Bit Managers

Spain Founded 1992 Website

Bit Managers, formerly known as New Frontier, was a video game developer company based in Barcelona. In 1992, the company changed its name to Bit Managers and began creating games for Nintendo consoles (especially for Game Boy). This was their best time, they created innovative games based on comic book characters such as Asterix, The Smurfs or Tintin for the Infogrames company. In addition, at that time when almost no company translated video games into Spanish, they did it with theirs. In 1997, they were chosen by Acclaim from among various studios to develop the Turok series for the Game Boy. In 1998 the company was aquired by Gaelco, and on 2001 the former Bit Managers partners bought back the company and continued their relationship with Infogrames by releasing several games, this time for the Game Boy Advance. In 2005, the Spanish company Virtual Toys bought Bit Managers, becoming part of that company. Bit Managers is currently known as Virtual Toys Barcelona.

Bit Managers at a Glance

Bit Managers was a Spanish development studio based in Barcelona that operated from 1992 until 2003 before being acquired by Virtual Toys. The company released 13 titles on PlayPile, all developed under their own name with no games published independently. Their catalog spans two decades, producing eight games in the 1990s and five in the 2000s. Their primary focus was Nintendo handheld hardware, with four releases for the Game Boy Color, four for the Game Boy Advance, and three for the original Game Boy. They also worked on platforms like the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive, Sega CD, DOS, and PC Microsoft Windows. The studio specialized heavily in platform games, which make up nine of their 13 titles. They also developed three adventure games, two puzzle games, and single entries in the shooter, hack and slash, racing, and sports genres. Their work often relied on established intellectual properties. In the 1990s, they created games based on comic book characters like Asterix, The Smurfs, and Tintin for Infogrames. They also developed the Astérix title in 1993 and The Smurfs game in 1994. Later in the decade, Acclaim chose them to develop the Turok: Battle of the Bionosaurs title for the Game Boy in 1997. Rating trends suggest inconsistent quality across their library. They have an average IGDB rating of 58.5 out of 100 based on four rated titles. The breakdown shows no great games with scores over 80, one good game between 60 and 79, and three mixed titles scoring between 40 and 59. The highest-rated game is Astérix from 1993 at 63.2 points. Turot: Battle of the Bionosaurs follows with 60 points. Die Maus: Verrückte Olympiade scored 57, while The Smurfs holds a 53.7 score. Recent releases in their later years included Inspector Gadget Racing and Droopy's Tennis Open, but these titles did not break into the higher rating tiers. Bit Managers also translated their games into Spanish during an era when few companies offered such localization. After being acquired by Gaelco in 1998, the original partners bought back the studio in 2001 to continue work on the Game Boy Advance for Infogrames. Their output slowed significantly after 2003, ending with titles like The Morning Adventure and Baby Felix Halloween. While they started with a reputation for working with major franchises, their final years produced games that maintained average performance without reaching critical acclaim.

Total Games

58.5

Avg Rating

1992

First Release

2003

Latest Release