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MumboJumbo

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For other uses, see Mumbo Jumbo.
MumboJumbo
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001)
FoundersMark Dochtermann, Ron Dimant
Defunct2018
FateShutdown
HeadquartersDallas, Texas, United States
ProductsMyth III: The Wolf Age
Luxor series

MumboJumbo, LLC was an independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices.

History

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The company was founded in January 2001 by Mark Dochtermann and Ron Dimant[1] after leaving Ritual Entertainment. In 2003 it became one of the first independent developers to popularize casual games by partnering with portal sites to make games available for download directly to Windows and Mac computers.

MumboJumbo was previously a United Developers Company that acquired other development companies including Zono, Ritual Entertainment,[2] and Hot Lava Studios.[3]

On January 24, 2007, MumboJumbo announced their acquisition of Ritual Entertainment, a popular developer of first person shooter titles such as SiN and Star Trek: Elite Force II. Upon acquisition Ritual was made to assist with work on casual game titles, causing many prominent employees to leave the company and many analysts to speculate why the acquisition had been made in the first place. Some analysts have since criticized the move as both foolish and a massive waste of money. It is still unclear as to the purpose of MumboJumbo's decision, as MumboJumbo has still not released an official statement regarding their intentions to acquire a game developer known for creating mature titles in order to re-purpose them for casual game development.[2]

On January 25, 2010, a jury in the 193rd Civil District Court in Dallas County, Texas awarded MumboJumbo $4,600,000 in damages resulting from a breach of contract on the part of their former business partner PopCap Games. MumboJumbo had previously held a North American retail distribution agreement with the casual games developer. According to MumboJumbo, the relationship was violated when PopCap Games began to develop its own strategies for selling at retail. During the 12-day trial, MumboJumbo's law firm Rose-Walker showed that PopCap's actions "severely damaged" their business relationship with Walmart.[4]

As of January 2022, their website is owned and hosted by a cybersquatting firm[citation needed]. While some of their games have stopped working due to changes made in macOS Monterey, they are still available for purchase from the Apple App Store.

Games developed

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  • Myth III: The Wolf Age (2001)[5]
  • Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2001)[6][a]
  • Luxor series:
  • Angelica Weaver: Catch Me When You Can[b]
  • Midnight Mysteries series
    • The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy
    • Salem Witch Trials
    • Devil on the Mississippi
    • Haunted Houdini Witches of Abraham
    • Ghostwriting
  • Samantha Swift series
    • The Hidden Roses of Athena
    • The Golden Touch
    • The Fountains of Fate
    • The Mystery from Atlantis
  • Chainz series
    • Chainz
    • Chainz 2 Relinked
    • Chainz Galaxy
  • Pickers[c]
  • Glowfish: A Magical Underwater Adventure
  • Unlikely Suspects
  • Discovery: A Seek and Find Adventure
  • Zombie Bowl-O-Rama
  • The Office
  • Elements
  • Tornado Jockey
  • Square Logic: Everyday Genius
  • Little Farm
  • ZoomBook
  • Johnny Bravo in The Hukka-Mega-Mighty-Ultra-Extreme Date-O-Rama
  • Gearz

Games not developed but published

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  • Bejeweled (Developed and also published by PopCap Games, 2001)
  • Insaniquarium (Developed by Flying Bear Entertainment and also published by PopCap Games, 2001)
  • Bejeweled 2 (Developed and also published by PopCap Games, 2004)
  • Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa (Developed by Pocketwatch Games, 2005).
  • Farm Frenzy (Developed by Alawar Entertainment, 2007)
  • Margrave series (Developed by Inertia).[8]
  • Reaxxion
  • 7 Wonders series: 7 Wonders, 7 Wonders 2, 7 Wonders: Treasures of Seven, 7 Wonders: Magical Mystery Tour, 7 Wonders: Ancient Alien Makeover

Notes

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  1. ^ Responsible for the Mac OS X port
  2. ^ Subtitled Be the detective; Catch the killer in the present and the past
  3. ^ Alternatively subtitled with Pick • Sell • Trade • Haggle • Appraise

References

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  1. ^ "Mumbo Jumbo Announced - Blue's News". www.bluesnews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  2. ^ a b Stokker, Serban (January 24, 2007). "Ritual Entertainment Acquired By Casual Games Developer". Playfuls.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  3. ^ Boyer, Brandon (July 31, 2007). "MumboJumbo Acquires Casual Dev Hot Lava". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  4. ^ Bell, Erin (January 25, 2010). "MumboJumbo awarded $4.6 million in PopCap lawsuit". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  5. ^ Smith, Sean (November 19, 2001). "Myth III Team Axed; Mac Version Spared". Insidemacgames.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2012. Andrew Meggs, formerly of Myth III developer MumboJumbo, wrote that the Myth III development team had been laid off two weeks earlier: "The entire Myth III team was terminated on November 2, 2001."
  6. ^ Cohen, Peter (August 17, 2001). "Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn goes Gold". Macworld. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  7. ^ "LUXOR Adventures". WildTangent. Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  8. ^ "Older games". inertiasoftware.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
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