The TV drama: “Out of the Lantern: the Game Genie story”, starring yes, I’m going to go there Jedward as the Darlings. Writers could also weave in a related sub-plot at about the same time as the Galoob case, Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins managed to bypass the security chipset in the new Sega Mega Drive game cartridges. He threatened to tell the rest of the industry how to manufacture their own carts (thereby saving them millions in licensing costs) if Sega did not give EA favourable terms to develop on its system. Sega relented. Jon Hamm as Trip Hawkins, obviously. (And there could be a cameo role for me! I helped write and test all the Game Genie codes for cheap fifa coins the Game Boy. True story.)
Developed by Isle of Wight-based studio Stainless Games, Carmageddon is the notorious 1997 driving sim that gave players extra points for running over pedestrians. The BBFC refused to grant the game an age rating when it was submitted, effectively banning it until the blood and gore was removed. However, publisher SCi refused to give in and appealed the decision; 10 months later, the BBFC was forced to provide an age certificate and Carmageddon was released uncut in the UK.
Stainless Media was (and perhaps still is) an eccentric bunch, led by co-founders Patrick Buckland and Neil Barnden, who had little regard for industry conventions. The game included a range of technical innovations, including destructible environments, while the pedestrian death animations were tested by actually driving a Chevy station wagon into the office handyman, Tony, and filming the results.
Swedish tech firm Tiger Telematics pitched its ridiculously-named Gizmondo device as a cutting edge handheld gaming console complete with multimedia and text messaging capabilities. However, the company’s founders quickly burned through millions in VC funding, renting shop spaces in Regent Street, organising ornate parties and hiring Jenson Button to star in TV adverts. Launched in 2005, the Gizmondo failed spectacularly, the company collapsed and executive Bo Stefan Eriksson went on to serve prison sentences in the US and Sweden.
Founder Carl Freer would be the obvious star www.utfifas.co if it wasn’t for his colleague Stefan Eriksson one of three key executives linked by newspaper reports to the Swedish mafia. Eriksson later famously crashed a rare Ferarri Enzo on a Californian highway and tried to blame the incident on someone else.
