Former type Video game developer Fate Dissolved Headquarters Carlsbad Founded 1990 Ceased operations March 14, 1997 | Industry Video game and Telecom Parent GTE Vantage Owner GTE Number of locations 1 (1997) | |
Defunct March 14, 1997 (1997 -03-14) Number of employees 120 high in 1996, 85 end (1997) | ||
GTE Interactive Media was founded as GTE ImagiTrek in 1990 by Richard E. Robinson, as a division of GTE Vantage, a wholly owned subsidiary of the now defunct telecommunications provider GTE. Located in Carlsbad, California, the unit's focus was on the development of videos, of interactive television platforms, and of interactive video game products for arcade machines, home console cartridges, and CD-ROMs, including development and publishing under the GTE Entertainment brand.
Originally named GTE ImagiTrek, it was renamed GTE Interactive Media in 1994. In January 1995, the division entered a partnership with Nintendo for the development of arcade games and of online networking. In the same month, they previewed their first title, FX Fighter, at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Experiencing difficulties in the video game market and a boom in the deregulated telecommunications market, the division steadily cut down a high of 120 employees in 1996. Failing to find a buyer or partner, it announced in January 1997 that it would cease operations on March 14, 1997. Citing hardships in the entire CD-ROM market, Dick Nordman, finance director for GTE's new ventures group in Irving, Texas, explained, "In the beginning, the idea was that we wanted to get into the content business. Now, with everything else going on in the telecommunications industry, we felt our energies would be better spent in the telco arena."
Gameography
This is a list of video games designed in whole or in part by GTE Interactive Media.