Visual Concepts

Visual Concepts Entertainment
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1988; 37 years ago (1988)
Founders
  • Scott Patterson
  • Greg Thomas
  • Jeff Thomas
Headquarters
Novato, California
,
US
Key people
Greg Thomas (president)
Number of employees
350+ (2018)
Parent
  • Sega
  • (1999–2005)
  • 2K
  • (2005–present)
Divisions
  • VC Austin
  • VC Blueshift
  • VC Budapest
  • VC China
  • VC Irvine
  • VC Korea
  • VC Novato
  • VC South
  • VC WWE
Websitevcentertainment.com

Visual Concepts Entertainment is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in May 1988, the company is best known for developing sports games in the 2K franchise, most recently NBA 2K and WWE 2K, and previously NFL 2K. Visual Concepts was acquired by Sega in May 1999 and sold to Take-Two Interactive in January 2005. The acquisition of the company led Take-Two Interactive to open their 2K label which Visual Concepts became part of, on the day following the acquisition. As of December 2018, the company employs more than 350 people.[1]

History

Logo used until 2018

Visual Concepts was founded in 1988 by programmer Scott Patterson and brothers Greg and Jeff Thomas, and was originally based in a small office above a bank in Novato, California.[2] On January 25, 1995, Electronic Arts announced that they had acquired a stake in the company.[3] In September 1997, Sega announced their intentions to acquire the company; the deal was closed on May 18, 1999, and Visual Concepts switched ownership for an undisclosed sum.[4]

Following a June 2004 deal between Sega and Take-Two Interactive, wherein the two would co-publish and distribute titles in Visual Concepts' ESPN-based game series,[5] rumors started spreading in December 2004, which suggested that Take-Two Interactive was planning to acquire Visual Concepts from Sega.[6][7] On January 24, 2005, Take-Two Interactive announced to have completed a transaction of US$24 million to Sega for the acquisition of Visual Concepts, its subsidiary Kush Games, and the intellectual property to the 2K franchise.[8][9] The publisher's 2006 Form 10-K filing later showed that a total of US$32.2 million had been paid to Sega for the acquisition of Visual Concepts and affiliated properties by January 2006.[10] On January 25, 2005, the day following the acquisition, Take-Two Interactive announced their new publishing label, 2K, which would henceforth manage Visual Concepts and Kush Games.[11]

A March 2009 research study on Metacritic scores, conducted by GameQuarry, ranked Visual Concepts as the number one "most consistent" video game developer on the review aggregator website, with 50 out of their 72 games at the time having received an aggregated review score of 80/100 or higher.[12] In August 2010, Visual Concepts laid off 30 employees due to "the need for resource alignment and better efficiency".[13] In December 2018, at The Game Awards 2018, Greg Thomas was honored with the "Industry Icon" award for his 30-year services with Visual Concepts.[1]

2K acquired HookBang's game division, which had worked with Visual Concepts on the NBA 2K games previously, in March 2021. The division was rebranded as Visual Concepts Austin to continue to support Visual Concepts.[14] In February 2024, an unknown number of employees at Visual Concepts Austin were affected by layoffs.[15]

Games developed

1989–2004

Year Title Platform(s)
1989 Gnarly Golf Apple IIGS
Great Western Shootout
Sword of Sodan (unreleased)
1990 Designasaurus II MS-DOS
Pipe Mania Apple IIGS
Task Force
1991 Trog NES
1992 McDonaldland Game Boy
Spot: The Cool Adventure
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf Super NES
1993 Bill Walsh College Football
ClayFighter
Harley's Humongous Adventure
Madden NFL '94
Taz-Mania
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
1994 ClayFighter: Tournament Edition
Claymates
Dominus MS-DOS
Lester the Unlikely Super NES
Madden NFL '95
MLBPA Baseball
NHL 95
Nickelodeon Guts
1995 Toughman Contest Sega Genesis
Weaponlord Sega Genesis, Super NES
Viewpoint PlayStation
Madden NFL '96 PlayStation (cancelled)[16][17][18]
1996 NHL 97 PlayStation, Sega Saturn
1997 NBA Action 98 Microsoft Windows, Sega Saturn
NBA Fastbreak '98 PlayStation
1998 One
1999 NBA 2K Dreamcast
NFL 2K
NHL 2K
2000 NBA 2K1
NFL 2K1
2001 Floigan Bros.
NBA 2K2 Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
NCAA College Football 2K2: Road to the Rose Bowl Dreamcast
NFL 2K2 Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox
NHL 2K2
Ooga Booga Dreamcast
World Series Baseball 2K2 Dreamcast, Xbox
2002 NBA 2K3 GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
NCAA College Basketball 2K3
NCAA College Football 2K3
NFL 2K3
NHL 2K3
Sega Soccer Slam
ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth Xbox
2003 ESPN College Hoops PlayStation 2, Xbox
ESPN NBA Basketball
ESPN NHL Hockey
ESPN NFL Football
World Series Baseball 2K3
2004 ESPN College Hoops 2K5
ESPN NBA 2K5
ESPN NFL 2K5
ESPN NHL 2K5
ESPN Major League Baseball

