Vicious Cycle Software#Technology

{{Infobox company

| name = Vicious Cycle Software

| logo = Vicious Cycle Logo.jpg

| logo_size = 150px

| key_people = Eric Peterson, Founder/President and CEO
Wayne Harvey, Founder/VP/CTO
Dave Ellis, Founder/Senior Game Designer, Marc Racine Founder/Production Director, Senior Game Designer Brett Freese

| industry = Video games

| products = Vicious Engine

| num_employees =

| parent = D3 Publisher (2007–2014)
Little Orbit (2014–2016)

| divisions = Monkey Bar Games

| slogan =

| foundation = {{start date and age|2000}} in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.

| defunct = {{end date and age|2016|1|31}}

| location = Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S.

| homepage = {{URL|viciouscycleinc.com}}

}}

Vicious Cycle Software was an American video game development company based in Morrisville, North Carolina.

History

Vicious Cycle was founded in 2000 by Eric Peterson, Dave Ellis, Marc Racine, and Wayne Harvey after layoffs at the local MicroProse development studio (then a Hasbro Interactive studio) forced several game developers into finding other work. Racine resigned as Vice President and Director of Production in the Spring of 2005 to pursue other ventures. Ellis left the company in the Summer of 2000 but returned in 2005 to take a position as a game designer. Vicious Cycle has released titles for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation Portable systems as well as the Microsoft Windows platform.

In 2005, Vicious Cycle announced the opening of their Monkey Bar Games division. Monkey Bar Games was focused on providing mass-market games to gamers of all ages. Monkey Bar Games released video games incorporating licensed characters from Ben 10, Dora the Explorer, and Curious George. A game was also released in late 2006 to coincide with the release of the Flushed Away animated feature film.

On June 20, 2007, Vicious Cycle was acquired by D3 Publisher, making Vicious Cycle Software a subsidiary of D3Publisher of America and a second‐tier subsidiary of D3 Inc.[http://www.d3i.co.jp/en/pressrelease/2007_pdf/e431120070620001.pdf Press Release: D3 Inc. Acquires Vicious Cycle Software] from D3 website Vicious Cycle released Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 26, 2009. On October 1, 2009, they announced Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond for Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Store for winter 2009.[http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/21108/Matt-Hazard-Blood-Bath-and-Beyond-Coming-to-XBLA/ Press Release Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Coming to XBLA] press release from TeamXbox.com

On September 4, 2014, Vicious Cycle was acquired by Little Orbit.{{cite press release|title=Little Orbit Acquires Vicious Cycle Software|url=http://www.littleorbit.com/news/little-orbit-acquires-vicious-cycle-software|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028125326/http://www.littleorbit.com/news/little-orbit-acquires-vicious-cycle-software|publisher=Little Orbit|archive-date=October 28, 2015| access-date=August 1, 2015|date=September 4, 2014}}{{Cite web|last=Ohnesorge|first=Lauren|date=September 12, 2014|title=Vicious Cycle Software acquired - again; CEO says it means jobs|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/techflash/2014/09/vicious-cycle-software-acquired-by-little-orbit.html|access-date=June 10, 2021|website=American City Business Journals}} As the final two games (Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations and Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends) neared completion, several rounds of layoffs reduced the studio to a skeleton crew. Vicious Cycle closed its doors permanently on January 31, 2016.

Technology

In 2005, Vicious Cycle announced the release of their Vicious Engine game engine. The Vicious Engine was a complete game development middleware solution for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, Wii and Microsoft Windows. It was one of the first game engines to offer full support for the PSP and Wii platforms.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

The second version of the Vicious Engine, V^e2, was released on March 25, 2009, at the Game Developers Conference. It specifically featured improvements for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Michael |date=2009-03-24 |title=Vicious Cycle’s new engine available for licensing |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/03/vicious-cycles-new-engine-available-for-licensing/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en}}{{Cite news |last= |date=2009-06-16 |title=The Top 10 Game Engines No. 9: Vicious Engine 2 |url=https://mcvuk.com/development-news/the-top-10-game-engines-a-no-9-vicious-engine-2/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |work=MCV |language=en |issn=1469-4832}}

Games

Title ! Year ! class="unsortable" \| Platform(s)
class="wikitable sortable"
Robotech: Battlecry	style="text-align:center" \| 2002	PS2, GameCube, Xbox
Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey	style="text-align:center" \| 2003	GameCube, Xbox
Robotech: Invasion	style="text-align:center" \| 2004	rowspan="2" \| PS2, Xbox
Spy vs. Spy	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" \| 2005
Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet	PS2, GameCube
Curious George	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" \| 2006	PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Windows
Flushed Away	PS2, GameCube
Marvel Trading Card Game	rowspan="3" style="text-align:center" \| 2007	PSP, Windows
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords	PSP, XBLA
Dead Head Fred	PSP
Ben 10: Alien Force	style="text-align:center" \| 2008	Wii, PS2, PSP
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard	style="text-align:center" \| 2009	Xbox 360, PS3
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond	rowspan="3" style="text-align:center" \| 2010	XBLA, PSN
Yogi Bear: The Video Game	Wii
Despicable Me: The Game	PS2, PSP, Wii
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" \| 2011	Xbox 360, PS3, Windows
Ben 10: Galactic Racing	Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PlayStation Vita, 3DS
Ben 10: Omniverse	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" \| 2012	Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U
Madagascar 3: The Video Game	Xbox 360, PS3, Wii
Turbo: Super Stunt Squad	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" \| 2013	Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures	rowspan="2" \| Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2	style="text-align:center" \| 2014
Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations	rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" \| 2015	rowspan="2" \| Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows, Wii U, 3DS
Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends{{cite press release\|author1=Little Orbit\|title=Little Orbit Kicks Off Totally Epic Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends Video Game\|url=http://www.ireachcontent.com/news-releases/little-orbit-kicks-off-totally-epic-kung-fu-panda-showdown-of-legendary-legends-video-game-502402021.html\|publisher=PR Newswire iReach\|access-date=August 1, 2015\|date=May 4, 2015}}

References

External links

[http://www.viciouscycleinc.com/ Vicious Cycle Software official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122180609/http://www.viciouscycleinc.com/ |date=November 22, 2005 }}
[http://www.monkeybargames.com/ Monkey Bar Games official site]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120415072431/http://www.viciousengine.com/ Vicious Engine official site]
[http://www.mobygames.com/company/vicious-cycle-software-inc Vicious Cycle Software] entry at MobyGames

Category:Former Bandai Namco Holdings subsidiaries

Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States

Category:Video game development companies

Category:Video game companies established in 2000

Category:Video game companies disestablished in 2016

Category:Defunct companies based in North Carolina

Category:2000 establishments in North Carolina

Category:2016 disestablishments in North Carolina