American Laser Games

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Company Type Publisher
Founded Late 1980's
Status Ceased late 90's, sold to Her Interactive
Head Quarters Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Website http://algames.com

3DO Games

Game Region Code Type Developer Publisher Release Date Local Title Rarity
Crime Patrol
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games 1993 1
Drug Wars
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games 1994 1
Gunslinger Collection
Compilation American Laser Games American Laser Games 1995 1
Last Bounty Hunter, The
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games Novemeber 1995 1
Mad Dog McCree
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games 1994 1
Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games 1994 1
Mazer
Run and gun American Laser Games American Laser Games July 31, 1995 1
Space Pirates
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games 1994 1
Who Shot Johnny Rock?
Interactive movie, Light gun shooter American Laser Games American Laser Games 1994 1

Unreleased 3DO Games

Game Region Type Publisher
BattleTech
Mech Warrior Activision
Planetfall
???? Activision
Return to Zork
Adventure Activision
Spycraft The Great Game
???? Activision
Zork Nemesis
Adventure Activision

Unreleased M2 Games

Game Region Type Publisher
MechWarrior 2
Mech Warrior Activision


Overview

American Laser Games were another big supporter of the 3DO, even using its hardware in some of its arcade cabinets.


History

American Laser Games was a company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico that created numerous light gun laserdisc video games featuring live action full motion video. The company was founded in the late 1980s by Robert Grebe, who had originally created a system to train police officers under the company name ICAT (Institute for Combat Arms and Tactics) and later adapted the technology for arcade games. Its first hit game was Mad Dog McCree, a light gun shooter set in the American Old West. By mid-1995 they were recognized as the leading company in the medium of laserdisc-based arcade games. Almost all arcade games released by the company were light gun shooters and a number of them also had an Old West theme.

Later, the company turned toward compact disc technology to release its games. Ports of its arcade titles were released for the Sega CD, CD-i and DOS computers equipped with CD-ROM drives. The company was particularly supportive of the 3DO, not only releasing versions of its games for the console, but also offering a modified version of the 3DO platform as an upgrade kit for existing arcade video game cabinets, supporting compressed video versions of their games at a lower cost. In 1995, American Laser Games released Mazer for the 3DO home market and Orbatak (3DO-powered) for the arcade - their first and only in-house non-Full motion video based games. The company also released a series of light-gun controllers, including the 3DO Game Gun and the PC Gamegun, for home computer use. The latter proved unsuccessful due to its poor accuracy.

American Laser Games lasted until the mid-to-late 1990s, by which time it had begun making "games for girls" for the PC under the moniker Her Interactive, beginning with McKenzie & Co. In response to a major slump in the arcade industry, American Laser Games ended its direct manufacturing of coin-op machines in November 1995, and turned its focus to developing games for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. This failed to revive the company's fortunes, and revenues in 1996 were roughly half of the $16 million it generated in 1995. At the end of 1996 ALG laid off a third of its staff, Jan Claesson replaced Grebe as president, and the company began focusing primarily on the Her Interactive line, cancelling all the games in their mainstream line except for Shining Sword. The company eventually closed its doors and was bought out by Her Interactive, which had been spun off before ALG closing and is still making games as of January 2018. In 2000, the development and publishing rights to all of the games that were produced by American Laser Games were purchased by Digital Leisure, Inc from Her Interactive. Many of these games were then re-released for the PC and in DVD TV game format.