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Universal Interactive Studios

Universal Interactive Studios, Inc. was founded on January 4, 1994, in tandem with the 1994 Winter Consumer Electronics Show. Leading key personnel for the foundation were Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz. On February 10, MCA acquired a minority stake in Interplay Productions, which would publish Disruptor outside of North America, and later enter into a distribution deal with successor Vivendi Universal Games. The company's first titles in mid-1994 were Jurassic Park Interactive, developed by Studio 3DO and initially announced in 1993; and Way of the Warrior, developed by Naughty Dog. Universal contracted with Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games to develop games utilizing the facilities at Universal City, under vice president Mark Cerny. They respectively released Crash Bandicoot in 1996 and Spyro the Dragon in 1998, under publishing arrangements with Sony Computer Entertainment. In July 2000, MCA-owner Seagram merged Universal Studios with Vivendi. After the merger closed, UIS was transitioned to Vivendi's Havas Interactive division and was eventually downgraded to a publishing label of the now-named Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing. Titles that would be published under the name were primarily a mix of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot sequels and licensed titles based on other Universal IPs. In 2004, Universal Interactive was consolidated under its parent company Vivendi Universal Games, and the label was discontinued. It remained as a copyright holder for existing properties, but all titles were published under either Vivendi Universal Games or Sierra. Vivendi Universal then announced that on March 3, 2006, as a result of divesting Universal Studios to General Electric, it and several of its divisions, including Vivendi Universal Games, would cease using the "Universal" name and would simply become Vivendi, with Vivendi Universal Games becoming Vivendi Games.