Data Design Interactive

Basic Information
Company Type	N/A
Company Status	Active
Foundation	United Kingdom (1999)
Products	Video games (various platforms)
Location(s)
Stourbridge, United Kingdom

Data Design Interactive is a United Kingdom based video game developer, as well as a video game publisher. It was founded in 1983 and became a limited company in 1999. They have developed on a variety of video game platforms, including the PC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Game Boy, Amstrad PCW, Amstrad CPC, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Mega Drive, Atari Jaguar, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation, and the Wii.

Popcorn Arcade

The Popcorn Arcade is Data Design Interactive's publishing label aimed exclusively to capitalize on the rapid growth of the Wii Market. DDI has released over 30 'family friendly' titles on its Popcorn Arcade label targeted at casual gamers, the games were small, and featured standard (re-usable) interfaces. All the titles were designed to be played by the family with multiplayer options, individual skill levels, and simple graphics. The range features characters like Ninjabread Man, Billy the Wizard: Rocket Broomstick Racing and the Myth Makers Super Kart GP.

The Popcorn Arcade range of Wii based titles have received harsh industry criticism for low quality. Commercially the Popcorn Arcade line has been very successful, getting over 40% of the Wii Budget Market and sales over 2 million units in the first year alone. Final sales figures for the Popcorn range are over 3 million units.

Later Titles such as Kidz Sports Crazy Mini Golf and Mini Golf 2 have sold over 400,000 units. Notable innovations in the range include Crazy Mini golf which used the angle/rotation of the Wii remote rather than the accelerometer, to detect small swings, this made the control far more sensitive than Wii Golf, which only used the accelerometer and thus requires a harder, longer swing. Mini Golf 2 improved on the sensitivity and was one of only 4 titles with Motion Plus support demonstrated at the Launch of Motion Plus at E3 2009. Battle Rage 3D was the first Wii title to feature stereoscopic 3D support, requiring Red/Green glasses.

NuYu

NuYu (pronounced New-You) is Data Design Interactive's customisable player character editor which is exclusive for their Popcorn Arcade Wii range. NuYu’s allow the user to capture a caricature of themselves and others. After creating them, they can be used as participating characters in NuYu compatible games. NuYu characters are double the customisable options of a Mii, and are more detailed with joined arms and legs and animated features.

The first game featuring NuYus was Kidz Sports – Crazy Mini Golf followed by Kidz sports Crazy Mini Golf 2, and new Kidz Sports Range.

Licenses

Data Design Interactive has worked with global brands and licences in the past, past licenses have included, Kawasaki, Mini, Harry Potter, BMW, Austin Mini, Rover, Austin Healey, Spearmint Rhino, Habitrail, Lego, London Taxi, Tonka and Nickelodeon.

The GODS Engine

Data Design Interactive have developed and uses 'Game Orientated Development System' (or G.O.D.S.). The Engine was developed to produce fast and reliable cross platform games for multiple systems.

Brands

Data Design Interactive have developed their own brands including;

Myth Makers
A range of characters based on cute versions of international mythical characters. Each mythical character is designed to widen its potential market by suiting different seasons and times of the year including Christmas, Easter and Halloween.

Kidz Sports
Kidz Sports as the title suggests, is a collection of sports video games for younger gamers. The range is not a licensed style product but more akin to the backyard style titles. The game characters are child oriented in a cartoon style.

Critical response

Many of Data Design Interactive's recent games have sold well to the new market of casual gamers but are criticized by hard core gamers and critics alike, frequently citing graphics, gameplay, controls, and lack of polish all associated with rushed production schedules or "shovelware" games, mostly because DDI uses the same game engine (G.O.D.S.) for most of their games, and that many of these games are carbon copies of each other, due to having identical layouts, music, characters, etc. Some of their games have received a rare 1.0 or less at IGN and on other rating sites such as Eurogamer. IGN has called DDI "the shittest company to grace the gaming community."

On Halloween 2008, Data Design Interactive's Wii Kidz Sports Series, Kidz Sports: Basketball, Hockey, and International Soccer earned first place for the Wii section of IGN's Worst Reviewed Nintendo Console Games, with all 3 titles receiving a 1.0 from them. IGN also gave honorable mention to the rest of Data Design Interactive's Wii library, with all games so far receiving no more than a 3.0 from them.

Reviews on IGN and on GameSpot UK through 2008, both from staff writers and gamers personal experiences, target DDI as a major influence in damaging the games markets credibility and for saturating the market with inferior products. One review went as far as suggesting Nintendo should ban DDI from making games as they thought it would be the death of the Wii. More recently, their game, Action Girlz Racing, was given a 0.8 by IGN, one of the lowest scores ever in the site's history.

In Issue 44 of Official Nintendo Magazine, readers were issued the challenge to "Play Ninjabread Man and enjoy it". They later said it was impossible.

Notable games

• Action Girlz Racing
• Anubis II
• Billy the Wizard: Rocket Broomstick Racing
• Kawasaki Quad Bikes
• Kawasaki Jet Ski
• Kawasaki Snow Mobiles
• Kidz Sports Basketball
• Kidz Sports Ice Hockey
• Kidz Sports International Soccer
• LEGO Rock Raiders
• London Taxi: Rushhour
• Mini Desktop Racing
• Monster Trux: Arenas
• Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom
• Myth Makers Super Kart GP
• Myth Makers: Trixie in Toyland
• Ninjabread Man
• Offroad Extreme! Special Edition
• Rock 'N' Roll Adventure
• Urban Extreme

External links

• Official website
• Popcorn Arcade (Data Designs Wii Range)

References

• MCV (2007-10-24). INTERVIEW: Popcorn Arcade.

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