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Company type | Public (AG) |
---|---|
FWB: P911 DAX component | |
ISIN | DE000PAG9113 |
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | 1931Stuttgart, Germany | in
Founder | Ferdinand Porsche |
Headquarters | Stuttgart, Germany |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Wolfgang Porsche (chairman) Oliver Blume (CEO)[1] |
Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 321,321 vehicles[2] (2022) |
Services | Automotive financial services, engineering services, investment management |
Revenue | €37.630 billion (2022)[2] |
€6.770 billion (2022)[2] | |
€4.957 billion (2022)[2] | |
Total assets | €47.673 billion (2022)[2] |
Total equity | €17.027 billion (2022)[2] |
Owners |
|
Number of employees | 39,162 (2022)[2] |
Subsidiaries |
|
Website | www |
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (German pronunciation: [ˈpɔʁʃə] ; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is owned by Volkswagen AG, a controlling stake of which is owned by Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Porsche's current lineup includes the 718, 911, Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan.
The origins of the company date to the 1930s when Czech-German automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche founded Porsche[4] with Adolf Rosenberger, a keystone figure in the creation of German automotive manufacturer and Audi precursor Auto Union,[5] and Austrian businessman Anton Piëch, who was, at the time, also Ferdinand Porsche's son in law. In its early days, it was contracted by the German government to create a vehicle for the masses, which later became the Volkswagen Beetle.[6] After World War II, when Ferdinand would be arrested for war crimes, his son Ferry Porsche began building his own car, which would result in the Porsche 356.
In 2009, Porsche entered an agreement with Volkswagen to create an 'integrated working group' by merging the two companies' car manufacturing operations.[7][8] By 2015, Porsche SE, the holding company spun off from the original Porsche firm, had a controlling interest in the Volkswagen Group, which included Audi and Lamborghini as subsidiaries.[9]
Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951) founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH"[4] with Adolf Rosenberger[10] and Anton Piëch in 1931.[11] The name is short for Ferdinand Porsche's full title in German, Doktor Ingenieur honoris causa lit. 'Doctor of Engineering, Honorary Degree' Ferdinand Porsche.[12] The main offices was at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart.[13] Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting,[4] but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people; that is, a Volkswagen.[4] This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time.[6] Later, the Porsche 64 would be developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.[4]
During World War II,[14] Volkswagen production turned to the military version of the Volkswagen Beetle, the Kübelwagen,[14] 52,000 produced, and Schwimmwagen,[14] 15,584 produced.[15] Porsche produced several designs for heavy tanks during the war, losing out to Henschel & Son in both contracts that ultimately led to the Tiger I and the Tiger II. However, not all this work was wasted, as the chassis Porsche designed for the Tiger I was used as the base for the Elefant tank destroyer. Porsche also developed the Maus super-heavy tank in the closing stages of the war, producing two prototypes.[16] Ferdinand Porsche's biographer, Fabian Müller, wrote that Porsche had thousands of people forcibly brought to work at their factories during the war. The workers wore the letter "P" on their clothing at all times. It stood not for "Porsche", but for "Poland".[17]
At the end of World War II in 1945, the Volkswagen factory at KdF-Stadt fell to the British. Ferdinand lost his position as chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, and Ivan Hirst, a British Army major, was put in charge of the factory. (In Wolfsburg, the Volkswagen company magazine dubbed him "The British Major who saved Volkswagen".)[18] On 15 December of that year, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes, but not tried. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father's release in August 1947.[19]
The first models of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria.[19] The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with aluminum body) was begun by Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH, founded by Ferry and Louise. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. After production of the 356 was taken over by the father's Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart in 1950, Porsche commissioned a Zuffenhausen-based company, Reutter Karosserie, which had previously collaborated with the firm on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. In 1952, Porsche constructed an assembly plant (Werk 2) across the street from Reutter Karosserie; the main road in front of Werk 1, the oldest Porsche building, is now known as Porschestrasse.[20] The 356 was road-certified in 1948.
Porsche's company logo stems from the coat of arms of the Free People's State of Württemberg of Weimar Germany of 1918–1933, which had Stuttgart as its capital. (The Bundesland of Württemberg-Hohenzollern used the same arms from 1945 to 1952, while Stuttgart during these years operated as the capital of adjacent Württemberg-Baden.) The arms of Stuttgart appear in the middle of the logo as an inescutcheon, for the company had its headquarters in Stuttgart. The heraldic symbols, combined with the texts "Porsche" and "Stuttgart", do not form a conventional coat of arms, since heraldic achievements never spell out the name of the armiger nor the armiger's home town in the shield.
Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern both in 1952 became part of the present Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg after the political consolidation of West Germany in 1949, but the old design of the arms of Württemberg lives on in the Porsche logo. On 30 January 1951, not long before the formation of Baden-Württemberg, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke.
In post-war Germany, parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle, including the engine case from its internal combustion engine, transmission, and several parts used in the suspension. The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production, and most Volkswagen-sourced parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. Beginning in 1954 the 356s engines started utilizing engine cases designed specifically for the 356. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda, who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced.
In 1964, after a fair amount of success in motor-racing with various models including the 550 Spyder, and with the 356 needing a major re-design, the company launched the Porsche 911: another air-cooled, rear-engined sports car, this time with a six-cylinder "boxer" engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.). The design phase for the 911 caused internal problems with Erwin Komenda, who led the body design department until then. F. A. Porsche complained Komenda made unauthorized changes to the design. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighbouring chassis manufacturer Reuter. Reuter's workshop was later acquired by Porsche (so-called Werk 2). Afterward, Reuter became a seat manufacturer, today known as Keiper-Recaro.
The design office gave sequential numbers to every project (See Porsche type numbers), but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot's trademarks on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known model – successful on the race-track, in rallies, and in terms of road car sales. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical configuration of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupé, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but with a 356-derived four-cylinder engine, was sold as the 912.
In 1972, the company's legal form was changed from Kommanditgesellschaft (KG), or limited partnership, to Aktiengesellschaft (AG), or public limited company, because Ferry Porsche came to believe the scale of the company outgrew a "family operation", after learning about Soichiro Honda's "no family members in the company" policy at Honda. This led to the establishment of an executive board with members from outside the Porsche family, and a supervisory board consisting largely of family members. With this change, most family members in the operation of the company, including F. A. Porsche and Ferdinand Piëch, departed from the company.
F. A. Porsche founded his own design company, Porsche Design, which is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles. Louise's son and Ferry's nephew Ferdinand Piëch, who was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's production and racing cars (including the very successful 911, 908 and 917 models), formed his own engineering bureau, and developed a five-cylinder-inline diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz. A short time later he moved to Audi (used to be a division, then a subsidiary, of Volkswagen), and pursued his career through the entire company, ultimately becoming the chairman of Volkswagen Group.
The first chief executive officer (CEO) of Porsche AG was Ernst Fuhrmann, who had been working in the company's engine development division. Fuhrmann was responsible for the so-called Fuhrmann-engine, used in the 356 Carrera models as well as the 550 Spyder, having four overhead camshafts instead of a central camshaft with pushrods, as in the Volkswagen-derived serial engines. He planned to cease the 911 during the 1970s and replace it with the V8-front engined grand sportswagon 928. As we know today, the 911 outlived the 928 by far. Fuhrmann was replaced in the early 1980s by Peter W. Schutz, an American manager and self-proclaimed 911 aficionado. He was then replaced in 1988 by the former manager of German computer company Nixdorf Computer AG, Arno Bohn, who made some costly miscalculations that led to his dismissal soon after, along with that of the development director, Dr. Ulrich Bez, who was formerly responsible for BMW's Z1 model, and was CEO of Aston Martin from 2000 to 2013.[21]
In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding with Toyota to learn and benefit from Japanese lean manufacturing methods. In 2004 it was reported that Toyota was assisting Porsche with hybrid technology.[22]
Following the dismissal of Bohn, Heinz Branitzki, a longtime Porsche employee, was appointed as interim CEO. Branitzki served in that position until Wendelin Wiedeking became CEO in 1993. Wiedeking took over the chairmanship of the board at a time when Porsche appeared vulnerable to a takeover by a larger company. During his long tenure, Wiedeking transformed Porsche into a very efficient and profitable company.
