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Factor 5 is an independent
Independent business

In business, an independent business as a term of distinction generally refers to privately-owned companies . Independent businesses most commonly take the form of Sole proprietorship....
 software and video game developer
Video game developer

A video game developer is a Computer software Software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers....
. The company was originally co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts
Rainbow Arts

Rainbow Arts is a Germany game developer company founded in 1984 by Marc Ulrich which was later bought by Funsoft, and eventually absorbed by THQ in 1999....
 employees in 1987 in Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name, before relocating to San Rafael
San Rafael, California

San Rafael , is the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 in 1994. Julian Eggebrecht
Julian Eggebrecht

Julian Eggebrecht is president and creative director of Factor 5, a video game developer located in Marin County, California, with additional R&D offices in Cologne, Germany....
, one of the five initial co-founders, currently serves as President of the company.

or 5 started out developing games for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST computers, where it had early success with the Turrican-series.






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Factor 5 is an independent
Independent business

In business, an independent business as a term of distinction generally refers to privately-owned companies . Independent businesses most commonly take the form of Sole proprietorship....
 software and video game developer
Video game developer

A video game developer is a Computer software Software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers....
. The company was originally co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts
Rainbow Arts

Rainbow Arts is a Germany game developer company founded in 1984 by Marc Ulrich which was later bought by Funsoft, and eventually absorbed by THQ in 1999....
 employees in 1987 in Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name, before relocating to San Rafael
San Rafael, California

San Rafael , is the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 in 1994. Julian Eggebrecht
Julian Eggebrecht

Julian Eggebrecht is president and creative director of Factor 5, a video game developer located in Marin County, California, with additional R&D offices in Cologne, Germany....
, one of the five initial co-founders, currently serves as President of the company.

History

Factor 5 started out developing games for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST computers, where it had early success with the Turrican-series. For a long time, Factor 5 was an exclusive, prominent, 2nd party developing partner with Nintendo
Nintendo

is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, developing both game titles and middleware
Game engine

A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X....
 tools for the company. During that time, the studio gained considerable critical and commercial praise for its technical proficiency, producing what are often cited as some of the most visually advanced titles on the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64

The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10, 1997 in Brazil....
 and the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube

The , is Nintendo's fourth home video game console and is part of the History of video game consoles . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor to Nintendo's Wii....
. Two high profile middleware tools were also developed by the company for Nintendo, MusyX, a sound system produced in cooperation with Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. is a British USA-based company specializing in Noise reduction#Audio noise reduction and Audio data compression....
, and the DivX For Games SDK
DivX

DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to video compression lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality....
, integrating the functionality of the popular video codec into Nintendo's development tools.

In late December 2008, several online media outlets reported that Brash Entertainment
Brash Entertainment

Brash Entertainment was a US-based video game production company focused on licensed games.The company was co-founded in 2007 by Thomas Tull, Bert Ellis, President and COO Nicholas Longano, and CEO and Chairman Mitch Davis....
 (Factor 5's publisher of their current project) would close at the end of the month after encountering financial problems. This sudden interruption in funding left Factor 5 with their own funding difficulties. The company's current state has not been officially announced but unconfirmed "insider" reports claim that they have ceased operations.

Games


Wii
Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a History of video game consoles console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3....
 

  • Unnamed Wii Title for Nintendo (TBA)-- Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht has confirmed in an interview that it is developing a non-Virtual Console
    Virtual console

    In computing, some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux and BSD, feature a virtual console ? a conceptual combination of the keyboard and the display for a user interface....
     game for the Wii. Before the Wii was launched the company had announced a PilotWings
    Pilotwings

    is a Nintendo video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, originally released in 1990 in video gaming, and included with the system in some early packages....
     sequel, but this project is no longer in the works.


PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation ....
 

