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getting to run properly, occasionally even requiring instructions on the cartridge, and were criticized for their lack of quality and gameplay. The problems with running Color Dreams games stemmed from physical changes in later models of the NES; long-time Color Dreams employee Vance Kozik (best known as the programmer of
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Wisdom Tree presented
Nintendo with a prickly situation. The general public did not seem to pay close attention to the court battle with Atari Games, and industry analysts were impressed with Nintendo's legal acumen; but going after a tiny company that published innocuous religious games was another
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themes. At the time, there were few religious video games for console systems. Officials at Color Dreams saw a market for them and that many stores that would be most interested in retailing
Christian games. Christian bookstores were likely not to sell video games at all, and thus not vulnerable to
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Because retailers could not afford to stop doing business with
Nintendo, unlicensed companies were at a disadvantage. Color Dreams had great difficulty accessing the retail market, and worked outside of mainstream NES distribution channels. Also, many of its games were reported to have problems
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style video game." Ultimately, these efforts proved successful, and Color Dreams gained a new distribution channel for its games, and launched a new genre of video games, without direct competition. Kozik later commented, "No one knew it was going to take off, but it took off like crazy."
137:. Color Dreams formed the Wisdom Tree subsidiary in 1990 in an effort to circumvent Nintendo's restrictions against publishers of unlicensed video games for the NES by selling their games at Christian book stores which was not subject to pressure by Nintendo.
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lockout chip, Nintendo was displeased that it was receiving no revenues from Color Dreams games, and wanted to prevent other companies from following. Nintendo threatened to cease selling games to retailers that sold unlicensed NES games.
358:, with the requisite religious theme where the player, as a foot soldier in the Lord's army, is tasked with saving the souls of the heathen populace, using fruit of the spirit. The company released ports of some of these games to the
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engine features the player as Noah, quelling upset animals on the Ark by flinging sleep-inducing fruit at them. As the only
American SNES cartridge to not use the standard Nintendo-manufactured shell, its shape resembles the SNES
200:, and other goods, but not video games. To convince these stores to sell religious games, Color Dreams changed its name to Wisdom Tree and promoted this new genre of video games. Wisdom Tree sent Christian bookstores 3-foot
157:, but, due to pressure from Nintendo, it faced many difficulties getting retailers to stock its games. Although Color Dreams violated no laws in opting out of the Nintendo licensing system with its workaround of Nintendo's
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cassettes showing gameplay. These promotional videos made the case to
Christian bookstores using lines like: "This game promotes Bible literacy and teaches children about the Bible while they play a 'fun and exciting'
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Wisdom Tree mainly licenses its games. The company released an all-in-one "TV controller" system featuring seven of its NES games in a single, self-contained unit. Its website also has games by other developers.
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on the
Genesis, with a pass-through cartridge port at the top; the game requires a Nintendo-licensed cartridge plugged into this pass-through, bypassing the SNES's lockout protection. A PC port was released on
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was listed as the honorable mention in
Gamespy.com's "Seven Christmas Games That Make You Hate Christmas", due to its unentertaining gameplay and the farcical feel of dodging "acid-spitting camels".
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required to develop unlicensed NES games, which effectively forced the company's programmers to work within stricter technical limitations than licensed NES developers had, such as fewer
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Color Dreams also published games with the Bunch Games label. In 1996, its StarDot
Technologies division started selling digital security cameras.
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In 2014, retro gaming website Stone Age Gamer began selling licensed T-shirts based on numerous Wisdom Tree properties including:
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of their NES unit so that they could send them a compatible cartridge. The quality issues with the games were in part due to the
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The
Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon and Beyond- The Story That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World
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for NES has the player character trapped inside a human corpse and must escape while avoiding the maggots which infest it.
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1093:"Gamasutra: Rosstin Murphy's Blog - Wisdom Tree: Lazy, Uninspired Corporate Strategy at Its Finest"
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in 2015, with retouched features such as support for widescreen resolutions and achievements.
