Digital Pictures
3DO Games
| Game | Region | Code | Type | Developer | Publisher | Release Date | Local Title | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corpse Killer | NA | Rail shooter | Digital Pictures | Acclaim Distribution | 1994 | 1 | ||
| Corpse Killer | JP | Rail shooter | Digital Pictures | Acclaim Distribution | 1994 | コープス・キラー | 1 | |
| Night Trap | EU | Interactive movie | Digital Pictures | Virgin Interactive | 1994 | 1 | ||
| Night Trap | NA | Interactive movie | Digital Pictures | Virgin Interactive | 1994 | 1 | ||
| Night Trap | JP | FZ-SJ1951 | Interactive movie | Digital Pictures | Virgin Interactive | 1994 | ナイト・トラップ | 1 |
| Quarterback Attack with Mike Ditka | NA | Sports | Digital Pictures | Acclaim Distribution | November 27, 1995 | 1 | ||
| Sewer Shark | EU | Rail shooter | Digital Pictures | Hasbro (NA) | 1994 | 1 | ||
| Sewer Shark | NA | Rail shooter | Digital Pictures | Hasbro (NA) | 1994 | 1 | ||
| Supreme Warrior | NA | Fighting | Digital Pictures | Acclaim Distribution | November 1, 1994 | 1 | ||
| Supreme Warrior | JP | Fighting | Digital Pictures | Acclaim Distribution | November 1, 1994 | サプリーム・ウォーリアー | 1 |
Overview
Digital Pictures was an American video game developer founded in 1991 by Lode Coen, Mark Klein, Ken Melville, Anne Flaut-Reed, Kevin Welsh and Tom Zito.
The company originated from an attempt to produce a game for the failed VHS-based NEMO game system. One of its first titles, Night Trap (starring Dana Plato) was originally produced as a title for the NEMO, before being converted for use with Sega's new Sega CD. The mature-themed content of Night Trap made it the source of some controversy. Nevertheless, the title was a bestseller. Digital Pictures went on to create other full motion video-based titles primarily for Sega hardware, and are regarded as a pioneer of the interactive movie genre. However, the company declined in the mid-1990s due to waning interest in full motion video games. Its final title, Maximum Surge, went unreleased and was later repurposed into a 2003 film called Game Over.
Full motion video games
The founders of Digital Pictures met in the late 1980s while working at a division of the toy manufacturer Hasbro originally called Hasbro Interactive and later renamed Isix. The Isix team developed a video game system called NEMO (a code name abbreviation for "never ever mention outside") that used VHS tapes rather than cartridges, which allowed games to offer live action and interactive full motion video. They also developed a software prototype called Scene Of The Crime, which led to the production of two full-length titles, Night Trap and Sewer Shark.
After Hasbro executives declined to bring the NEMO system to market, closing its Isix division, key members of the Isix team founded Digital Pictures in 1991 and purchased the NEMO software assets from Hasbro. Digital Pictures converted Night Trap and Sewer Shark from their video-tape-based format to the Sega CD platform.
"We're betting, ultimately, when there's an interactive cable converter sitting atop everyone's TV set, that something that feels like Citizen Kane (or at least Leave It to Beaver) will have more legs than something that feels like Super Mario or Princess Toadstool - Tom Zito
Throughout the 1990s, Digital Pictures continued to design interactive full motion video games for the CD-ROM format. Steve Russell worked for the company for a time. Several celebrities, including actors Steve Eastin, Corey Haim, Yasmine Bleeth, R. Lee Ermey, and Dana Plato; sports stars Scottie Pippen and Mike Ditka; and musicians Debbie Harry, INXS, Kris Kross, C+C Music Factory, and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, appeared in Digital Pictures games.
Controversy
In the early 1990s, Night Trap was singled out by numerous interest groups and by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Herbert Kohl as evidence that the video game industry was marketing games with graphic violence and other adult content to minors. Concern about Night Trap and several other games such as Mortal Kombat helped to bring about the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) video game rating system.