Ferdinand Porsche's nephew, Ferdinand Piëch, was chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002 and is chairman of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board since then. With 12.8 percent of the Porsche SE voting shares, he also remains the second-largest individual shareholder of Porsche SE after his cousin, F. A. Porsche, which had 13.6 percent.
Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility in Leipzig, Saxony, which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output. In 2004, production of the 456 kilowatts (620 PS; 612 bhp) Carrera GT commenced in Leipzig, and at EUR 450,000 ($440,000 in the United States) it was the most expensive production model Porsche ever built.
In mid-2006, after years of the Boxster (and later the Cayenne) as the best selling Porsche in North America, the 911 regained its position as Porsche's best-seller in the region. The Cayenne and 911 have cycled as the top-selling model since. In Germany, the 911 outsells the Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne.[23]
In May 2011, Porsche Cars North America announced plans to spend $80–$100 million, but will receive about $15 million in economic incentives to move their North American headquarters from Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta, to Aerotropolis, Atlanta, a new mixed-use development on the site of the old Ford Hapeville plant adjacent to Atlanta's airport.[24] Designed by architectural firm HOK, the headquarters will include a new office building and test track.[25][26][27] The facility will be known by its new address, One Porsche Drive.
In October 2017, Porsche Cars North America announced the launch of Porsche Passport,[28] a new sports car and SUV subscription program. This new offering allows consumers to access Porsche vehicles through subscribing to the service, rather than owning or leasing a vehicle. The Porsche Passport service was available initially in Atlanta,[29][30] and has become available in many major cities across the US.[31]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Porsche suspended its manufacturing in Europe for two weeks, "By taking this step, the sports car manufacturer is responding to the significant acceleration in the rate of infection caused by the coronavirus and the resultant measures implemented by the relevant authorities."[32]
In August 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Porsche has lined up interest in subscription of its initial public offering for a valuation between US$60–85 billion. It is expected to be listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange in September.[33]
The company has always had a close relationship with, initially, the Volkswagen (VW) marque, and later, the Volkswagen Group (which also owns Audi AG), because the first Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.
The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make the VW-Porsche 914 and 914-6, whereby the 914-6 had a Porsche engine, and the 914 had a Volkswagen engine. Further collaboration in 1976 resulted in the Porsche 912E (US only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components, and was built at Audi's Neckarsulm factory, which had been NSU's. Porsche 944s were also built there,[34] although they used far fewer Volkswagen components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its chassis with the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7, which is built at the Volkswagen Group factory in Bratislava, Slovakia.
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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Animation |
Predecessor | The Graphics Group of Lucasfilm Computer Division (1979–1986) |
Founded | February 3, 1986Richmond, California | in
Founders | |
Headquarters | 1200 Park Avenue, , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Products | Computer animations |
Brands | |
Number of employees | 1,233 (2020) |
Parent | Walt Disney Studios (2006–present) |
Website | www |
Footnotes / references [1][2][3] |
Pixar Animation Studios, known simply as Pixar (/ˈpɪksɑːr/), is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Since 2006, Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, a segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Pixar started in 1979 as part of the Lucasfilm computer division. It was known as the Graphics Group before its spin-off as a corporation in 1986, with funding from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who became its majority shareholder.[2] Disney announced its acquisition of Pixar in January 2006, and completed it in May 2006.[4][5][6] Pixar is best known for its feature films, technologically powered by RenderMan, the company's own implementation of the industry-standard RenderMan Interface Specification image-rendering API. The studio's mascot is Luxo Jr., a desk lamp from the studio's 1986 short film of the same name.
Pixar has produced 28 feature films, starting with Toy Story (1995), which is the first fully computer-animated feature film; its most recent film was Inside Out 2 (2024). The studio has also produced many short films. As of July 2023[update], its feature films have earned over $15 billion at the worldwide box office with an average gross of $546.9 million per film.[7] Toy Story 3 (2010), Finding Dory (2016), Incredibles 2 (2018), Toy Story 4 (2019) and Inside Out 2 (2024) all grossed over $1 billion and are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time. Moreover, 15 of Pixar's films are in the 50 highest-grossing animated films of all time.
Pixar has earned 23 Academy Awards, 10 Golden Globe Awards, and 11 Grammy Awards, along with numerous other awards and acknowledgments. Since its inauguration in 2001, eleven Pixar films have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, including Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), the aforementioned Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, Brave (2012), Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), and Soul (2020). Toy Story 3 and Up were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
In February 2009, Pixar executives John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich were presented with the Golden Lion award for Lifetime Achievement by the Venice Film Festival. The physical award was ceremoniously handed to Lucasfilm's founder, George Lucas.
Pixar got its start in 1974, when New York Institute of Technology's (NYIT) founder, Alexander Schure, who was also the owner of a traditional animation studio, established the Computer Graphics Lab (CGL) and recruited computer scientists who shared his ambitions about creating the world's first computer-animated film. Edwin Catmull and Malcolm Blanchard were the first to be hired and were soon joined by Alvy Ray Smith and David DiFrancesco some months later, which were the four original members of the Computer Graphics Lab, located in a converted two-story garage acquired from the former Vanderbilt-Whitney estate.[8][9] Schure invested significant funds into the computer graphics lab, approximately $15 million, providing the resources the group needed but contributing to NYIT's financial difficulties.[10] Eventually, the group realized they needed to work in a real film studio to reach their goal. Francis Ford Coppola then invited Smith to his house for a three-day media conference, where Coppola and George Lucas shared their visions for the future of digital moviemaking.[11]
When Lucas approached them and offered them a job at his studio, six employees moved to Lucasfilm. During the following months, they gradually resigned from CGL, found temporary jobs for about a year to avoid making Schure suspicious, and joined the Graphics Group at Lucasfilm.[12][13] The Graphics Group, which was one-third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm, was launched in 1979 with the hiring of Catmull from NYIT,[14] where he was in charge of the Computer Graphics Lab. He was then reunited with Smith, who also made the journey from NYIT to Lucasfilm, and was made the director of the Graphics Group. At NYIT, the researchers pioneered many of the CG foundation techniques — in particular, the invention of the alpha channel by Catmull and Smith.[15] Over the next several years, the CGL would produce a few frames of an experimental film called The Works. After moving to Lucasfilm, the team worked on creating the precursor to RenderMan, called REYES (for "renders everything you ever saw"), and developed several critical technologies for CG — including particle effects and various animation tools.[16]
John Lasseter was hired to the Lucasfilm team for a week in late 1983 with the title "interface designer"; he animated the short film The Adventures of André & Wally B.[17] In the next few years, a designer suggested naming a new digital compositing computer the "Picture Maker". Smith suggested that the laser-based device have a catchier name, and came up with "Pixer", which after a meeting was changed to "Pixar".[18] According to Michael Rubin, the author of Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution, Smith and three other employees came up with the name during a restaurant visit in 1981, but when interviewing them he got four different versions about the origin of the name.[19]
In 1982, the Pixar team began working on special-effects film sequences with Industrial Light & Magic. After years of research, and key milestones such as the Genesis Effect in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and the Stained Glass Knight in Young Sherlock Holmes,[14] the group, which then numbered 40 individuals, was spun out as a corporation in February 1986 by Catmull and Smith. Among the 38 remaining employees were Malcolm Blanchard, David DiFrancesco, Ralph Guggenheim, and Bill Reeves, who had been part of the team since the days of NYIT. Tom Duff, also an NYIT member, would later join Pixar after its formation.[2] With Lucas's 1983 divorce, which coincided with the sudden dropoff in revenues from Star Wars licenses following the release of Return of the Jedi, they knew he would most likely sell the whole Graphics Group. Worried that the employees would be lost to them if that happened, which would prevent the creation of the first computer-animated movie, they concluded that the best way to keep the team together was to turn the group into an independent company. But Moore's Law also suggested that sufficient computing power for the first film was still some years away, and they needed to focus on a proper product until then. Eventually, they decided they should be a hardware company in the meantime, with their Pixar Image Computer as the core product, a system primarily sold to governmental, scientific, and medical markets.[2][10][20] They also used SGI computers.[21]