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games, but were all canceled. Other unfinished Color Dreams games include a PC game called
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pressure from
Nintendo. Christian bookstores sold much more than books, like religious
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Nintendo never threatened any legal action against Wisdom Tree, and probably feared a
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In 2010, all Wisdom Tree NES games were on the official Wisdom Tree website via a
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Wisdom Tree made the only unlicensed commercially released game for the American
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is one example of a more modern 3D game for the PC. These games are produced on
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themed re-releases of Color Dreams games. A Wisdom Tree product catalog shows
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Color Dreams pamphlets tout a lineup of Genesis games, all of them ports of
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1006:"These Evangelical Twins Want to Make a Bible Video Game That Doesn't Suck"
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by Sunday Software), using the default models that come with the program.
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theme, and were often sold in Christian bookstores. Most games adapt
172:) recalled having customers who called Color Dreams and read off the
342:, but featuring three events in the early life of Jesus Christ) and
1161:(First ed.). Roseville, California: Prima Publishing. p.
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licensed cartridge reprints of Wisdom Tree games, starting with
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21:
This article is about the video game company. For the film, see
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1271:"These Official Wisdom Tree T-Shirts Are So Bad, They're Great"
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1243:"Seven Christmas Games That Make You Hate Christmas - Page 2"
187:
In 1990, Color Dreams began to consider producing games with
1192:"Unlicensed SNES game Super 3D Noah's Ark to be reprinted"
317:. The company sold 350,000 copies, encouraging this path.
814:
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Persuasive games: the expressive power of videogames
452:because Color Dreams decided it could not compete.
264:engine. The actual released game has the engine of
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1121:"Religious Figures Do Battle in Video Game World"
446:engine game, it was canceled upon the release of
386:, and is the last commercial NES release in the
352:is an action-adventure game similar in style to
380:is a 1995 conversion of the Color Dreams game
287:with many gameplay elements from the American
279:The company's first release as Wisdom Tree is
8:
959:
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668:NIV Bible & the 20 Lost Levels of Joshua
293:, applied to three different Bible stories:
225:backlash from parents and religious groups.
125:, one of the first companies to work around
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346:(a "video board game" with Bible quizzes).
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904:"What Ever Happened to: Color Dreams".
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1308:Interview with WT's owner Brenda Huff
1190:Matulef, Jeffrey (January 14, 2014).
309:'s men, and re-enacting the story of
244:stories to appeal to children of the
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1004:Maiberg, Emanuel (October 9, 2014).
1269:McFerran, Damien (August 4, 2014).
1119:Mixon, Bernie (February 26, 1995).
395:Super Nintendo Entertainment System
366:, and Bible-reading programs (both
258:as a side-scrolling game using the
547:Joshua & the Battle of Jericho
255:Joshua & the Battle of Jericho
14:
1333:Video game development companies
1091:Murphy, Rosstin (June 6, 2013).
1060:Halter, Ed (December 14, 2006).
933:"About Color Dreams/Wisdom Tree"
860:
848:
836:
824:
324:(a conversion of Color Dreams's
320:Other Wisdom Tree games include
133:lockout chip technology for the
1222:"Super 3-D Noah's Ark on Steam"
761:In 2013, retro game publisher
576:NES, Game Boy, Genesis, MS-DOS
555:NES, Game Boy, Genesis, MS-DOS
526:King of Kings: The Early Years
513:NES, Game Boy, Genesis, MS-DOS
1:
135:Nintendo Entertainment System
1125:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
964:Bogost, Ian (July 1, 2007).
914:. December 1997. p. 34.
328:game, with the story of the
198:Contemporary Christian music
117:is an American developer of
25:. For the fund sponsor, see
1062:"Play to Pray from 1UP.com"
297:collecting animals for the
248:era. Many of its games are
236:Wisdom Tree's games have a
72:; 34 years ago
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145:Color Dreams was based in
20:
1033:"Sunday Funday: The Ride"
907:Electronic Gaming Monthly
464:
403:. This conversion of the
37:
374:versions) for Game Boy.
332:' 40-year desert trek),
121:. It was an offshoot of
972:. MIT Press. pp.
27:WisdomTree Investments
1348:Christian video games
1338:Video game publishers
184:displayed on-screen.
