WayForward Technologies: История американской игровой студии

American video game developer
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WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super NES and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational software. In 1997, they relaunched their video games arm, placing the company as a contractor for publishers and working on a variety of licensed assets. The company has created a variety of original game properties such as their flagship Shantae series, including the first title in the series which appeared on the Game Boy Color and was published by Capcom. WayForward Technologies has worked on games for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita handheld consoles, WiiWare games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U, Nintendo Switch consoles and games for personal computer and mobile phones.

WayForward Technologies was founded in 1990 by Voldi Way as an independent video game design company, following on from a previous company he started that specialized in software for sheet metal fabrication. Early on, the company focused on producing software for the Super NES, Genesis, Game Gear and Game Boy Color. They branched out into educational games for the personal computer and Leapster. The partnership was successful, with the company winning awards for innovation at the 1995 Consumer Electronics Show. During this time, WayForward focused on licensed assets such as the Muppets for their educational games. WayForward restarted their video game development business in April 1997, working as a "developer for hire" by providing services to software publishers. In 2006, the company produced and released Justice League Heroes: The Flash just as the Game Boy Advance was reaching the end of its commercial life cycle, which met with largely positive reviews. WayForward has gone on to develop further titles for the Nintendo DS. Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, based on the 1951 Warner Bros. cartoon Duck Amuck received mixed reviews upon release. On February 19, 2008, John Beck and Matt Bozon were speakers at the Independent Games Summit, part of the 2008 Game Developers Conference, discussing a range of issues facing independent games companies. Lit was announced on March 5, 2008, and was released on February 9, 2009, for the WiiWare online shop platform. A new game in the Shantae series was considered for the platform. WayForward introduced a new character named Alta, who is a pink haired girl that wields a scepter. She represented a new intellectual property. This was revealed on March 9, 2009, to be a DSiWare game called Mighty Flip Champs!. WayForward created Mighty Milky Way, another puzzle platformer with a new character named Luna. Its sequel, Mighty Switch Force!, was released on the 3DS eShop on December 22, 2011, with a sequel two years later called Mighty Switch Force! 2 on the Nintendo 3DS' eShop. Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! was released on November 20, 2012. A sequel, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!, as well as Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8 Bit Land, were released in 2013. A sequel to Mighty Switch Force! was released on June 13, 2013. A new Shantae game was revealed via Nintendo Power, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, which was released on October 23, 2014, on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop. Another game in the series, Shantae: Half Genie Hero, was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and released in December 2016. On April Fool's Day 2013, Wayforward made a fake announcement for a game called Cat Girl Without Salad! Fans responded positively to the game's concept, leading WayForward to later develop it into a full title, which was released via a Humble Bundle in June 2016. In May 2017, Mystik Belle, originally developed and published by Last Dimension for Steam, was published by WayForward for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In 2020, Matt Bozon expressed a desire to work on a 3D polygon Shantae game. Bozon also had an interview with USGamer about where the team would like to see Shantae series go next. Bozon has said that there has been talk about creating a 3D Shantae game.

Year Title PlatformsCo developed withRef(s). (Reference(s)) 1992 FunPack PC 1994 Mickey's Ultimate Challenge Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System My Paint: The Animated Paint Program Sega CD 1997 Star Warped PC 1998 FunPack 3D Casper: Animated Activity Center Microshaft Winblows 98 Outburst 1999 The Land Before Time: Preschool Adventure Life's Little Lessons with The Berenstain Bears: How to Get Along with Your Fellow Bear Xtreme Sports Arcade: Summer Edition 2000 Xtreme Sports Game Boy Color Bear in the Big Blue House: Bear's Sense of Adventure Windows Delirium Sabrina: The Animated Series: Zapped! Game Boy Color 2001 Sabrina: The Animated Series: Spooked! Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet WindowsWendy: Every Witch Way Game Boy ColorWWF Betrayal 2002ShantaeThe Scorpion King: Sword of Osiris Game Boy AdvanceGodzilla: Domination 2003Rescue Heroes: Billy BlazesNickelodeon Toon Twister 3D Windows 2004The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Game Boy AdvancePing Pals Nintendo DS 2005Sigma Star Saga Game Boy AdvanceSpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!Tak: The Great Juju ChallengeBarbie and the Magic of Pegasus 2006X Men: The Official GameUnfabulous!Justice League Heroes: The FlashAmerican Dragon: Jake Long – Attack of the Dark Dragon Nintendo DSAmerican Dragon: Jake Long – Rise of the Huntsclan Game Boy AdvanceSpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DSBarbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses 2007Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck Nintendo DSShrek: Ogres & DronkeysContra 4 2008Space Chimps 2009LIT WiiWare, iOS, Android, WindowsMighty Flip Champs! DSiWareA Boy and His Blob Wii, Nintendo SwitchWhere the Wild Things Are Nintendo DSBarbie and the Three MusketeersNintendo DS, Wii, Windows 2010Galactic Taz Ball Nintendo DSDespicable Me: Minion MayhemBatman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame Nintendo DS, WiiShantae: Risky's Revenge DSiWare, iOS 2011SpongeBob SquigglePants Nintendo 3DS, WiiCentipede: InfestationThor: God of Thunder Nintendo DSMighty Milky Way DSiWareMighty Flip Champs! DX PlayStation Minis BloodRayne: Betrayal Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, WindowsAliens: Infestation Nintendo DS Mighty Switch Force! Nintendo 3DSHappy Feet Two: The Video Game Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS 2012Hotel Transylvania Double Dragon Neon Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, Nintendo SwitchSilent Hill: Book of Memories PlayStation VitaAdventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DSMighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition Wii U, Windows 2013The Smurfs 2: The Video Game PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360DuckTales: Remastered Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, iOS, Android, Windows PhoneRegular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8 Bit Land Nintendo 3DSAdventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Nintendo 3DS Mighty Switch Force! 2 Wii U, Nintendo 3DS 2014Drawn to Life iOS Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark Nintendo 3DS Shantae and the Pirate's Curse Wii U, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, Windows, Amazon Fire TV, Nintendo Switch Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, Windows Nintendo Switch Marvel Puzzle QuestPlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox OneDescendants iOS, Android 2016 Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse Bouche Windows, Nintendo Switch Shantae: Half Genie Hero Wii U, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch The Mummy Demastered PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch 2019 Bloodstained: Ritual of the NightArtplay, 505 Games Spidersaurs iOS (formerly), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch Mighty Switch Force! Collection PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo SwitchMiraculous Crush: A Ladybug & Cat Noir Match 3 iOS, Android Shantae and the Seven Sirens iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch River City Girls PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch, AndroidArc System Works 2020 Vitamin Connection (with Nintendo) Nintendo SwitchNintendo Marble Knights (now discontinued) iOSApple Inc. Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia Nintendo SwitchWarner Bros Interactive, Nintendo 2021 BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, Nintendo Switch2022 River City Girls ZeroPlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Dawn of the Monsters PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, Nintendo Switch River City Girls 2Arc System Works RWBY: Arrowfell2023 LunarkWindows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5Canari GamesAdvance Wars 1+2: Re Boot Camp Nintendo SwitchNintendo2024 Contra: Operation GalugaNintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, WindowsKonami Rose & Camellia CollectionNintendo SwitchNigoro Clock TowerPlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, Nintendo SwitchLimited Run Games Shantae Advance: Risky RevolutionGame Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, WindowsLimited Run Games 2025 Yars RisingAtari VCS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, WindowsAtari