NewKidCo

NewKidCo at a Glance

NewKidCo operated as a children's software publisher and developer based in the United States from 1997 until it closed quietly in 2005. The company was founded by former Hi-Tech Expressions staff members Hank Kaplan and Jonathan D. Harber. Their catalog on PlayPile contains 22 titles, with 21 released as a publisher and only two where they served as the developer. Most of their work appeared between 1996 and 2003, with a significant shift in output volume. They released just four games during the 1990s but published sixteen titles throughout the 2000s before the company dissolved. The publisher concentrated heavily on licensed properties from popular franchises. Their top genres were platform games with nine entries and adventure titles with seven, followed by puzzle games at three. Platform availability skewed toward older handheld systems. They released seven games for the Game Boy Color, six for the PlayStation, and six for the Game Boy Advance. They also made releases for PC, Nintendo 64, and the PlayStation 2, but had only a single title each for Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Mac. Quality ratings for NewKidCo show mixed results across their five rated titles on PlayPile. The average score sits at 61.9 out of 100. Four of these games fall into the good range between 60 and 79, while one game rated as mixed between 40 and 59. There are no great titles in their catalog above an 80 rating. Disney's Tigger's Honey Hunt holds the highest score at 70.1 from the year 2000. Disney's Goofy's Fun House follows with a 68.1 rating from 2001. Tom and Jerry in Fists of Furry scored 60.5, and Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers earned 60.4. Tiny Toon Adventures: The Great Beanstalk remains their lowest rated game at 50.4. The company faced financial trouble during its later years. Attempts to create games based on the film E.T. failed due to poor sales and multiple cancelled titles. They also missed payments on developer milestones, which led to lawsuits. Recent releases included Tom and Jerry in Infurnal Escape in March 2003 and Dora the Explorer: The Search for Pirate Pig's Treasure in January 2003. These later efforts did not elevate their overall reputation or financial standing before they went out of business.

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