119:Christian video games
1131:on September 2, 2018
417:Sonic & Knuckles
797:Super 3D Noah's Ark
791:In 2015, a Windows
782:Super 3D Noah's Ark
767:Super 3D Noah's Ark
627:Super 3D Noah's Ark
461:
400:Super 3D Noah's Ark
355:The Legend of Zelda
290:Super Mario Bros. 2
178:reverse engineering
34:
1037:Infinite NES Lives
726:Ongoing activities
460:Wisdom Tree games
459:
250:partial conversion
16:Video game company
1343:Wisdom Tree games
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568:Spiritual Warfare
349:Spiritual Warfare
283:, a three-in-one
214:Super Mario Bros.
115:Wisdom Tree, Inc.
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33:Wisdom Tree, Inc.
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805:Steam Greenlight
799:was released on
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700:Emerald Studios
607:King James Bible
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261:Bible Adventures
223:public relations
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147:Brea, California
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1280:February 28,
1278:. Retrieved
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1254:February 28,
1252:. Retrieved
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1225:. Retrieved
1203:February 28,
1201:. Retrieved
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1135:September 2,
1133:. Retrieved
1129:the original
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1102:. Retrieved
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1071:. Retrieved
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1040:. Retrieved
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1015:. Retrieved
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987:. Retrieved
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940:. Retrieved
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804:
803:through the
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785:
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774:Bible Buffet
773:
771:
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733:Heaven Bound
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719:Wisdom Tree
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687:Heaven Bound
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681:Wisdom Tree
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662:Wisdom Tree
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641:Wisdom Tree
635:SNES, MS-DOS
625:
620:Wisdom Tree
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601:Wisdom Tree
588:Bible Buffet
587:
582:Wisdom Tree
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561:Wisdom Tree
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540:Wisdom Tree
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519:Wisdom Tree
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492:NES, Genesis
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383:Menace Beach
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360:Sega Genesis
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338:(similar to
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123:Color Dreams
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93:Headquarters
47:Company type
18:
843:Video games
754:-based NES
697:Wisdom Tree
678:Wisdom Tree
659:Wisdom Tree
638:Wisdom Tree
617:Wisdom Tree
598:Wisdom Tree
579:Wisdom Tree
558:Wisdom Tree
537:Wisdom Tree
516:Wisdom Tree
495:Wisdom Tree
108:Brenda Huff
61:Video games
1317:Categories
912:Ziff Davis
874:References
477:Publisher
442:. Another
440:Hellraiser
412:Game Genie
368:King James
330:Israelites
246:video game
104:Key people
88:Dan Lawton
1197:Eurogamer
1153:(2001) .
1098:Gamasutra
831:Companies
807:service.
739:(such as
474:Developer
471:Platforms
305:from the
285:multicart
238:Christian
1227:June 26,
1104:April 8,
1073:April 8,
1042:April 8,
1017:April 8,
942:April 8,
811:See also
756:emulator
675:Game Boy
614:Game Boy
364:Game Boy
189:biblical
151:Nintendo
127:Nintendo
57:Industry
1248:GameSpy
1067:1UP.com
989:July 2,
937:AtariHQ
817:Portals
454:Maggots
315:Goliath
307:Pharaoh
182:sprites
141:History
85:Founder
75: (
67:Founded
51:Private
1178:story.
1169:
980:
976:–288.
793:remake
786:Exodus
784:, and
741:Joseph
505:Exodus
322:Exodus
273:Exodus
194:movies
867:1990s
855:1980s
801:Steam
465:Title
436:Amiga
423:Steam
311:David
303:Moses
242:Bible
232:Games
159:10NES
131:10NES
1282:2015
1256:2015
1229:2015
1205:2015
1167:ISBN
1137:2018
1106:2015
1075:2015
1044:2015
1019:2015
1011:Vice
991:2017
978:ISBN
944:2015
752:Java
743:and
710:2007
691:2003
672:1996
653:1995
632:1994
611:1993
592:1993
573:1992
552:1992
531:1991
510:1991
489:1991
468:Year
449:Doom
370:and
362:and
313:and
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