Digital Leisure, Inc. was formed in 1997 by former ReadySoft developer David Foster for the purpose of acquiring, re-mastering and publishing existing video-intensive games that would benefit from the superior video and audio quality of DVD and bringing these interactive titles to DVD movie players, PC DVD-ROM and PC CD-ROM systems. Digital Leisure first acquired the rights to Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp in early 1997.
The company completely rewrote the code for the games to accurately duplicate the game-play of the arcade version, including scenes that were missing from many of the computer adaptations. The video was encoded with MPEG2 compression and AC3 audio from the original source, rivaling the quality of the original laser disc. The games were released in 1998 and 1999 on various formats including CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-Video and PlayStation 2 and enabled the company to build its international distribution network of large chain stores and national distributors such as Toys R Us, Best Buy, Ingram Entertainment, Electronics Boutique, Babbage’s Etc. and others. The products continued to sell well for the company worldwide and formed a strong base from which the company has built on.
With the release of the Sony PlayStation 2 in October 2000, the company seized the opportunity and re-branded its DVD-Video titles as "PlayStation 2 Compatible" and sold the games into the PlayStation 2 market as new releases with the release of the PlayStation 2 hardware, which met with great success for the company.
The "Dragon’s Lair 20th Anniversary Special Edition” DVD-Video discs, released in 2002, are also compatible with the DAPHNE emulator. In 2005, Digital Leisure published Dragon's Lair III for DVD and PC CD-ROM formats, employing pre-recorded footage from Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair but reprogrammed to conform to fully-scripted gameplay.
In 2007-2009, Digital Leisure released Blu-Ray editions of Dragon's Lair (also released on HD DVD), Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp that featured remastered animation sourced from the Bluth Studio and newly recorded creator interviews and video commentaries. The remastered video sources were later incorporated into subsequent re-releases and compilations such as Dragon's Lair Trilogy for consoles, computers, and mobile platforms. First released for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, Dragon's Lair Trilogy compiles high-definition transfers of Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp with some bonus features and gameplay options. The compilation has been updated for expanded compatibility across various platforms and remains the primary official means of experiencing the franchise's games today.
The company also acquired the development and worldwide publishing rights to an extensive catalog of American laser disc arcade titles.
Sources:
https://www.mobygames.com/company/1541/digital-leisure-inc/
External Links[]
| Video Games | [view] | |
| Arcade Coin-Op Cinematronics: Dragon's Lair · Space Ace Leland Corporation: Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp | ||
| Home Computer COLECO: Dragon's Lair Software Projects: Dragon's Lair · Dragon's Lair Part II: Escape from Singe's Castle ReadySoft: Dragon's Lair · Dragon's Lair: Escape from Singe's Castle · Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp · Dragon's Lair III: The Curse of Mordread · Space Ace · Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge | ||
| Home Console & Handheld MotiveTime: Dragon's Lair (NES) · Dragon's Lair: The Legend · Dragon's Lair (SNES) Oxford Digital Enterprises: Space Ace (SNES) Dragonstone Software: Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair Digital Leisure: Dragon's Lair Trilogy Other: Franky, Joe & Dirk: On the Tiles · Dragon's Lair (GBC) | ||
| DVD & PC CD-ROM Digital Leisure: Dragon's Lair III | ||