In 1983, Nolan Bushnell founded a new computer-guided animation studio called Kadabrascope as a subsidiary of his Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatres company (PTT), which was founded in 1977. Only one major project was made out of the new studio, an animated Christmas special for NBC starring Chuck E. Cheese and other PTT mascots; known as "Chuck E. Cheese: The Christmas That Almost Wasn't". The animation movement would be made using tweening instead of traditional cel animation. After the video game crash of 1983, Bushnell started selling some subsidiaries of PTT to keep the business afloat. Sente Technologies (another division, was founded to have games distributed in PTT stores) was sold to Bally Games and Kadabrascope was sold to Lucasfilm. The Kadabrascope assets were combined with the Computer Division of Lucasfilm.[22] Coincidentally, one of Steve Jobs's first jobs was under Bushnell in 1973 as a technician at his other company Atari, which Bushnell sold to Warner Communications in 1976 to focus on PTT.[23] PTT would later go bankrupt in 1984 and be acquired by ShowBiz Pizza Place.[24]
In 1986, the newly independent Pixar was headed by President Edwin Catmull and Executive Vice President Alvy Ray Smith. Lucas's search for investors led to an offer from Steve Jobs, which Lucas initially found too low. He eventually accepted after determining it impossible to find other investors. At that point, Smith and Catmull had been declined by 35 venture capitalists and ten large corporations,[25] including a deal with General Motors which fell through three days before signing the contracts.[26] Jobs, who had been edged out of Apple in 1985,[2] was now founder and CEO of the new computer company NeXT. On February 3, 1986, he paid $5 million of his own money to George Lucas for technology rights and invested $5 million cash as capital into the company, joining the board of directors as chairman.[2][27]
In 1985 while still at Lucasfilm, they had made a deal with the Japanese publisher Shogakukan to make a computer-animated movie called Monkey, based on the Monkey King. The project continued sometime after they became a separate company in 1986, but it became clear that the technology was not sufficiently advanced. The computers were not powerful enough and the budget would be too high. As a result they focused on the computer hardware business for years until a computer-animated feature became feasible according to Moore's law.[28][29]
At the time, Walt Disney Studios made the decision to develop more efficient ways of producing animation. They reached out to Graphics Group at Lucasfilm and to Digital Productions. Because of the Graphics Group's deeper understanding of animation, and Smith's experience with paint programs at NYIT, it convinced Disney they were the right choice. In May 1986 Pixar signed a contract with Disney, who eventually bought and used the Pixar Image Computer and custom software written by Pixar as part of its Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) project, to migrate the laborious ink and paint part of the 2D animation process to a more automated method.[30] The company's first feature film to be released using this new animation method was The Rescuers Down Under (1990).[31][32]
In a bid to drive sales of the system and increase the company's capital, Jobs suggested releasing the product to the mainstream market. Pixar employee John Lasseter, who had long been working on not-for-profit short demonstration animations, such as Luxo Jr. (1986) to show off the device's capabilities, premiered his creations to great fanfare at SIGGRAPH, the computer graphics industry's largest convention.[33]
However, the Image Computer had inadequate sales[33] which threatened to end the company as financial losses grew. Jobs increased investment in exchange for an increased stake, reducing the proportion of management and employee ownership until eventually, his total investment of $50 million gave him control of the entire company. In 1989, Lasseter's growing animation department which was originally composed of just four people (Lasseter, Bill Reeves, Eben Ostby, and Sam Leffler), was turned into a division that produced computer-animated commercials for outside companies.[1][34][35] In April 1990, Pixar sold its hardware division, including all proprietary hardware technology and imaging software, to Vicom Systems, and transferred 18 of Pixar's approximately 100 employees. In the same year Pixar moved from San Rafael to Richmond, California.[36] Pixar released some of its software tools on the open market for Macintosh and Windows systems. RenderMan is one of the leading 3D packages of the early 1990s, and Typestry is a special-purpose 3D text renderer that competed with RayDream.[citation needed]
During this period of time, Pixar continued its successful relationship with Walt Disney Feature Animation, a studio whose corporate parent would ultimately become its most important partner. As 1991 began, however the layoff of 30 employees in the company's computer hardware department—including the company's president, Chuck Kolstad,[37] reduced the total number of employees to just 42, approximately its original number.[38] On March 6, 1991, Steve Jobs bought the company from its employees and became the full owner. He contemplated folding it into NeXT, but the NeXT's co-founders refused.[26] A few months later Pixar made a historic $26 million deal with Disney to produce three computer-animated feature films, the first of which was Toy Story (1995), the product of the technological limitations that challenged CGI.[39] By then the software programmers, who were doing RenderMan and IceMan, and Lasseter's animation department, which made television commercials (and four Luxo Jr. shorts for Sesame Street the same year), were all that remained of Pixar.[40]
Despite the income from these projects, the company still continued to lose money and Steve Jobs, as chairman of the board and now owner, often considered selling it. As late as 1994, Jobs contemplated selling Pixar to other companies such as Hallmark Cards, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and Oracle CEO and co-founder Larry Ellison.[41] After learning from New York critics that Toy Story would probably be a hit, and confirming that Disney would distribute it for the 1995 Christmas season, he decided to give Pixar another chance.[42][43] Also for the first time, he took an active leadership role in the company and made himself CEO.[44] Toy Story grossed more than $373 million worldwide[45] and, when Pixar held its initial public offering on November 29, 1995, it exceeded Netscape's as the biggest IPO of the year. In its first half-hour of trading, Pixar stock shot from $22 to $45, delaying trading because of unmatched buy orders. Shares climbed to US$49 and closed the day at $39.[46]
The company continued to make the television commercials during the production of Toy Story, which came to an end on July 9, 1996, when Pixar announced they would shut down its television commercial unit, which counted 18 employees, to focus on longer projects and interactive entertainment.[47][48]
During the 1990s and 2000s, Pixar gradually developed the "Pixar Braintrust", the studio's primary creative development process, in which all of its directors, writers, and lead storyboard artists regularly examine each other's projects and give very candid "notes", the industry term for constructive criticism.[49] The Braintrust operates under a philosophy of a "filmmaker-driven studio", in which creatives help each other move their films forward through a process somewhat like peer review, as opposed to the traditional Hollywood approach of an "executive-driven studio" in which directors are micromanaged through "mandatory notes" from development executives outranking the producers.[50][51] According to Catmull, it evolved out of the working relationship between Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, and Joe Ranft on Toy Story.[49]
As a result of the success of Toy Story, Pixar built a new studio at the Emeryville campus which was designed by PWP Landscape Architecture and opened in November 2000.[citation needed]
Pixar and Disney had disagreements over the production of Toy Story 2. Originally intended as a direct-to-video release (and thus not part of Pixar's three-picture deal), the film was eventually upgraded to a theatrical release during production. Pixar demanded that the film then be counted toward the three-picture agreement, but Disney refused.[52] Though profitable for both, Pixar later complained that the arrangement was not equitable. Pixar was responsible for creation and production, while Disney handled marketing and distribution. Profits and production costs were split equally, but Disney exclusively owned all story, character, and sequel rights and also collected a 10- to 15-percent distribution fee.[53]
The two companies attempted to reach a new agreement for ten months and failed on January 26, 2001, July 26, 2002, April 22, 2003, January 16, 2004, July 22, 2004, and January 14, 2005. The proposed distribution deal meant Pixar would control production and own the resulting story, character, and sequel rights, while Disney would own the right of first refusal to distribute any sequels. Pixar also wanted to finance its own films and collect 100 percent profit, paying Disney the 10- to 15-percent distribution fee.[54] In addition, as part of any distribution agreement with Disney, Pixar demanded control over films already in production under the old agreement, including The Incredibles (2004) and Cars (2006). Disney considered these conditions unacceptable, but Pixar would not concede.
