The 2000s were a very different time for gaming. Amidst many triple As that aiding in expanding the medium, where those who looked to make a quick cash grab. Back then, development costs were lower than that of the HD consoles, so many smaller studios gave rise to capitalize. One way of ensuring profit was to get the licenses of popular brands and create likely low effort, and cheap video game adaptations.
A key publisher of the 2000s was THQ, whom were responsible for multiple video game adaptations of popular Nickelodeon cartoons such as SpongeBob, The Fairly Odd Parents, and Jimmy Neutron. Most of these titles were half-baked, but few stand out as some of the greats of their respective genre. The most well known titles being SpongeBob Battle For Bikini Bottom and The Movie Game.
Both titles, created by Heavy Iron Studios gained followings that now depict them as cult classics and must haves for any platforming fan.
By 2005, The NickToons would team up for the ultimate crossover event in NickToons Unite.
The game was underwhelming to say the least, but it was the first in a long running series of four games with NickToons Battle for Volcano Island, NickToons Attack of The Toybots, and NickToons Globs of Doom following shortly after.
Prior to this event, the only times the NickToons would crossover was in kart racers and party titles.
Skipping forward, THQ would basically cease to exist after the early portion of the 2010s. Their device, the U-Draw, would kill the company financially, leaving a hole for a new set of developers and publishers to take hold of the Nickelodeon properties. Sadly, barely anything would take place in the 2010s.
To quickly list the history...
Activision would take SpongeBob and kill the brand in the video game world. They made extremely cheap games as to rush them out to meet Activision’s one children’s game a year quota. The games in question are Plankton’s Robotic Revenge and Sponge Out of Water (based on the film).
Platinum Games would take Avatar, more specifically Korra, and develop a game that seemed to be average at best.
2K would develop one of the last NickToons console crossovers pre-Karts with NickToons MLB. The game was a crossover of many NickToons brands from the early 2010s and Major League Baseball teams.
Finally BamTang Games would bring back the Nickelodeon crossovers with Kart Racers in 2018. An underdeveloped game where the devs promised more than offered.
Cut to 2020, and it seems NickToons are going to have a resurgence. SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom is getting a remake with Rehydrated, thanks to Purple Lamb and THQ Nordic. The Nickelodeon Kart Racers title is also getting a sequel with much more content than the original. In addition, THQ is looking to expand the NickToons lineup going forward with a list that includes Invader Zim, My Life as A Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, SpongeBob, etc.
In response to the possible comeback, I wanted to make this thread to discuss Nickelodeon games going forward as well as titles of the past. These games were a big part of my childhood and I am sure others feel the same.
For personal favorites from Nickelodeon, I would list SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom, The Movie Game, NickToons Attack of The Toybots DS, SpongeBob Squigglepants, Truth or Square.
As for what I want to see, I want New SpongeBob platformers and a return to the NickToons series with maybe the addition of Avatar in the line up.
A key publisher of the 2000s was THQ, whom were responsible for multiple video game adaptations of popular Nickelodeon cartoons such as SpongeBob, The Fairly Odd Parents, and Jimmy Neutron. Most of these titles were half-baked, but few stand out as some of the greats of their respective genre. The most well known titles being SpongeBob Battle For Bikini Bottom and The Movie Game.
Both titles, created by Heavy Iron Studios gained followings that now depict them as cult classics and must haves for any platforming fan.
By 2005, The NickToons would team up for the ultimate crossover event in NickToons Unite.
The game was underwhelming to say the least, but it was the first in a long running series of four games with NickToons Battle for Volcano Island, NickToons Attack of The Toybots, and NickToons Globs of Doom following shortly after.
Prior to this event, the only times the NickToons would crossover was in kart racers and party titles.
Skipping forward, THQ would basically cease to exist after the early portion of the 2010s. Their device, the U-Draw, would kill the company financially, leaving a hole for a new set of developers and publishers to take hold of the Nickelodeon properties. Sadly, barely anything would take place in the 2010s.
To quickly list the history...
Activision would take SpongeBob and kill the brand in the video game world. They made extremely cheap games as to rush them out to meet Activision’s one children’s game a year quota. The games in question are Plankton’s Robotic Revenge and Sponge Out of Water (based on the film).
Platinum Games would take Avatar, more specifically Korra, and develop a game that seemed to be average at best.
2K would develop one of the last NickToons console crossovers pre-Karts with NickToons MLB. The game was a crossover of many NickToons brands from the early 2010s and Major League Baseball teams.
Finally BamTang Games would bring back the Nickelodeon crossovers with Kart Racers in 2018. An underdeveloped game where the devs promised more than offered.
Cut to 2020, and it seems NickToons are going to have a resurgence. SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom is getting a remake with Rehydrated, thanks to Purple Lamb and THQ Nordic. The Nickelodeon Kart Racers title is also getting a sequel with much more content than the original. In addition, THQ is looking to expand the NickToons lineup going forward with a list that includes Invader Zim, My Life as A Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, SpongeBob, etc.
In response to the possible comeback, I wanted to make this thread to discuss Nickelodeon games going forward as well as titles of the past. These games were a big part of my childhood and I am sure others feel the same.
For personal favorites from Nickelodeon, I would list SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom, The Movie Game, NickToons Attack of The Toybots DS, SpongeBob Squigglepants, Truth or Square.
As for what I want to see, I want New SpongeBob platformers and a return to the NickToons series with maybe the addition of Avatar in the line up.
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