What do Star Fox, dual-stick controls, and the band No Doubt have in common? The answer is Argonaut Games, one of the most influential gaming companies of which you have never heard. Argonaut Games was the creation of UK teen Jez San in February 1982.
The company was a play on his first initial and last name. Think J. San and the Argonauts. Argonaut Games was involved in two big innovations within the field. How could the company that brought us Star Fox end up with a string of failures that led to its eventual demise?
Argonaut Games, Nintendo, and Star Fox
Argonaut Games first began working with Nintendo after defeating Nintendo’s copywrite protection for the Game Boy at the cost of a penny. Soon after, Argonaut Games worked with Nintendo on “NESGlider” and a prototype for the SNES one week later. San argued that the game Nintendo wanted would need some serious power behind it. After being granted one million dollars, Argonaut developed the MARIO chip, or what we commonly know as the Super FX Chip.
This chip was only used for nine SNES titles. Star Fox and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island are the two most well-known of the group. Star Fox needed the power as the game would need a boost to push the 3D style Nintendo wanted. Yoshi’s Island used the technology for sprite scaling and stretching used in the game. According to San, the Super FX chip was the best-sold RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor in the early 90’s.
The relationship with Nintendo ended when Argonaut pitched an idea of a 3D game starring Yoshi, the lovable dinosaur from the Super Mario series. Nintendo was not keen on letting an outside company take control of a Nintendo property and the two companies parted. Argonauts took the concept and made Croc: The Legend of the Gobbos.
Argonaut Games and Dual-Stick Controls
License games are normally problematic for video game companies. First-Person Shooter Alien Resurrection was no different for Argonaut Games. Originally slated for a Spring 1998 release, the game would be released in the fall of 2000. This was three years after the movie was released to poor reviews. While licensed games typically do poorly in the gaming market, one problem caused this game to fail.
Reviewers did not like the dual-stick (using the left and right sticks to control movement and aiming) control scheme. When this game was released, dual-stick controls were an uncommon feature in video games. Reviewers thought the game was unplayable and was only for those of the Alien franchise. Now dual-stick is the most common form of control in FPS games. Argonaut was not the first to do this but the company is often credited with this innovation.
Alien Resurrection performed poorly with audiences only selling 250,000 units. This would be one of the biggest failures of Argonaut Games. Alien Resurrection is thought to mark the beginning of the cash flow issues that caused the company to close its doors.
Argonaut Games Have No Doubt About Malice
Malice was to be released close to X-Box’s launch date as an exclusive title but problems arose. The game was handed to different publishers or from “master to master” according to San. Each time the publisher changed, the direction of the video game changed.
Originally, the band members from No Doubt were to voice various characters in the game and produce the game’s soundtrack. Gwen Stefani was to voice Malice, the main character. Voice lines performed by Stefani still exist on YouTube. I feel she would have been a great addition to the game. Her voice lines never made it into the game. Harper Marshall (who also voiced Hermoine Granger in the early Harry Potter games) went on to play the teenage demi-goddess.
The publisher and direction changes left Malice in limbo. Mud Duck Productions eventually picked up the game and silently released Malice in June 2004. When the game was finally released, it was met with scathing reviews. Poor sales led this to be Argonaut Games’ last release. Two months after its European release the company closed its doors.
Twenty years later, gamers believe Malice did not get a fair shake deserving of better ratings. Having played Malice myself, I recognize the game was not perfect but it was nowhere near as bad as the reviews would have one believe. One of the biggest problems is the game’s ending is almost nonexistent.
Argonaut Games liquidated its assets in October 2004. Many employees went to work for Rocksteady Games, the company that brought us the Batman: Arkham series of games. Jason San went on to work with Ninja Theory (a former subsidiary of Argonaut under the title Just Add Monster) and helped develop Heavenly Sword.
It is a shame Argonaut Games is not readily recognized for everything it brought to the gaming community. Star Fox and Alien Resurrection helped revolutionize the gaming industry but innovation does not pay the bills. While we can only wonder what changes could have occurred if Argonaut still existed, we can recognize them for what they accomplished.
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