Disagreements between Steve Jobs and Disney chairman and CEO Michael Eisner caused the negotiations to cease in 2004, with Disney forming Circle Seven Animation and Jobs declaring that Pixar was actively seeking partners other than Disney.[55] Despite this announcement and several talks with Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and 20th Century Fox, Pixar did not enter negotiations with other distributors,[56] although a Warner Bros. spokesperson told CNN, "We would love to be in business with Pixar. They are a great company."[54] After a lengthy hiatus, negotiations between the two companies resumed following the departure of Eisner from Disney in September 2005. In preparation for potential fallout between Pixar and Disney, Jobs announced in late 2004 that Pixar would no longer release movies at the Disney-dictated November time frame, but during the more lucrative early summer months. This would also allow Pixar to release DVDs for its major releases during the Christmas shopping season. An added benefit of delaying Cars from November 4, 2005, to June 9, 2006, was to extend the time frame remaining on the Pixar-Disney contract, to see how things would play out between the two companies.[56]
Pending the Disney acquisition of Pixar, the two companies created a distribution deal for the intended 2007 release of Ratatouille, to ensure that if the acquisition failed, this one film would be released through Disney's distribution channels. In contrast to the earlier Pixar deal, Ratatouille was meant to remain a Pixar property and Disney would have received a distribution fee. The completion of Disney's Pixar acquisition, however, nullified this distribution arrangement.[57]
After extended negotiations, Disney ultimately agreed on January 24, 2006, to buy Pixar for approximately $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal.[58] Following Pixar shareholder approval, the acquisition was completed on May 5, 2006. The transaction catapulted Jobs, who owned 49.65% of total share interest in Pixar, to Disney's largest individual shareholder with 7%, valued at $3.9 billion, and a new seat on its board of directors.[6][59] Jobs' new Disney holdings exceeded holdings belonging to Eisner, the previous top shareholder, who still held 1.7%; and Disney Director Emeritus Roy E. Disney, who held almost 1% of the corporation's shares. Pixar shareholders received 2.3 shares of Disney common stock for each share of Pixar common stock redeemed.[60]
As part of the deal, John Lasseter, by then Executive Vice President, became Chief Creative Officer (reporting directly to president and CEO Bob Iger and consulting with Disney Director Roy E. Disney) of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios (including its division Disneytoon Studios), as well as the Principal Creative Adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs and builds the company's theme parks.[59] Catmull retained his position as President of Pixar, while also becoming President of Walt Disney Animation Studios, reporting to Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. Jobs's position as Pixar's chairman and chief executive officer was abolished, and instead, he took a place on the Disney board of directors.[61]
After the deal closed in May 2006, Lasseter revealed that Iger had felt that Disney needed to buy Pixar while watching a parade at the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in September 2005.[62] Iger noticed that of all the Disney characters in the parade, none were characters that Disney had created within the last ten years since all the newer ones had been created by Pixar.[62] Upon returning to Burbank, Iger commissioned a financial analysis that confirmed that Disney had actually lost money on animation for the past decade, then presented that information to the board of directors at his first board meeting after being promoted from COO to CEO, and the board, in turn, authorized him to explore the possibility of a deal with Pixar.[63] Lasseter and Catmull were wary when the topic of Disney buying Pixar first came up, but Jobs asked them to give Iger a chance (based on his own experience negotiating with Iger in summer 2005 for the rights to
Grand Theft Auto theme by Guillaume Download: GrandTheftAuto.p3t
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly.[2] Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States.
Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities. Most of the gameplay revolves around driving and shooting, with occasional role-playing and stealth elements. The series also has elements of the earlier beat 'em up games from the 16-bit era. The games in the Grand Theft Auto series are set in fictional locales modelled after real-life cities, at various points in time from the early 1960s to the 2010s. The original game's map encompassed three cities—Liberty City (based on New York City), San Andreas (based on San Francisco),[a] and Vice City (based on Miami)—but later titles tend to focus on a single setting and expand upon the original three locales. Each game in the series centres on different respective protagonist who attempts to rise through the criminal underworld due to various motives, often accompanying themes of betrayal. Several film and music veterans have voiced characters in the games, including Ray Liotta, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, William Fichtner, James Woods, Debbie Harry, Axl Rose and Peter Fonda.[3]
DMA Design began the series in 1997, with the release of the Grand Theft Auto. As of 2020[update], the series consists of seven standalone titles and four expansion packs. The third main title, Grand Theft Auto III, released in 2001, is considered a landmark game, and brought the series into a three-dimensional environment for the first time. Subsequent titles have followed and built upon the format established by Grand Theft Auto III, receiving significant acclaim. The games influenced other open-world games, and led to the label Grand Theft Auto clone on similar titles.[4]
The series has been critically acclaimed, with all the main 3D entries in the franchise frequently ranked among the greatest and best-selling video games;[5] it has shipped more than 425 million units, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises. In 2006, Grand Theft Auto was featured in a list of British design icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum.[6] In 2013, The Telegraph ranked Grand Theft Auto among Britain's most successful exports.[7] The series has also been controversial for its adult nature and violent themes, as well as for cut content.
