Appaloosa Interactive (formerly Novotrade International) was a corporation founded in 1982 in Hungary that produced video games, computer programs and television commercials during the 1980s and 1990s. The company was mainly known for its Ecco the Dolphin game series for Sega.
Appaloosa developed two Contra games for Konami: Contra: Legacy of War, released in 1996 on the PlayStation and in 1997 on the Sega Saturn, and C: The Contra Adventure, released exclusively on the PlayStation in 1998.
Both titles were notorious for implementing 3D technology to their mechanics, proper of the uprising popularity of fifth generation consoles of the era, although they have received a more mixed reception in recent times.
History[]
Novotrade International was founded by András Császár and Stephen J. Friedman in 1982. Császár served as the company's president, while Friedman served as chief executive officer. The company was established by four banks and ninety three enterprises as a way to get hold of foreign currency, of which the supply was always low in the eastern bloc. Appaloosa was the parent company and owner of two software development companies in Budapest, Hungary. Initially, the company imported and sold computer hardware and software, and later began licensing software and games from European companies, mostly for the Commodore 64.
Novotrade began operating branches in the United States in 1989 and was renamed Appaloosa Interactive in November 1996. That month, the company unveiled its 10-month-old Internet technologies division, Appaloosa Online. The company's headquarters was established in Mountain View, California.
As of January 2001, Appaloosa had 100 employees and had produced over 150 video games up to that point, many of which were released only in Europe. Appaloosa's final game was Jaws Unleashed, released in 2006, and based on the Jaws series of films. The company ceased operations in 2006. Many Hungarian developers who got their start at Novotrade later went on to work at Mithis Games.
Contra video games released[]
- Contra: Legacy of War (1996-97 - PS, Saturn)
- C: The Contra Adventure (1998 - PS)
External links[]
- Official site (archived: June 19, 2006)
- MobyGames
- Wikipedia