Playmobil Interactive is a brand name used by German company geobra Brandstätter for releasing video games and, less frequently, DVDs or short movies based on its Playmobil toy line. Development and publishing of the games was usually delegated to various other companies.[1]
History
Playmobil video games were first conceptualized by Ubisoft as early as 1995. Ubisoft's then-vice president Alain Tascan went on to present these concepts to Playmobil owner Hans Brandstätter at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in February 1998, leading the latter to cancel ongoing negotiations with another game development studio. While the identity of that other developer is unknown, it was rumored to be Psygnosis Limited.[2] The two companies hoped, among other things, for synergy effects in marketing.[3] Development of the Playmobil Interactive series was then closely monitored by geobra Brandstätter, with the company intending to ensure that the games stuck closely to their real-life template. For example, part of the license agreements stipulated that the shape and color of each individual digital Playmobil element had to be approved.[2]
By the 2000s, newer Playmobil Interactive products were produced by the publisher HMH Interactive, a subsidiary of German company HMH Hamburger Medien Haus Vertriebs. In May 2010, HMH entered into a worldwide deal with JoWooD Entertainment to distribute and publish newer titles in the lineup except in Germany, while JoWooD's US division DreamCatcher Interactive would release them in the United States and Canada.[4][5]
After the release of Playmobil Pirates (2012), the label was largely abandoned for undisclosed reasons. Although other Video games based on the toy line (mostly casual games such as endless runners for smartphones or browser games) were released after this point,[6] all with the exception of 2015's Kaboom! removed the "Interactive" brand name from their titles, logos and advertising material.
List of video games
Ubisoft trilogy
The first games using the "Playmobil Interactive" brand name, produced by Ubisoft with higher budgets than successive titles.
"Laura and Alex" adventure games
A series of comparatively simple Point-and-click adventure games, in which the two Playmobil children Laura and Alex explore various scenarios based on different Playmobil sets together. The games share edutainment elements as well, often aiming to convey knowledge about the real-life inspirations behind the playsets.
The games were later rereleased in 2010 as 4-in-1 or 2-in-1 bundles by JoWooD.
DS platformer
Three two-dimensional platform games exclusively published for Nintendo DS. Players have to traverse side-scrolling levels to collect resources and finish missions for NPCs to progress further through the games.
Free advergames
Around the late 2000s, the official Playmobil catalog included several discs containing additional advertising material for new sets in digital form. These were usually short films, coloring pages or a product overview. Although all of these discs were labelled as part of "Playmobil Interactive", only the following were considered video games, as evidenced by them receiving an ESRB,[29] PEGI[30] or USK[31] rating:
Miscellaneous
References
- GMC 37 Giochi per Il Mio Computer, Sprea Media Italy, 30 April 2000, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Heiße Tests im Herbst Video Games, Future-Verlag, 30 October 1998, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Aldi bringt Spiele zu Billigpreisen MVC, Computec Media AG, 11 December 1998, retrieved 28 December 2023^
- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/jowood-playmobil-deal-plastic-population-to-spawn-series-of-games^
- https://vandal.elespanol.com/noticia/46532/jowood-firma-los-juegos-de-playmobil/^
- PLAYMOBIL Polizei: Gratis Spiele-App beim TOMMI Award 2016 prämiert computerwissen.de, 2 November 2016, retrieved 13 September 2024^
- "Laura und das Geheimnis des Diamanten" official leaflet kultcds.com, retrieved 13 September 2024^
- Il Personal del 2000 PC Open, 30 December 1999, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Playmobil: Laura IGN, 12 December 2000, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Der große Vergleichstest: FIFA 2001 vs. Soccer Live 2 Fun Generation, CyPress, 30 December 2000, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- "Alex auf dem Bauernhof" official leaflet kultcds.com, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- John Snel. Spelletjes op het boerenerf Ouders Online, 14 September 2000, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- News Briefs IGN, 25 November 1999, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Hype: The Time Quest (GBC, 2000) NintendoLife, 19 May 2021, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Colin Gäbel. Hype: The Time Quest – im Klassik-Test (PS2) Maniac.de, 20 October 2020, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Hype: The Time Quest REVIEW gamecontrast.de, 30 December 2022, retrieved 1 January 2024^
- Rescue from Rock Castle Review PC Format, 30 March 2006^
- 80072 Die große Schatzsuche playmobil.de, geobra Brandstätter, retrieved 28 December 2023^
- PLAYMOBIL – Alarm! Großeinsatz für Laura und Alex HMH, retrieved 25 April 2024^
- 80099 Vorsicht Baustelle! – Laura und Alex bauen ein Haus playmobil.de, geobra Brandstätter, retrieved 18 December 2023^
- PLAYMOBIL Piraten – Volle Breitseite! NDS HMH, retrieved 25 April 2024^
- Sven Schneider. PLAYMOBIL: Piraten – volle Breitseite Games Power World, 4 October 2008, retrieved 28 December 2023^
- Playmobil Pirates Review familyfriendlygaming.com, retrieved 14 September 2024^
- Playmobil Ritter: Helden in Rüstung im Test nexgam.de, 6 November 2020, retrieved 25 April 2024^
- George Reith. Playmobil: Knight Review gamingbolt.com, 31 August 2010, retrieved 5 May 2024^
- Jens Jordan. Review – PLAYMOBIL Ritter: Helden in Rüstung Nintendo-Online, 6 November 2010, retrieved 25 April 2024^
- Alexander Trust. Playmobil Top Agents für Nintendo DS angekündigt IchSpiele.cc, 3 December 2010, retrieved 5 May 2024^
- Ben Taylor. 'Playmobil: Top Agents' hopes to knock your blocks off (DS) yetanotherreviewsite.co.uk, 25 November 2011, retrieved 14 September 2024^
- PLAYMOBIL PC game ratings esrb.org, retrieved 15 September 2024^
- PLAYMOBIL PC ratings pegi.info, retrieved 15 September 2024^
- Geprüfte PLAYMOBIL Spiele usk.de, retrieved 15 September 2024^
- Playmobil: The Secret of Pirate Island imdb.com, retrieved 15 September 2024^
- 80233 Interaktive DVD – Das Geheimnis der Pirateninsel playmobil.de, geobra Brandstätter, retrieved 28 December 2023^
- Carolin Stephan. Playmobil World: Onlinespiel für Kinder kommt 2011 BrowserGames.de, retrieved 15 September 2024^
- Playmobil World für PC – Steckbrief GamersGlobal.de, retrieved 25 June 2024^
- Playmobil World Buffed, 4 September 2009, retrieved 25 June 2024^
- Playmobil World: Neues MMO vorgestellt Buffed, 4 September 2009, retrieved 25 June 2024^
- Playmobil Circus Review for Nintendo Wii cheatcc.com, 27 August 2012, retrieved 15 September 2024^
- Peter Willington. Game Reviews – Playmobil Pirates pocketgamer.com, Steel Media Ltd, 31 December 2012, retrieved 13 May 2024^
- Playmobil Piraten iPhone- / iPad-App chip.de, BurdaForward GmbH, retrieved 13 May 2024^
- PLAYMOBIL Kaboom! eyecue-tech.com, retrieved 13 May 2024^
- Pressemitteilung: Seeräuber-Spaß in einer neuen Dimension – PLAYMOBIL Pirates mit innovativer Handy-App lifepr.de, geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KG, 23 November 2015, retrieved 13 May 2024^