The Grand Theft Auto series is split into separate fictional universes, named after the primary level of graphics capability used in each era.[8] The original Grand Theft Auto, its expansions and its sequel are considered the "2D universe". Grand Theft Auto III and its sequels are considered the "3D universe". Grand Theft Auto IV, its expansions and Grand Theft Auto V are considered the "HD universe". Each universe is considered separate with only brands, place names and background characters shared between them.[8]
Grand Theft Auto, the first game in the series, was released for MS-DOS and Windows in November 1997, ported to the PlayStation in 1998 and the Game Boy Color in 1999. Grand Theft Auto 2 was released in 1999 for Windows, later receiving ports on the PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color.[9]
The PlayStation 2 also featured three instalments of the main series, all of which have been re-released on several platforms; a deal between Take-Two Interactive and Sony Computer Entertainment resulted in their timed exclusivity on the PlayStation 2, before receiving ports to Windows and the Xbox.[10] The 2001 title Grand Theft Auto III moved away from the two-dimension (2D) graphics used in the first two games to three-dimension (3D) computer graphics[11] Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was published in 2002, and was the first to feature a speaking protagonist, voiced by Ray Liotta.[12] Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in 2004, introduced various new elements, including character customisation and a large map encompassing three cities and surrounding rural area.[13]
Two main instalments were published for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The 2008 title Grand Theft Auto IV focused on realism and detail, removing various customisation features, while adding an online multiplayer mode.[14] Grand Theft Auto V, published in 2013, featured three playable protagonists.[15] It was released to massive financial success, breaking multiple records.[16] It was later re-released with various enhancements, in 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and in 2015 for Windows;[17] versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S were released in 2022.[18]
On 4 February 2022, Rockstar confirmed that development of a new entry in the series was "well underway".[19] In-development footage of the game leaked in September 2022;[20][21] Rockstar noted that it was "extremely disappointed" by the manner in which the game was first demonstrated, but that it did not anticipate long-term effects on development.[22] In December 2023, the game was officially announced as Grand Theft Auto VI, with a projected release date of 2025 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.[23]
Grand Theft Auto has spawned numerous additional games and expansion packs. In 1999, the original game received two expansion packs: Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, which, as their names suggest, featured a different setting – a fictional version of London – and new missions and characters.[9] Grand Theft Auto Advance, released in 2004 exclusively for the Game Boy Advance, featured a top-down perspective, similarly to the first two main games in the series, and the same setting as Grand Theft Auto III, to which it served as a prequel. Three games were released for the PlayStation Portable: Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in 2005, which is also a prequel to Grand Theft Auto III; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006, which is a prequel to Vice City; and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in 2009, which features the same setting as Grand Theft Auto IV, but the two games are otherwise unrelated. Both Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were later ported to the PlayStation 2, while Chinatown Wars was originally released for the Nintendo DS and later ported to PlayStation Portable.[24] In 2009, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony were released for the Xbox 360 as expansion packs to Grand Theft Auto IV; a "strategic alliance" between Rockstar and Microsoft resulted in the timed exclusivity. The expansions focus on characters who played a relatively minor role in the main game, and whose stories take place simultaneously with Grand Theft Auto IV's. Both were later released for the PlayStation 3 and Windows as part of a compilation, titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, also available on Xbox 360.[25]
Numerous titles in the series have received ports to mobile devices. Chinatown Wars was released for iOS in 2010 and for Android and Fire OS in 2014.[26] For their tenth anniversaries, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City were both re-released for iOS and Android in 2011 and 2012, respectively.[27][28] In 2013, San Andreas was ported to iOS, Android and Windows Phone and RT;[29] the mobile port was later re-released for Xbox 360 in 2014, the year of the game's tenth anniversary,[30] and the following year for PlayStation 3.[31] In 2015, Liberty City Stories was ported to iOS, Android and Fire OS.[32][33]
Grand Theft Auto Double Pack was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and includes both Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City.[34] Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is a compilation of III, Vice City, and San Andreas, and was first released in 2005 for the Xbox.[35] It was later re-released for the PlayStation 2, Windows, Mac OS X, and PlayStation 4.[36][37][38][39] The Trilogy also served as the revised package for San Andreas, which had to be pulled from shelves due to the controversial Hot Coffee mod.[40] A report in August 2021 suggested that Rockstar Dundee was leading development on a remastered version of the trilogy, using Unreal Engine;[41] following some leaks,[42][43][44] Rockstar officially announced Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition on 8 October 2021. The game features graphical and gameplay upgrades, and replaced existing versions on digital retailers. It was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 11 November 2021,[45] and for Android and iOS on 14 December 2023.[46]
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City is a standalone compilation of the two episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV. It contains both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. It was released on 29 October 2009 for the Xbox 360 and on 13 April 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Windows. Microsoft added Episodes from Liberty City to its backwards compatibility list for Xbox One platforms in February 2017.[47] The standalone release of Episodes from Liberty City for Windows was discontinued and replaced by a single-player-only version of Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition in 2020.[48]
Mercedes Benz SLR theme by meatballs.themes Download: MercedesBenzSLR.p3t Redirect to: Heavenly Sword theme by BO0OM Download: HeavenlySword_2.p3t Heavenly Sword is a 2007 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Ninja Theory and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3.
The game is an action-adventure title with heavy elements of hack and slash gameplay. The gameplay of the game resembles a martial arts title focused on melee combat while featuring opportunities for ranged attacks. The main character, Nariko, uses a weapon called the "Heavenly Sword" which changes into one of three forms depending on what attack stance the player uses as part of a unique fighting style. Speed Stance provides an even balance between damage and speed, where the sword takes the form of two separate blades.[1] Range Stance allows fast, long-range, but weaker attacks, with the sword being two blades chained together. Power Stance is the most powerful, but slowest style, where attacks are made with the sword in the shape of one large, two-handed blade.
For exploration and certain battles, the game also makes use of quick time events (QTE). During a QTE, a symbol for a certain button or for an action such as moving the analog stick to the right or left appears on-screen and the player must match what is shown to successfully complete the scene.[1]
In addition to Nariko, a secondary character, Kai, is controlled for some portions of the game.[1] Many of Kai's stages take the form of sniping missions, using her crossbow to pick off enemies, in some cases to protect characters. While Kai cannot perform hand-to-hand combat,[1] in stages that call for her to explore the level she is able to hop over objects and to free herself from an enemy's grasp by temporarily stunning them.
Projectiles can be maneuvered to their targets using the motion-sensing capabilities of the Sixaxis controller through a feature known as Aftertouch. Such projectiles include guiding Kai's arrows after she has launched them, and for Nariko, guiding a cannon or rocket launcher, or picking up and throwing objects.
The game's story and mythos revolves around the titular Heavenly Sword, a blade said to have been wielded by an unnamed Heavenly deity against a demonic warlord called the Raven Lord.[2] After the battle was won and the Raven Lord defeated, the sword was left in the mortal world, becoming the center of wars over its power.[3] The fighting made the sword lust after the life of its users, eventually killing them after a short time.[4][5] A warrior tribe finally took charge of the sword, ending the wars and pledging to keep it safe and unused for the world's own good.[6] Among the tribe, a legend said that the sword's original wielder would be reborn in the year of the "fire-horse", and that this figure would unite the world's scattered tribes and lead the world to peace.[7]
The game's narrator and main protagonist is Nariko (Anna Torv), a headstrong red-headed woman who was born in the year of the prophesied divine warrior: because she was a woman, her clan saw her as a mockery of the prophecy and a portent of doom.[8] The game's main antagonist is King Bohan (Andy Serkis), a tyrannical ruler who is determined to bring the world's tribes to heel and pave the way for a new golden age.[9] Nariko is trained as a warrior by her father, Master Shen (Ewan Stewart), who both cares for her as a child and has difficulty coping with her role in the clan's seeming undoing and the death of his wife.[10] Nariko's only friend is Kai (Lydia Baksh), a wild and erratic young girl who is the last member of a clan destroyed by the armies of Bohan.[11] Among Bohan's servants are his general, Flying Fox (Steven Berkoff): his serpentine mistress Whiptail (Race Davies): and Roach (Richard Ridings), Bohan's son, of whom the king is so ashamed because of Roach's obese appearance that he will not even acknowledge Roach as his own.[12]
The game begins in medias res, with Nariko fighting the forces of Bohan. As she is fighting the sword finishes draining her life and she seemingly dies, waking in a field and speaking to the power within the sword about what has happened. Five days before, Nariko's clan is assaulted by King Bohan's forces. Before she joins the fight, Shen thrusts the sword into the ground next to her demanding that she take care of it. Nariko fights alongside her father and her clansmen as their defenses are weakened and stretched by scores of Bohan's warriors scaling the city walls accompanied by catapults. As the warriors and Shen escape from Bohan's Army, Nariko protects them until spotting a catapult moving toward the fort. As Shen had earlier instructed her, she flees, as the fortress is apparently destroyed behind her. She passes a large black bird with a golden head, the animal form of the Raven Lord. When Bohan's army captures her father and corners her Nariko has no choice but to wield the sword to defend herself in order to escape. She takes a flying leap off a cliff edge as Bohan's archers begin firing at her. Kai finds Nariko after disobeying Shen's orders to hide and informs her of the temple where her father and clansmen are held captive. Nariko infiltrates the temple and is ambushed by Flying Fox. She defeats the general and continues on to rescue her father. Meanwhile, King Bohan plots to set up a trap for Nariko with Whiptail. Nariko falls into the trap, and Whiptail, after watching most of her personal guards defeated, tells Nariko the truth behind her father's original feelings about her birth - Shen wanted to kill Nariko shortly after her birth, but was unable to bring himself to do so.[13] Nariko tells her father to leave her and fights with Whiptail. After Nariko impales Whiptail with the sword, King Bohan turns up and snaps Whiptail's neck in her dying moments, then captures the sword and an incapacitated Nariko.
