Interview Mass Media about Tetris Evolution (Xbox 360)

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Bas
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Interview Mass Media about Tetris Evolution (Xbox 360)

Post by Bas » Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:22 pm

On first tought, you might think what this has to do with CD-i, but if you know your history a little you would know Mass Media created a lot of games for CD-i, including an official Tetris game. And that's the exact thing I liked in this interview, Rob Shepherd put a few references to their original CD-i version of Tetris when talking about Tetris Evolution on the Xbox 360 (Apparently already one year old)

"RS: Mass Media, based in Moorpark, California, is the newest addition to the THQ Studio System. Previously they created the CDi Tetris game and many of the team members have a passion for Tetris and the puzzle genre. They have worked on a wide range of products in the past and are currently focused on next-gen development. We’re very excited to have them as part of the THQ Studio System, working exclusively on THQ titles now. Mass Media developed Tetris for the Compact Disc Interactive, known as CDi, the first CD-based entertainment system platform back toward the dawn of time. We’ve also accumulated a few hundred mini-games in our portfolio over the years, many of which were puzzle-based, so our puzzle roots run very deep. "

Read the interview here

A few weeks back the news arrived us that Mass Media, as part of THQ, is on the list to be closed by THQ in order to reduce costs. That would mean the end of one of the very few software companies who survived CD-i.

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Merijn
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Post by Merijn » Thu Nov 27, 2008 2:51 am

Wow.. so Mass Media is closed now? One thing I never fully knew, was Philips POV (which became Mass Media) originally the old Cinemaware, or was it just some people from Cinemaware who went on to work for philips POV?

Too bad though, they have been part of a big part of videogame history, going back to the old Amiga days with classics as Defender of the Crown, Wings, it came from the desert.. sad!

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Post by Bas » Thu Nov 27, 2008 8:15 am

The latest press release said Mass Media was 'on the list' to be closed. So whether it has already happened, I don't know.

Philips didn't buy Cinemaware at the time, as far as I know. Cinemaware went bankrupt in 1991, so maybe Philips took the leftovers and started POV? The guy I spoke at POV worked at Cinemaware, however.

Moreover, on the back of Defender of the Crown Cinemaware is explicitly named, along with POV, so it can't be the same company...

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Merijn
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Post by Merijn » Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:36 pm

I think I read they were already closed :-(
I did find cinemaware again though, some company bought the rights to their name a few years ago, and they're re-releasing old titles.. cool.. in a way!

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