GameTek

Not to be confused with Gamtec.
A newer GameTek logotype

GameTek was an American video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida[1] known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.[2] Originally, IJE licensed these titles to ShareData of Chandler, Arizona; however, when IJE saw ShareData's success with the titles, IJE decided to publish the titles themselves, resulting in the founding of GameTek.[3]

After establishing distribution for the game show titles, GameTek expanded by licensing European titles for the North American market, including Frontier: Elite II and The Humans. In 1991, they attempted to launch the InfoGenius Systems franchise for the Game Boy.[4] In 1994, the company made a deal to purchase game developer Malibu Interactive from Malibu Comics and renamed to Padded Cell Studios.[5]

In 1996, GameTek scaled down its publishing activities, turning most of that aspect of its business over to Philips.[6] GameTek filed for bankruptcy in December 1997,[7][8] citing development delays and disappointing sales,[9] and went out of business in July 1998. Most of the company's assets were acquired by Take-Two Interactive in 1997.[10]

  1. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1994-06-11.
  2. ^ "Hollywood Squares Game Manual" (PDF). thegameisafootarcade.com. February 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Nes Book Master PDF | PDF | Video Game Consoles | Nintendo". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  4. ^ "Nintendo Power". Retrieved 20 May 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Michael Heilemann Joins Fox Interactive". DMN Newswire. May 24, 2001.
  6. ^ Svensson, Christian (November 1996). "Small Publishers Feel Pinch". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Media. p. 26.
  7. ^ Jebens, Harley (December 4, 1997). "GameTek Files for Chapter 11 Protection". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 19, 1998. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "Tidbits...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. February 1998. p. 26.
  9. ^ "Unhappy Holidays". Next Generation. No. 38. Imagine Media. February 1998. p. 26.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". api.tenkwizard.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)