As Shen escapes, Kai makes her way to Nariko's cell. Kai is able to find where Nariko is imprisoned and begs that she comes home with her. Nariko explains to Kai that she needs to reacquire the Heavenly Sword to kill King Bohan. She asks Kai to retrieve the sword and Kai accepts the task. Kai succeeds in finding the Heavenly Sword, only to also discover her mother's skeleton. In a flashback, it is revealed that, some years ago, Kai's mother was murdered in front of her eyes by Flying Fox. Returning to the present, Kai is confronted by Flying Fox and barely manages to escape from him with the sword. Meanwhile, Nariko is forced by Bohan to fight before his army against Orangumen, pets of Roach's. During the battle, Kai arrives and throws Nariko the sword. When Nariko defeats all the Orangumen, Bohan orders Roach to murder Nariko. After defeating Roach, both Nariko and Kai flee from the pit. Bohan then commands Flying Fox to kill Kai while his soldiers take on Nariko. As the two try to escape, Flying Fox cuts Kai off from Nariko and they are separated. Nariko desperately tails Flying Fox, but when she finally catches up, he seemingly hangs Kai in front of her. Believing Kai dead, Nariko flies into a rage and battles with Flying Fox. As Nariko and Flying Fox duel, Kai, who survived the drop, uses her crossbow to shoot an arrow into Flying Fox's head, killing him. Nariko releases the injured Kai from the noose and returns her to the care of the clan.
King Bohan rallies his men to launch a final attack to regain the Heavenly Sword. Nariko fights alongside her father and clansmen once more. Nariko kills countless numbers of Bohan's troops with ease and destroys his catapults. Despite her efforts, the sword kills her, bringing the events of the game full circle. But this time, Nariko reverses her death by making a pact with the sword to protect it from becoming a useless and dusty relic, since it needs her more than her clan needs it.[14] Nariko returns as a goddess-like figure, and proceeds to slaughter Bohan's troops. Desperate, Bohan begs the Raven Lord (who has been seen repeatedly throughout the game watching Nariko or being with Bohan) to give him the power to destroy Nariko. Bohan gets his wish and the Raven Lord merges with him.[15] An epic battle ensues similar to the one foretold in the prophecy. After Nariko manages to defeat Bohan, the raven leaves his body, and, despite Bohan begging for mercy, pecks his eyes out and flies away.
As Nariko raises the sword to strike the final blow, Roach comes to his father's side and begs Nariko to let him take Bohan. Nariko relents, then Roach and Bohan leave, with Bohan calling Roach his son for the first time.[16] Though successful in protecting the sword from coming into the hands of Bohan, Nariko still must give her life for wielding it, for that is the price for using the almighty sword, and the story comes to its end. Nariko reflects that she believes they have fought in vain for the prophecy, that the sword was not from Heaven, but feels gratified that she chose to be the one who was going to save her people from evil: she took the sword, paid the price and ultimately defeated Bohan's army, but nevertheless she was still a normal woman.[17] Nariko heals Kai, and gives her the sword for safekeeping, before passing away. At the funeral, Nariko's body is placed into a boat filled with blossoms, and Kai and Shen cast her out to sea.
Heavenly Sword began development in 2002.[18] After establishing early concept, a CGI trailer was produced which helped guide future development, described by the team as an iterative process where many other things changed around the central concept. The team began production without a specific console in mind, tailoring gameplay elements to the PlayStation 3 when the game was picked up by Sony as an exclusive for their upcoming platform.[19] The game was developed using Havok Complete, a combination of Havok Physics and Havok Animation.[20] Production began with the aim of telling a cinematic action adventure inspired by recent films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, with a later fantasy influence inspired by the themes of The Lord of the Rings.[21] Other influences included the game Ico (2001), the graphic novel La Tour, and the South Korean movie Musa.[19] The game eventually developed a distinct visual and narrative identity while maintaining elements from these early inspirations.[21] Nariko's three combat styles drew direct inspiration from the dragon forms in Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002).[19]
The character designs were intended to stand out from each other, with distinct elements ranging from color coding to how a character moved. Nariko was made recognisable both with her unique red hair and the simplicity of her outfit compared to other characters.[21] The early concept designs were heavily influenced by Japanese art, and while it retained a strong Far Eastern theme with influences from Japan and China, the team also incorporated references to Mongolian and South American environments and architecture.[19]
Character movement was an important element for the team. Kai's movements were based on several elements, including cats and Princess Mononoke protagonist San.[19] While they were still faced with technical restrictions, the team had access to hardware which better enabled them to realise their world and character design. Ninja Theory collaborated with Peter Jackson's company Wētā FX to create realistic facial expressions both during cutscenes and in gameplay.[21] All of the actors involved in the project had previously been involved in film or television.[19] Actor Andy Serkis performs as the voice and motion capture actor for King Bohan, one of the major characters in Heavenly Sword; he also acts as dramatic director for the game and is one of the writers of the story of the game. Nariko is voiced by Australian actress Anna Torv.[22]
A demo was released to the PlayStation Store on July 26, 2007, featuring a short, cinematic clip at the beginning and two brief enemy battles, lasting approximately five to ten minutes. An eight-second clip of the game was seen in an episode of the TV series Heroes entitled "Parasite", ostensibly being played by Jessica Sanders and her son, Micah. It featured Nariko running across ropes as they were cut by Bohan's soldiers, before landing on the platform to face them.[23] While the episode was broadcast over four months before the actual release of the game, the level displayed remained in the released build, including the rope sequence shown; the icons in the final game used to inform the player which buttons to press were changed from large, central icons as seen in the clip, to be smaller and positioned at the bottom of the screen. Sony and Ninja Theory have made five 'making-of' videos about the production of Heavenly Sword, with each one detailing a certain aspect of the game's production, from music to motion capture. The videos can either be unlocked while playing the game or downloaded from the PlayStation Store.