2005–present

Year Title Platform(s) Notes
2005 College Hoops 2K6 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
Major League Baseball 2K5 PlayStation 2, Xbox Assisted Kush Games
Major League Baseball 2K5: World Series Edition
NBA 2K6 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360
NHL 2K6 Assisted Kush Games
2006 College Hoops 2K7 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360
Major League Baseball 2K6 GameCube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360 Assisted Kush Games
NBA 2K7 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360
NHL 2K7 Assisted Kush Games
2007 All-Pro Football 2K8 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
College Hoops 2K8 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Major League Baseball 2K7 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360 Assisted Kush Games
NBA 2K8 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NHL 2K8 Assisted 2K Los Angeles
The Bigs PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360 Assisted Blue Castle Games
2008 Major League Baseball 2K8 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 Assisted 2K Los Angeles
NBA 2K9 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NHL 2K9 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
2009 Major League Baseball 2K9 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NBA 2K10 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
NBA 2K10: Draft Combine PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NHL 2K10 PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
2010 Major League Baseball 2K10 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NBA 2K11 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
NHL 2K11 Wii
2011 Major League Baseball 2K11 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
NBA 2K12
2012 Major League Baseball 2K12 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
MyNBA 2K Android, iOS
NBA 2K13 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360
NBA 2K MyLife Facebook Platform
2013 Major League Baseball 2K13 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
NBA 2K14 Android, Fire OS, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
WWE 2K14 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Assisted Yuke's
2014 NBA 2K15 Android, Fire OS, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NHL 2K Android, iOS Assisted Virtuos
WWE 2K15 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Assisted Yuke's
2015 NBA 2K16 Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
WWE 2K16 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Assisted Yuke's
2016 NBA 2K17 Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NBA 2K17: The Prelude PlayStation 4, Xbox One
NBA 2KVR Experience Android, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 Assisted Specular Interactive
WWE 2K17 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Assisted Yuke's
2017 NBA 2K18 Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
NBA 2K18: The Prelude PlayStation 4, Xbox One
WWE 2K18 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Assisted Yuke's
2018 NBA 2K19 Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
NBA 2K19: The Prelude PlayStation 4, Xbox One
WWE 2K19 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Assisted Yuke's
2019 NBA 2K20 Stadia, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
WWE 2K20 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2020 NBA 2K21 Stadia, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
2021 NBA 2K22 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
2022 WWE 2K22 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
NBA 2K23 Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
2023 WWE 2K23 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Lego 2K Drive Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
NBA 2K24
2024 WWE 2K24 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
NBA 2K25[19] Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

References

  1. ^ a b The Game Awards (December 6, 2018). "Greg Thomas Wins Industry Icon | The Game Awards 2018". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  2. ^ Hruby, Patrick (September 18, 2018). "Inside NBA 2K's Journey to the Top of Sports Gaming". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  3. ^ Business Wire (January 25, 1995). "Electronic Arts takes equity stake in leading software developer, Visual Concepts Entertainment". The Free Library. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Kennedy, Sam (May 15, 1999). "Sega to Acquire Visual Concepts". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Adams, David (June 8, 2004). "Take-Two Takes SEGA Sports". IGN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Thorsen, Tor (December 23, 2004). "Take-Two taking over Visual Concepts?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  7. ^ Orry, Tom (December 24, 2004). "Take-Two to purchase Visual Concepts?". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  8. ^ Feldman, Curt (January 24, 2005). "Sega officially out of the sports game". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  9. ^ Adams, David (January 24, 2005). "Take Two Buys Visual Concepts". IGN. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  10. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 31, 2006). "Take-Two reveals acquisition prices, hints at future lawsuits". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 26, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  11. ^ Jenkins, David (January 25, 2005). "Take-Two Acquires Visual Concepts, Announces 2K Games Brand". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  12. ^ Elliott, Phil (March 17, 2009). "Visual Concepts 'most consistent' developer". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  13. ^ Bennett, Colette (August 16, 2010). "NBA 2K11 Developer Visual Concepts Lays Off 30 Employees". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  14. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (March 23, 2021). "2K acquires HookBang games business". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Kennedy, Victoria (February 7, 2024). "Layoffs hit WWE, Lego 2K Drive studio Visual Concepts Austin". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "IGN Presents the History of Madden". IGN. August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  17. ^ "PlayStationMuseum.com - Madden 96". PlayStation Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  18. ^ David Short (March 1996). "Madden '96 in '97?". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 80. Ziff Davis. p. 121.
  19. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (July 10, 2024). "NBA 2K25 Puts NBA Champ Jayson Tatum and WNBA Champ A'ja Wilson on Cover, Launches September". IGN. Retrieved July 10, 2024.