Decline
By the late 1990s, consumer interest in full-motion video games, which accounted for the majority of the company's profits, was in decline. After the collapse of the company, its assets were acquired by Cyber Cinema Interactive. The new company intended to re-release the games for DVD but that never came about. The only actual production for Cyber Cinema was the direct to video film Game Over – also known as Maximum Surge Movie. It used footage from an unreleased video game called Maximum Surge as well as clips from other Digital Pictures games. Although the film boasted stars such as Yasmine Bleeth and Walter Koenig, they only appear in the segments that had been pulled from the FMV sequences of the game, which suffer from lower image quality than the original footage.
Re-releases
Flash Film Works later acquired the rights to some of the games. They remastered and re-released Double Switch and Quarterback Attack for iTunes and Google Play in late 2016 before partnering with Screaming Villains and Limited Run Games to release PlayStation 4 remasters starting in 2018 with Double Switch and 2019 with Corpse Killer. Screaming Villains separately re-released Night Trap and Ground Zero Texas (two of the games not owned by Flash Film Works) through Limited Run Games.
Games developed
List of games developed by Digital Pictures and all subsequent releases of the games either by them or successor companies.
| Title | Cast | Date of release | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizen X | Sharee Gregory, Charley Hayward, Peter Kent, Rob Narita, Mark Withers |
2002 | Sega CD |
| Corpse Killer | Vincent Schiavelli, Jeremiah Birkett, Bridget Butler | 1994 | Sega CD |
| Sega 32X | |||
| 1995 | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer | ||
| Macintosh | |||
| Sega Saturn | |||
| 2019 | PlayStation 4 | ||
| Steam | |||
| 2020 | Nintendo Switch | ||
| Double Switch | Corey Haim, Deborah Harry, R. Lee Ermey, <Irwin Keyes, Camille Cooper | 1993 | Sega CD |
| 1995 | Sega Saturn | ||
| Windows 95 | |||
| 2016 | Google Play | ||
| iTunes | |||
| 2018 | PlayStation 4 | ||
| Steam | |||
| 2019 | Nintendo Switch | ||
| Ground Zero: Texas | Steve Eastin, Leslie Zemeckis, Scott Lawrence, Christopher Bradley, Rick Aiello | 1993 | Sega CD |
| 2021 | PlayStation 4 | ||
| Steam | |||
| Kids on Site | Larry Grennan, Scott McClain, Robin Joss | 1994 | DOS |
| Macintosh | |||
| Sega CD | |||
| Make My Video: INXS | INXS | 1992 | Sega CD |
| Make My Video: Kris Kross | Kris Kross | 1992 | Sega CD |
| Make My Video: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch | Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch | 1992 | Sega CD |
| Maximum Surge | Yasmine Bleeth, Walter Koenig, Michael Champion, Andy Hirsch | N/A | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer |
| Macintosh | |||
| Sega Saturn | |||
| Windows 95 | |||
| Night Trap | Dana Plato, Tracy Matheson, Debra Parks, Allison Rhea, Christy Ford | 1992 | Sega CD |
| 1994 | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer | ||
| DOS | |||
| Sega 32X | |||
| 1995 | Macintosh | ||
| 2017 | PlayStation 4 | ||
| Steam | |||
| 2018 | Nintendo Switch | ||
| PlayStation Vita | |||
| Power Factory Featuring C+C Music Factory | C+C Music Factory | 1992 | Sega CD |
| Prize Fighter | Jimmy Nickerson, Manny Perry, Billy Lucas, Ben Bray | 1993 | Sega CD |
| Quarterback Attack with Mike Ditka | Mike Ditka, Keith Neubert, Peter Kent | 1995 | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer |
| Sega Saturn | |||
| 1996 | DOS | ||
| 2016 | Google Play | ||
| iTunes | |||
| Sewer Shark | David Underwood, Robert Costanzo, Kari G. Peyton | 1992 | Sega CD |
| 1994 | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer | ||
| Slam City with Scottie Pippen | Scottie Pippen, Keith Gibbs, Malcolm Ian Cross, Keith Neubert, Dana Wilkerson | 1994 | Sega CD |
| 1995 | DOS | ||
| Sega 32X | |||
| Supreme Warrior | Vivian Wu, Richard Norton, Roger Yuan, Chuck Jeffreys, Ron Yuan, Chaplin Chang | 1994 | 3DO Interactive Multiplayer |
| Sega 32X | |||
| Sega CD | |||
| 1996 | DOS | ||
| Macintosh | |||
| What's My Story? | Jill Wright | 1996 | Macintosh |