Nitin Sawhney composed the music for the soundtrack. It was performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Stephen Hussey. Tameem Antoniades of Ninja Theory said "we have our big orchestral soundtrack but we wanted to add a more ethnic element and marry those two together. There are actually very few musicians in the world who are experts in both areas. Nitin Sawhney is one of them."[24] Sawhney stated that his creation of "musical textures take in everything from Hollywood, European and Chinese cinema to Indian and middle eastern instrumentation through the orchestras and soloists hovering between sonic tidal waves and reflective moments of intimate grace."[25]
A series of Heavenly Sword animated episodes were released prior to the launch of the game itself, acting as a prologue to the events of the game. The series, which consists of five episodes, was produced by London production company Blinkink and animated by CHASE Animation Studios, headed by Robert Chandler. The videos were made available both online[26] and through the PlayStation Store. The first two videos were also included on the retail version of the game; the latter three videos were not ready in time to be included.[27]
The style of the animated series differs from the graphics of the game itself. The animated series relies on a simple and stylized 2D look, which allowed director Ben Hibon to "create a complete visual re-interpretation of the world and its inhabitants".[28] The videos were produced using a combination of Adobe Photoshop, Flash and After Effects. Initial reference frames were created with Photoshop, which were then animated in Flash and exported as separate layers into After Effects. The layers were composed onto a 3D stage with multiple foreground, middle ground and background elements, which allowed the use of 3D cameras and lighting to give depth and movement to the video.[28]
A computer generated animated film version was produced by Blockade Entertainment and scripted by writer Todd Farmer. The cast includes Anna Torv as Nariko, Alfred Molina as King Bohan and Thomas Jane as Loki.[29] The film was released on Blu-ray, DVD and on PlayStation Network on September 2, 2014.[30]
Nariko appears as a playable character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, voiced by Jennifer Hale.[31]
Heavenly Sword sold over one million copies by May 2008.[50][51] Tameem Antoniades stated in March 2010 that sales were approximately one-and-a-half million but that the developer did not break even.[52] The game was praised for its graphics[35] and combat system, while criticism stemmed from the short length of the game and lack of online capabilities. It received "generally favorable reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[32]
USA Today gave the game nine stars out of ten, saying, "PlayStation 3 fans hungry for more satisfying first-party content from Sony will be satiated with the feverish pace Heavenly Sword provides."[48] Digital Spy gave it four stars out of five, saying, "The lavish sword combat system and the awesome presentation are what make this title a worthy buy. Sony seems to have created this game as a showcase for the PS3 and forgot about getting the gameplay up to scratch. But despite its failings, Heavenly Sword is a great buy for the excellent sword fighting sections and for those who simply want to show their friends just what the PS3 is capable of."[53] The New York Times gave it a favorable review, saying, "The scenery is breathtaking, battles can be exciting, and the intelligent, cruel King Bohan — voiced brilliantly by Andy Serkis (...) — is one of the best video game villains ever. The game is frustrating because it seems as if it should have been a great game and as if its creators tried to make it a great game, but it managed to be only a pretty good one."[54] Maxim gave it a score of six out of ten, saying, "A few of the puzzles are a total bitch, the button-press sequence/finishing moves that the game steals directly from God of War require too much precision, and the sniper sequences wind up being even more tedious than the fighting. It's fun for a little while, and very flashy, but in the end, for everything Heavenly Sword does right, it does two more things wrong."[55] The A.V. Club gave it a C+ and stated that "If Metal Gear Solid and Halo had acting this good, we'd be on to something."[47] In Japan, Famitsu gave the game a score of two sevens and two eights, for a total of 30 out of 40.[36]
During the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Heavenly Sword in three categories: "Outstanding Character Performance", "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction", and "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition".[56]
GamesRadar featured Kai in the article "Freakish fashion" in 2007,[57] and Nariko as a "game babe" sex symbol in 2007 and 2009.[58][59] In 2009, MSN featured Nariko in the article "Gaming's Hottest Babes".[60] UGO featured her among the "Top Animated Hotties" in 2008[61] and in their list of the best girls in video games in 2011,[62] and also in the article "11 Strong Gaming Girls We Never Saw Again" in 2010.[63] In 2010, Lisa Foiles of The Escapist ranked Nariko first in the "Top 5 Impractical Female Character Hairstyles".[64] In 2013, she was ranked as the 18th greatest heroine in video game history by Complex.[65]
According to Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades, the story for the sequel has already been written; in fact a whole trilogy is being planned. He stated, "We've had the story for the sequel for a while now. Hopefully, if this game is successful, then there's no reason why there shouldn't be a sequel and we'd very much like to go into that."[66]
In March 2008, it was confirmed that Ninja Theory is not planning to create a sequel for Heavenly Sword, and instead has decided to work on a new project[67] (most likely Enslaved: Odyssey to the West). Sony Computer Entertainment retains the intellectual property of Heavenly Sword, and there is always the possibility of production on a sequel being outsourced to another developer.[68] In June 2008, it was reported that a sequel to Heavenly Sword was in-development at SCE Studio Cambridge, but was canceled due to Sony no longer seeing it as a commercially viable product.[69] Concept art for the title later surfaced in 2012.[70][71]
Pure Pwnage (pronounced "pure ownage")[1] is a Canadian Internet-distributed mockumentary series from ROFLMAO Productions. The fictional series purports to chronicle the life and adventures of Jeremy (played by Jarett Cale), a Canadian and self-proclaimed "pro gamer". In 2010, an adaptation of the web series began airing on Showcase, a Canadian cable television channel, but the series failed to be picked up for a second season.
Pure Pwnage is a web series that follows the life of Jeremy, a skilled gamer who struggles with social interactions due to his self-centered and lazy nature. The show focuses on Jeremy's interactions within the gaming community and with non-gamers. Jeremy's brother Kyle documents his experiences, creating a documentary-style narrative.
There are currently eighteen web episodes available to the public and eight TV episodes.
Pure Pwnage was created by Geoff Lapaire and Jarett Cale who also play the show's main protagonists. Originating in 2004, eighteen Internet-distributed episodes of the series have been released to date. In 2007, the series creators estimated their current viewer base to be over three million.[5] The series is filmed primarily in Toronto, Ontario, but has also included scenes filmed in Calgary, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; Aurora, Ontario; Hamilton, Ontario; and the Netherlands.
During an interview, director Geoff Lapaire (although as "Kyle"; Lapaire maintained his "Kyle" identity among fans and media) insisted that all of the characters on the show are not acting.[6] He suggested that the personalities on Pure Pwnage display their true-to-life abilities and eccentricities. The characters took great pains to maintain that the Pure Pwnage world is simply an extension of the real world. Lapaire has finally admitted that they are, in fact, actors. The sixth fanchat with the crew was out-of-character, where the fact that the characters within Pure Pwnage are exaggerated versions of the actors was confirmed.
On August 6, 2009, it was announced that a Pure Pwnage TV series had been commissioned by Showcase.[7] Upon the announcement, many members of the Pure Pwnage fan community raised concerns. The main complaints were that the series was only announced to be airing in Canada, and the assumption that it would be changed in order to appeal to viewers not familiar with internet culture. Jarett Cale, who writes the show and plays Jeremy, tried to quell the complaints on the Pure Pwnage forums, saying "We're doing our best to get it broadcast in the USA, UK, Australia, etc., but it's really up to each country's respective broadcasters. [...] Geoff and I are still the main creative force – we're producers and writers. We've also brought on many new people with experience in traditional television to help us out both story-wise and production-wise. FPS Doug will still be there, and he will still be played by Joel Gardiner."[8] In response to a user asking if the TV series meant there would be no more web episodes, he said "Nope, it only means there's a new TV series."[9]
Despite this, the future of the web series was uncertain. Geoff Lapaire, director of all previous episodes of Pure Pwnage, left the show in September 2008 to focus on the then-unannounced TV series, and Troy Dixon, who played T-Bag in the series, died in a car accident on December 6, 2008.[10] Jarett Cale announced in January 2009 that work on the next web episode had begun, with him as the director, however, the episode has not been released.[11]
In a short Livestream cast on March 15, 2010, a user posted a comment regarding the web series and Jarett replied that the web series is back in production and is in progress. He has not given out an ETA.
On January 19, 2011, Jarett announced on the Pure Pwnage forums that the TV series had not been picked up for a second season. Additionally, the web series has been put on indefinite hold. In his own words: "My hope that Pure Pwnage will see a proper ending to its illustrious web series has nearly vanished. I've let Geoff know that should he be willing at any time to resume some of his traditional, critical roles on the web series I will fly home to Toronto in a heartbeat to help make it happen."[12]
On September 18, 2012 The Pure Pwnage YouTube channel uploaded a video titled "010100100100010101010100010101010101001001001110" which is a binary encoding of the word "Return", signalling the return of the Pure Pwnage.
On September 19, 2012, an official crowd funding campaign was announced to aid in the funding of a Pure Pwnage movie.[13] The $75,000 goal was raised in just over 24 hours, due to overwhelming support from fans all over the world. At the end of the campaign, a total of $211,300 was raised.
On November 22, 2015, the official trailer was released. The movie premiered in Toronto on January 23, 2016, at the Bloor Cinema. Further screenings took place around the US and in the UK.
On May 7, 2016, Pure Pwnage Teh Movie was released for streaming and digital download via Vimeo.
