"Twisted Metal," a video game series by Salt Lake-based Incog Entertainment Inc., features combative cars, and its success has driven the company headlong into Sony.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., based in Foster City, Calif., said Monday that it has acquired Incog in a move to bolster Sony's PlayStation 2 system.
Incog, which becomes part of Sony's Santa Monica studio group, has 51 employees in Salt Lake City and American Fork, but no operations will move and no staffing changes are expected. It will continue to be managed by Scott Campbell, president and principal founder. It will continue to operate under the Incog name.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Incog has worked exclusively with Sony since shortly after it was formed as Incognito Entertainment Inc. in April 1999.
"We've had a long-standing relationship with Sony, and we've worked well with them," Campbell said. "It's been a very mutually beneficial relationship, one we both decided to make more permanent so we could continue to develop great PlayStation 2 products, online products and next-generation PlayStation products."
Shuhei Yoshida, Sony's vice president of product development, said Sony is "thrilled" to add the Incog developers to the PlayStation family. "As our partnership has extended over a period of years, we are excited about the opportunity to have this top team join our ranks, and we welcome them wholeheartedly into our first party development operation," he said in a prepared statement.
"Twisted Metal" games feature realistic, 3-D, remote-controlledcars that players can careen through various settings and use imaginative weapons — flaming doll heads among them — to gain points.
Campbell and others developed the "Twisted Metal" franchise while working at Singletrac, which was acquired by GT. They put together "Twisted Metal" and "Twisted Metal 2," which they reacquired when they formed Incognito. "Twisted Metal: Black" was developed for PlayStation 2, and the franchise received both critical acclaim and consumer popularity. "Twisted Metal: Small Brawl" was developed at the American Fork facility.
More than 5 million units of the franchise have been sold in North America since the original game was released in 1995.
An online version of "Twisted Metal: Black" will be released Aug. 27, and Incog also is working on "War of the Monsters" for PlayStation 2, set to be released early next year.
"Our ability to create new intellectual properties and exploit the technology are two of the main strengths of our team," Campbell said.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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