Titus Interactive

Titus Interactive SA
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Titus France SA
Founded	1985; 41 years ago
Founder	Eric Caen, Hervé Caen
Defunct	January 9, 2005
Fate	Bankrupt; assets transferred to Interplay
Successor	Interplay Entertainment
Headquarters	Lagny-sur-Marne, France
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Eric Caen, Hervé Caen
Products	Video games

Titus Interactive SA, previously called Titus France SA until March 1999, was a French company specializing in the development and publishing of video games for various platforms. Its main office was situated in Parc de l'Esplanade, Lagny-sur-Marne, within the Greater Paris area. Before relocating there, the company operated out of Montfermeil, also in the same region.

The company's emblematic character was Titus, featured as the lead in Titus the Fox.

Establishment and initial phase

The enterprise was founded in 1985 by siblings Eric Caen and Hervé Caen. Titus grew through strategic acquisitions, notably purchasing Palace Software, the gaming branch of the Palace Group, in 1991. Later on, in 1998, it expanded its development resources by acquiring BlueSky Software and Digital Integration Ltd.

Collaborations with Interplay Entertainment and distribution partnerships (1999–2002)

Towards the end of 1999, Titus acquired equity stakes in the financially troubled publisher Interplay Entertainment, which included shares in the publisher and distributor Virgin Interactive.

In subsequent years, Titus secured distribution agreements across North America with smaller publishers: Cryo Interactive in March 2000, Rage Software in September 2000, and Microids in May 2001. Additionally, in 2002, Titus Japan K.K. entered into a comparable distribution contract with Konami targeting the Japanese market.

In August 2000, Titus joined forces with Viacom Consumer Products to release titles based on the Top Gun franchise.

By August 2001, Titus had assumed control over Interplay. Prior to this acquisition, Titus had already taken on distribution responsibilities for its own products as well as those from Virgin within North America.

Company dissolution

In June 2004, Titus filed for bankruptcy protection, casting doubt on Interplay's continuity. On January 9, 2005, a French commercial court officially declared Titus bankrupt with outstanding debts amounting to €33 million (US$43.8 million). Following this ruling, Titus’ French subsidiaries were shut down and their assets were transferred to Interplay.

Games

Titus initially focused on producing games for home computer systems such as the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and IBM PC compatible machines before branching out into console markets including the Master System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and later systems like the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.

Among notable titles developed or published by Titus are Virtual Kasparov, Automobili Lamborghini, Virtual Chess 64, Roadsters (for Nintendo 64), Incredible Crisis (created by Polygon Magic), Prehistorik Man, and Lamborghini American Challenge. Many of these received favorable critical reception. Conversely, certain games such as Superman for Nintendo 64 gained notoriety due to subpar quality; GameTrailers ranked it among the worst games ever made. As of 2018, it holds a low rating of 23% on GameRankings. Similarly, the 2003 release RoboCop was met with negative critiques; GameSpot awarded it a score of 2.2/10 citing numerous significant flaws.

... [Table continues listing titles through early 2000s] %}

Subsidiaries

To enhance its international reach, Titus maintained multiple subsidiaries. Its American division, known as Titus Software Corporation, was situated in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. The company's Japanese branch, Titus Japan K.K., operated out of the Kotubuki Dogenzaka Building in Shibuya, Tokyo. Meanwhile, the UK-based subsidiary, Titus Software UK Limited, had its headquarters in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.

External links

Titus Interactive (Archive)
Titus Games (Archive)

Year	Title	Developer(s)
1988	Crazy Cars
	Fire and Forget
	Galactic Conqueror
	Off Shore Warrior
1989	Crazy Cars 2
	Titan
	Knight Force
1990	Crime Does not Pay
	Dark Century
	Dick Tracy
	Fire & Forget II
	Un Indien dans la ville (US: Little Indian: An Indian in the City)	TF1 Video
	Wild Streets
1991	The Blues Brothers
1991	Prehistorik
1992	Battlestorm
	Crazy Cars 3
	Titus the Fox (also known as Moktar)
1993	Ardy Lightfoot	ASCII Corporation
	The Blues Brothers: Jukebox Adventure
	Prehistorik 2
	Super Cauldron
1994	Monster Max
	Lamborghini American Challenge
	Quik the Thunder Rabbit
1995	Virtua Chess
1996	Metal Rage
	The Brainies
	Incantation
	Oscar (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
	Power Piggs of the Dark Age
	Prehistorik Man
	Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (Super NES)
	Realm