Budcat Creations Explained

Budcat Creations, LLC
Type:Subsidiary
Foundation:September 1, 2000
Defunct:November 16, 2010
Location:Iowa City, Iowa, US
Industry:Video games
Num Employees:80
Parent:Activision

Budcat Creations, LLC was an American video game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa, United States and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, though they formerly had partnerships with Electronic Arts and Majesco Entertainment. They were largely responsible for porting titles to non-target consoles. They had worked on a number of blockbuster gaming franchises, among them Guitar Hero, Madden NFL, and Medal of Honor. They have also produced a few original titles, including and The New York Times Crosswords.

History

Budcat was founded by Jason Andersen and Jonah Stich who met on the precursor to AOL, via a shared interest in the Apple IIgs. A few months into the companies initial year, Isaac Burns joined as a partner. Isaac and Jason met in High School, in their hometown of Iowa City, IA.[1]

The company went on to produce a string of sports titles for EA over the next five years, including entries in the NASCAR Thunder, NHL Hockey series, and FIFA Manager series, as well as the PlayStation 2 version of Psychonauts for Majesco Entertainment.

In 2005, Budcat moved to its ultimate location in Iowa City in order to facilitate expanding their offices. Budcat worked in partnership with Majesco Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Activision[2] on multiple titles before being purchased by Activision Blizzard on November 10, 2008, where they mostly worked on the Guitar Hero brand.[3]

Budcat Creations was shuttered by Activision Blizzard on November 16, 2010.[4] [5] [6]

Games

ReleaseTitlePlatformPublisher
2011Top Shot ArcadeWiiActivision
2010Pix MazeiOSActivision
2009Band HeroPS2Activision
2009Our House PartyWiiMajesco Entertainment
2009Wii, PS2Activision
2009Guitar Hero 5PS2Activision
2008Guitar Hero World TourPS2Activision
2008Wii, PS2Activision
2008WiiMajesco Entertainment
2007Wii, PS2Activision
2007The New York Times CrosswordsNDSMajesco Entertainment
2007WiiElectronic Arts
2007PS2EA Sports
2006Nacho LibreNDSMajesco Entertainment
2005Madden NFL 06PCEA Sports
2005PsychonautsPS2Majesco Entertainment
2004Total Club Manager 2005Xbox, PS2EA Sports
2004Madden NFL 2005PCEA Sports
2003Total Club Manager 2004Xbox, PS2EA Sports
2003Madden NFL 2004PS1, GBAEA Sports
2003NASCAR Thunder 2004PS1EA Sports
2002NASCAR Thunder 2003PS1EA Sports
2002Madden NFL 2003PS1, GBAEA Sports
2002NHL 2002GBAEA Sports
2002Desert Strike AdvanceGBAElectronic Arts
2001Madden NFL 2002PS1, N64, GBAEA Sports

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Yanes . Nicholas . 2023-01-12 . The birth and death of Budcat Creations, Iowa's only triple-A studio . 2023-01-17 . Game Developer . en.
  2. Web site: 2008-11-11 . Activision Blizzard Buys Budcat . 2023-01-17 . DFC Intelligence . en-US.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20081121225007/http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171214 "Activision Buys Budcat, Assigns Them New Guitar Hero Title"
  4. http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/11/16/activision-shuts-down-bizarre-and-budcat-studios "Activision shuts down Bizarre and Budcat studios"
  5. Web site: Guitar Hero creator Budcat Studios shuts down . 2023-01-17 . www.thegazette.com . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2010-11-16 . Bizarre Creations, Budcat to be axed by Activision? . 2023-01-17 . Destructoid . en-US.