Foundation 9 Entertainment.

History

Backbone Entertainment emerged in 2003 when Digital Eclipse, recognized for its work on arcade game emulation, merged with ImaginEngine, a developer specializing in edutainment. While ImaginEngine continued to operate independently out of Framingham, Massachusetts, Digital Eclipse’s facilities were rebranded as Backbone Emeryville and Backbone Vancouver. In 2004, the company broadened its reach by inaugurating a branch in Honolulu, Hawaii, partnering with the University of Hawaii under the leadership of chairman Mark Loughridge.

On March 29, 2005, Backbone revealed its merger with The Collective, forming Foundation 9 Entertainment. At this point, Backbone also oversaw Games2Learn, another studio dedicated to edutainment. The company gained prominence with the launch of Death Jr. for the PlayStation Portable in 2005.

In February 2006, Backbone established a new division in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, headed by Andrew Ayre. This branch was later spun off as Other Ocean Interactive in May 2007, continuing Digital Eclipse’s heritage on a smaller scale. The Vancouver studio experienced major downsizing in September 2008 and ultimately closed its doors in May 2009.

Due to financial difficulties, Backbone conducted significant layoffs at its Emeryville headquarters in October 2012 to avoid shutting down entirely. Shortly thereafter, ImaginEngine ceased operations, leading to the dismissal of 25 employees including studio director Randall Sanborn.

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
	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 DS
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 Dolphin	Xbox 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		Xbox 360
	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	Xbox 360
Discs of Tron	Xbox 360
Monster Lab	Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
1942: Joint Strike	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Tron	Xbox 360
Altered Beast	Xbox 360
Comix Zone	Xbox 360
Diner Dash	Xbox 360
Gunstar Heroes	Xbox 360
Military Madness: Nectaris	Xbox 360
Phantasy Star II	Xbox 360
Space Invaders Extreme	Xbox 360
Shinobi (arcade game)	Xbox 360
Sonic the Hedgehog 3	Xbox 360
Sonic & Knuckles	Xbox 360
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (video game)	Nintendo DS
Rock Band Unplugged	PlayStation Portable
Lego Rock Band	Nintendo DS
Marvel vs. Capcom 2' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '
2010' '	X-Men' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '
Rock Band 3' '	Nintendo DS, Wii' '
2011' '	Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '
Sonic Generations' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '
Zombie Apocalypse: Never Die Alone' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '
2012' '	The Simpsons Arcade Game' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '
Dance Central 3' '	Xbox 360' '
Midway Arcade Origins' '	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360' '