Jeff Spangenberg

{{Short description|American video game producer}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2016 }}

Jeffery Spangenberg is an American retired video game producer and entrepreneur who founded video game developers Punk Development, Iguana Entertainment, Retro Studios, and Topheavy Studios.

==Biography==

Spangenberg skipped college to learn computer programming,{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/10/19/making-games-fun-again |title=Making Games Fun Again |author=I. G. N. Staff |date=October 19, 2000 |website=ign.com |accessdate=August 11, 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/18/a-retrospective-the-story-of-retro-studios?page=2 |title=A Retrospective: The Story of Retro Studios |author= |date=December 17, 2004 |website=ign.com |accessdate=August 11, 2018}} and later served as lead designer and president for Punk Development, the development team of publisher RazorSoft, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.{{cite web |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/techno-cop-amiga-atari-st-genesis-commodore-64-amstrad-cpc-zx-spectrum-apple-ii-1988/ |title=Techno Cop – Hardcore Gaming 101 |author= |date= |website=www.hardcoregaming101.net |accessdate=August 11, 2018}} In 1991, Spangenberg founded his own company in Santa Clara, Iguana Entertainment, and hired 20 staff, including friends of his. Iguana, who would later move to Austin, Texas due to the elevated costs of living in Silicon Valley, wound up bought by Acclaim Entertainment in 1995, and Spangenberg was promoted to an executive position in which he overlooked all of Acclaim's software studios. Spangenberg was fired from Acclaim in 1998, leading him to sue the company for breach of contract and fraud.[https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/1998/10/05/story4.html Iguana founder sues after firing], Austin Business Journal The suit was settled in 2000.[https://sec.edgar-online.com/acclaim-entertainment-inc/10-k-annual-report/2000/11/29/section6.aspx 10-K SEC Filing, filed by ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT INC on 11/29/2000.]

Following his dismissal, Spangenberg launched a new company, Retro Studios, in October 1998.[https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/1998/11/30/story3.html Iguana founder goes Retro with new company ], Austin Business Journal He then approached Nintendo of America to establish a partnership. Nintendo accepted to fund the studio, hoping the new developer could provide games aimed at mature audiences for their upcoming console, the GameCube, just like Iguana did with the Nintendo 64 title Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/29/17386066/the-rocky-story-of-retro-studios-before-metroid-prime |title=The rocky story of Retro Studios before Metroid Prime |first=Blake |last=Hester |date=May 29, 2018 |website=Polygon |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123534/https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/29/17386066/the-rocky-story-of-retro-studios-before-metroid-prime |archive-date=December 9, 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/18/a-retrospective-the-story-of-retro-studios |title=A Retrospective: The Story of Retro Studios |first=Kenneth Kyle |last=Wade |date=December 17, 2004 |website=IGN |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108105347/https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/18/a-retrospective-the-story-of-retro-studios |archive-date=November 8, 2018 |url-status=live }} The studio immediately began work on four projects for the GameCube. Shigeru Miyamoto was impressed with the studio's Action-Adventure game engine and suggested that Retro could use it to develop a new title in the Metroid series. All titles were eventually cancelled so Retro could focus all their effort onto Metroid Prime.{{cite web |url=https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/issues/issue_39/235-Metroid-Primed |title=Metroid Primed |date=April 6, 2006 |first=Allen |last=Varney |access-date=September 16, 2007 |website=The Escapist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402173840/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_39/235-Metroid-Primed |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |url-status=live }} On May 2, 2002, months before Prime was released, Nintendo bought out Spangenberg's $1 million worth of Retro Studios, and reclassified the company as a first party developer and division of Nintendo.{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/2863826.html |title=Nintendo makes Retro Studios a full subsidiary |first=Shane |last=Satterfield |date=May 2, 2002 |website=GameSpot |access-date=April 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125205602/http://www.gamespot.com/news/2863826.html |archive-date=January 25, 2012 |url-status=live }} Spangenberg's departure was attributed to frequent absenteeism and using Retro's servers to host a website that featured pictures of scantily clad women.{{cite news |last=Varney |first=Allen |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/metroid-primed/ |title=Metroid Primed |work=The Escapist |date=2006-04-04 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529230827/https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/metroid-primed/ |archivedate=2021-05-29 |accessdate=2021-05-29 }}{{cite news |last=Robinson |first=Andy |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/au/the-history-of-metroid/6/ |title=The History of Metroid |work=GamesRadar+ |date=2007-10-15 |accessdate=2021-08-24 }}

Spangenberg would then create Topheavy Studios, who developed The Guy Game, released in 2004.[https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040901005217/en/TOPHEAVY-Studios-Gatherings-Guy-Game-Stores TOPHEAVY Studios' and Gathering's, 'The Guy Game' in Stores Now] The game would result in a lawsuit from one of the featured women who was underage, leading to a temporary injunction prohibiting the further production of copies of the game.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/topless-teen-sues-over-the-guy-game/ |title=Topless teen sues over 'The Guy Game' |last=Thorsen |first=Tor |date=December 23, 2004 |website=CNET |publisher=CBS Interactive |accessdate=October 30, 2016}}{{cite web|title=The Guy Game banned, goes straight to video|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-guy-game-banned-goes-straight-to-video/1100-6128746/|website=GameSpot|accessdate=2 January 2017}} The game was later re-released as an interactive DVD with the woman from the lawsuit's scenes dropped. The Guy Game was the only game developed by Topheavy Studios.[https://gamesdb.launchbox-app.com/games/details/24293 Games Database - The Guy Game]