Pure Pwnage Teh Movie received the Canadian Comedy Awards 2016 award for best feature film.[14] The film was well-received by general audiences.[15]
On August 6, 2009, it was announced that a Pure Pwnage TV series had been commissioned by Showcase.[16] The announcement was made in the form of a mini-episode where Kyle tries to convince Jeremy to stop playing on his Nintendo DS Lite and make the announcement. The series had been teased for several months under the name "Project X". The TV series premiered on Showcase March 12, 2010, and premiered on Australia's ABC2 on October 4, 2010. According to creator Jarett Cale, the TV series itself takes place in a fictional world within the Pure Pwnage universe (webseries) where Kyle ironically got a TV series, thus explaining the lack of consistency between shows.[17]
Starting in March 2010, the Pure Pwnage website began letting fans send Jeremy questions via e-mail. Jeremy then answered the fan questions in video segments posted on the website titled Jeremy's Mail Sac.
Starring Dave (Dawei) as himself, Pro at Cooking is a spin-off of Pure Pwnage. A cooking show for gamers with Dave hosting as the main chef. When his female assistants do not perform as expected, Dave constantly fires each one of them usually after every episode. Directed by Davin, it has only aired seven 5- to 10-minute episodes. No other characters from Pure Pwnage, excluding Dave, Davin, and Geoff, appear on the show.
From February 28, 2006 to March 7, 2007, the Pure Pwnage website featured a regularly issued comic, of which a new page was released once every two to three weeks. Apparently set in the "real world" rather than in the fictional world of Pure Pwnage, the comic breaks most of the fourth wall of the show. For example, Dave said in the show that he was leaving it due to unfinished business in China, the comic claims that the real reason was that he had found a new job in Vancouver.
However, both the show and comic clearly contain elements that are either symbolic representations of reality (for example, pwning an opponent with "micro balls" as a possible metaphor for pwning them in an actual video game) or are not based in reality whatsoever.
In September 2012, series creators Jarett Cale and Geoff Lapaire announced an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a Pure Pwnage feature-length film. Within 24 hours of the campaign being launched, the project had received its goal of $75,000, and by the end of the campaign, they had reached a total of $211,300. Despite this being a relatively small film budget, Jarett Cale and Geoff Lapaire have said that with their experience of making the web series with an extremely limited amount of funds, they are confident that they would be able to make a quality film shot in countries across the world, mentioning hopes of filming in South Korea. Pre-production began in earnest in early 2013, with weekly twitch.tv live streams in which Lapaire, Cale, and guests such as Joel Gardiner (fps_doug) and Miranda Plant (Tagi) discuss the film and interact with fans.
The film also featured Nathan Adams as an Accounting Associate, Ajay Fry as himself, and actors Gwenlyn Cumyn, Thomas Finn, and Alberta Mayne[18]
The film premiered on January 23, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario. Following this, Cale and Lapaire took the film to the road, screening the project around the world in a touring limited release.
On May 7, 2016, Pure Pwnage Teh Movie was released for streaming and digital download on Vimeo.
Grand Theft Auto
(2 backgrounds)
Grand Theft Auto Genre(s) Action-adventure Developer(s) Publisher(s) Rockstar Games Creator(s) Platform(s) First release Grand Theft Auto
28 November 1997Latest release Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition
11 November 2021Series history[edit]
Main series[edit]
1997 Grand Theft Auto 1998 1999 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 Grand Theft Auto 2 2000 2001 Grand Theft Auto III 2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2003 Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Grand Theft Auto Advance 2005 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 2006 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories 2007 2008 Grand Theft Auto IV 2009 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony 2010 2011 2012 2013 Grand Theft Auto V Grand Theft Auto Online 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition 2022 2023 2024 2025 Grand Theft Auto VI Other games[edit]
Compilations[edit]
Titles[edit]
Year
Title
Developer
Platform(s)
Universe[8]
Home console
Computer
Handheld
Mobile
Other
Main series
1997
Grand Theft Auto
DMA Design
PS1
GBC
2D
1999
Grand Theft Auto 2
Windows
GBC
2001
Grand Theft Auto III
3D
2002
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Rockstar North
2004
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Oculus Quest 2[C]
2008
Grand Theft Auto IV
Windows
HD
2013
Grand Theft Auto V
Windows
2025
Grand Theft Auto VI
TBA
TBA
Expansion packs
1999
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
Rockstar Canada
PS1
2D
Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
2009
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
Rockstar North
Windows
HD
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony
Windows
Handheld games
2004
Grand Theft Auto Advance
Digital Eclipse
GBA
3D
2005
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Rockstar Leeds
PS2
PSP
2006
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
PS2
PSP
2009
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
HD
Compilations and remasters
1999
Grand Theft Auto: Director's Cut[D]
DMA Design /
Rockstar Canada
2D
2003
Grand Theft Auto: The Classics Collection[E]
Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack[F]
Rockstar North
3D
2005
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy
Mercedes Benz SLR
(1 background)
Heavenly Sword #2
(6 backgrounds)
Heavenly Sword Developer(s) Ninja Theory Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment Director(s) Nina Kristensen
Tameem AntoniadesProducer(s) Mat Hart Artist(s) Hugues Giboire Writer(s) Tameem Antoniades
Rhianna Pratchett
Andy SerkisComposer(s) Nitin Sawhney Platform(s) PlayStation 3 Release Genre(s) Action-adventure, hack and slash Mode(s) Single-player Gameplay[edit]
Plot[edit]
Setting[edit]
Characters[edit]
Story[edit]
Development[edit]
Soundtrack[edit]
Related media[edit]
Animated series[edit]
Film[edit]
Video game appearances[edit]
Reception[edit]
Aggregator Score Metacritic 79/100[32] Publication Score Edge 6/10[33] Electronic Gaming Monthly 8.33/10[34] Eurogamer 7/10[35] Famitsu 30/40[36] Game Informer 8.75/10[37] GamePro [38] GameRevolution B+[39] GameSpot 8/10[40] GameSpy [41] GameTrailers 7.9/10[42] GameZone 8.8/10[43] IGN 7/10[44][45] PlayStation: The Official Magazine 8/10[46] The A.V. Club C+[47] USA Today [48] Publication Award GamePro Editor's Choice[38] OPM (AU) Silver Award[49] Cancelled sequel[edit]
References[edit]
Pure Pwnage Genre Mockumentary
ComedyCreated by Jarett Cale
Geoff LapaireStarring Jarett Cale
Geoff Lapaire
Joel GardinerCountry of origin Canada Original language English No. of seasons 2 (web series)
1 (TV series)No. of episodes 18 (web series)
8 (TV series) (list of episodes)Production Executive producers Derek Harvie
Catherine Tait
Ron MannProducers Jarett Cale
Geoff LapaireProduction locations Toronto, Ontario Running time 10–50 minutes (web series)
22 minutes (TV series)Original release Network Showcase (TV series) Release Web series: May 11, 2004 – August 23, 2008
Television series: March 12, 2010 – April 30, 2010Premise[edit]
Cast[edit]
Episodes[edit]
Season
Episodes
Originally aired
DVD release date
Season premiere
Season finale
Web series
1
12
May 11, 2004
November 6, 2006
May 23, 2007[2]
2
6
May 4, 2007
August 23, 2008
—
Television series
1
8
March 12, 2010
April 30, 2010
March 3, 2011[3] (Region 4)
April 16, 2011[4] (Worldwide)
History[edit]
Pure Pwnage Teh Movie[edit]
Reception and awards[edit]
Spin-offs[edit]
TV series[edit]
Jeremy's Mail Sac[edit]
Pro at Cooking[edit]
Pure Pwnage: The Comic[edit]
Pure Pwnage: Teh Movie[edit]
Notes[edit]
External links[edit]