  • Lair
    Lair (video game)

    Lair is a video game developed by Factor 5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment America in which the player controls a knight named Rohn who rides a dragon....
     (2007)
  • Untitled Project (2009)


Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube

The , is Nintendo's fourth home video game console and is part of the History of video game consoles . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor to Nintendo's Wii....
 

  • Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
    Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

    Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is a Star Wars video game developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts for the Nintendo GameCube. It was a launch title for the GameCube's 2001 release....
     (2001)
  • Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
    Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike

    Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is a Star Wars video game developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube....
     (2003)
  • Thornado (never released)


Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64

The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10, 1997 in Brazil....
 

  • Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
    Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

    Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an Arcade game#Arcade genre action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. It was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows....
     (1999)
  • Star Wars: Battle for Naboo
    Star Wars: Battle for Naboo

    Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo is an Arcade game#Arcade genre action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. It was published by LucasArts and THQ and released for the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows....
     (2000)
  • Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
    Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine

    Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is a video game for the Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Color based on the film series Indiana Jones....
     (2000)


PlayStation
PlayStation

The PlayStation is a 32-bit history of video game consoles video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December .The PlayStation was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation ....
 

  • Ballblazer Champions (1997)


Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a History of video game consoles video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993....
 

  • Super Turrican
    Turrican

    Turrican is a 1990 in video gaming video game game programming by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was porting to other systems later....
     (1993)
  • Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
    Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures

    Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures is a game based on the Indiana Jones trilogy released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, developed by Factor 5 and published by JVC Musical Industries, Inc....
     (1994)
  • Super Turrican 2
    Turrican

    Turrican is a 1990 in video gaming video game game programming by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was porting to other systems later....
     (1995)


Sega Genesis

  • Mega Turrican (1993)


Game Boy
Game Boy

The is an 8-bit handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in August , and in Europe in ....
 

  • Contra: The Alien Wars
    Contra III: The Alien Wars

    Contra III: The Alien Wars, published in Japan as and in the PAL region as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels, is a 1992 Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game by Konami....
     (1994)
  • Animaniacs
    Animaniacs

    Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American list of animated television series, distributed by Warner Bros....
     (1995)


PC
Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose original sales price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator....
 

  • Tony & Friends in Kellogg's Land (1994)


Amiga
Amiga

The Amiga is a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. Development on the Amiga began in 1982 with Jay Miner as the principal hardware designer....
 

  • Katakis
    Katakis

    Katakis is a Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters style arcade game developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts in 1987, and converted to the Commodore Amiga by Factor 5 in 1988....
     (1988)
  • R-Type
    R-Type

    R-Type is a Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. The player controls a space fighter named "Arrowhead" to defend humanity against a mysterious but powerful alien life-form known as "Bydo", which was later discovered to be not entirely alien in origin....
     (1989)
  • Turrican
    Turrican

    Turrican is a 1990 in video gaming video game game programming by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was porting to other systems later....
     (1990)
  • Masterblazer (intro only) (1990)
  • Turrican II: The Final Fight (1991)
  • Turrican 3 (1993)


Atari ST
Atari ST

The Atari ST is a home computer/personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s. It was released by Atari Corporation in 1985....
 

  • Turrican
    Turrican

    Turrican is a 1990 in video gaming video game game programming by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was porting to other systems later....
     (1990)
  • Turrican II: The Final Fight (1991)


Technology

  • MusyX: Dolby Sound Tools - Developed for Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance
  • DivX For Games SDK
    DivX

    DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to video compression lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality....
     - Developed for Nintendo GameCube


External links

  • profile at IGN
    IGN

    IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games. Its corporate parent is IGN Entertainment, which owns and controls separate sites such as GameSpy, GameStats, Rotten Tomatoes and AskMen....
  • profile at Gamespot
    GameSpot

    GameSpot is a video game website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer and Vince Broady....
  • profile at MobyGames
    MobyGames

    MobyGames is a website devoted to cataloging Video game, both past and present. The site contains an extensive database of video game information....