Bitmap Brothers
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Bitmap Brothers was a UK based video game developer. It was founded in 1987 and entered the industry in 1988 with the scrolling shooter Xenon. They quickly followed with the classic Speedball. Prior to becoming the publisher of their own games, early Bitmap Brothers titles were distributed by ImageWorks and Konami.
Bitmap Brothers released several games on the Amiga and Atari ST, and was one of the most successful companies on those platforms. They became known in particular for releasing games from a variety of different genres that usually came to be regarded as leaders in their respective fields. Their PC games have never matched the sales of their previous Amiga titles. Since 2002, the company has released ports of several of its most popular games for both the Game Boy Advance and Pocket PC platforms.
Bitmap Brothers was based in Wapping, East London and was privately owned. Its MD was Mike Montgomery. Mark John Coleman is a computer graphics developer who frequently worked with the Bitmap Brothers; his graphics tend to be blocky, featuring rock, metal, and shiny organic textures; his animations tend to be cartoonesque and fluid.
Two former core members of the company - Mike Montgomery and John Phillips - have gone on to found Tower Studios (along with Sensible Software founder Jon Hare), and state their involvement with Bitmap Brothers as having ended in 2004.[1]
As of 2006 it appears that the company is no longer in business. While it retains a website, there have been no updates to this (or game releases) since 2003. Companies House lists Bitmap Brothers as having been dissolved in September 2006.[2]
[edit] Titles
(in chronological order)
- Xenon (1988)
- Speedball (1988)
- Xenon II: Megablast (1989)
- Cadaver
- Gods (1991)
- Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
- Magic Pockets
- The Chaos Engine
- The Chaos Engine 2
- Z (1996)
- Speedball 2100 (2000)
- Z2: Steel Soldiers (2001)
- Speedball Arena (cancelled)
- World War II: Frontline Command
