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Katz Media SARL logo
Katz Media AS logo

Logos of Katz Media SARL (top) and AS (bottom).

Katz Media was a French-Norwegian company that was founded in 1996 to market the Pippin-compatible Katz Media Player 2000 console in Europe.[1] Katz Media SARL was based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France and was focused on hardware. Its parent company, Katz Media Holding Limited, was founded on March 28, 1996 and based in Dublin, Ireland.[2] Katz Media AS was a subsidiary of Olympia Finans AS of Oslo, Norway and was focused on software.[3][4]

History[]

KMP2000+PCI dock

A Katz Media Player 2000 (KMP 2000) console with Pippin Expansion Unit.

On June 4, 1996, Katz Media became the second company to sign a license agreement with Apple Computer to distribute Pippin systems.[5][6] Katz Media had projected sales of about NOK 35 million kr (approx. US$ 5,350,000 in June 1996).[7][8] Bandai supplied initial consoles as an OEM.[9] Katz Media partnered with Alps Electric to carry out final assembly and warehousing of future units in Ireland.[10] The Katz Media Player 2000 began shipping in Europe on March 17, 1997 with a focus on industry segments such as hotels, health care, travel, government, and education.[11] Accétéra handled distribution in the French mass retail market.[10]

During Marché international des Inforoutes et du Multimédia in May 1997, Groupe Arborescence announced a partnership with Katz Media to develop and market the Arborescence Network Centric computer for the Canadian market.[12] It was to have been based on the KMP 2000 with a custom Pippin Expansion Unit as part of a "Arborescence/Katz Media Pippin package" to be targeted towards Canadian consumers who did not have internet access. Though prototyped by Primetech Electronics,[13] it was not publicly released.[14]

Titles[]

Katz Pippin Demo CD and console

A Katz Pippin Demo CD being loaded into a KMP 2000.

See also: Category: Katz Media titles

Katz Media SARL announced in September 1996 that leading publishers had committed to Pippinizing their existing multimedia titles, including:[15]

Pippin Demo German Version CD-R

A german demo disc of unreleased software for the Katz Media Player 2000.

Katz Media AS stated in 1997 that it had acquired publishing rights to about 40-50 CD-ROM titles, including:[7]

However, only a small number were being developed for the Pippin platform, due to cost.[22] It is uncertain which titles had ever been ported or released as Katz Media was also seeking distribution partners at the time.[23]

We had rights to about four or five titles, but it turned out to be very expensive to get companies to develop games for the console. I remember I was in touch with LucasArts at the time.[22]
— Pål Høiås
General Manager, Katz Media

Closure[]

With the return of Steve Jobs at Apple in 1997, further development on the platform was cancelled.[24] A department was opened in Paris in an attempt to salvage the KMP 2000 business by utilizing the consoles in kiosks, but Katz Media went bankrupt in 1998.[22] Only about 1,000 units are believed to have been sold by the time Katz Media's websites went down in 1999,[25] Remaining inventory was sold off to DayStar Digital.[26] Katz Media Holding Limited has since been liquidated and is not affiliated with other companies presently operating under similar names.[2]

References[]

  1. Company Backgrounder, Katz Media SARL. Archived 1997-07-01.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Profile: Katz Media Holding Limited, Kompany. Accessed 2018-01-21.
  3. Katz Media continues with Pippin, Telecom.paper. 1997-07-25.
  4. Apple Grants Katz License To Use Pippin Technology by Richard Hudson, The Wall Street Journal. 1996-06-05.
  5. Katz Media Signs Worldwide Licensing Agreement for Apple's Pippin Technology, Katz Media SARL. 1996-06-04. Archived 1997-07-13.
  6. Katz Media AS Signs Worldwide Licensing Agreement of Apple's Pippin Technology to make the world's best multimedia technology available to "the rest of us.", Apple Computer. 1996-06-05. Archived 1999-02-20.
  7. 7.0 7.1 About Katz Media AS, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  8. U.S. Dollar to Norwegian Krone Spot Exchange Rates for 1996 from the Bank of England, PoundSterling LIVE. Accessed 2018-06-18.
  9. Bandai and Katz Media announce cooperation to develop European Pippin Market, Katz Media SARL. 1997-01-29. Archived 1997-07-13.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Katz Media Announces Product Strategy and Cooperation with Strategic Partners for Pippin Platform, Katz Media SARL. 1996-09-18. Archived 1997-07-13.
  11. Katz Media Begins Shipping Pippins in Europe, Katz Media SARL. 1997-03-17. Archived 1997-07-13.
  12. Press: Arborescence launches the first Canadian-content Network Centric computer, Katz Media. 1997-05-22. Archived 1997-07-13.
  13. Arborescence Launches KMP 2000 with New Peripherals, The Arborescence Group. 1997-05-22. Archived 1998-01-29.
  14. Arborescence introduce the first COMBO Pippin doc/base module! by Joe Kudrna, O'Grady's PowerPage: Pippin NewsPage. 1997-08-03. Archived 1998-02-07.
  15. Katz Media Announces Partnerships with Multimedia Developers and Publishers for Pippin Platform, Katz Media SARL. 1996-09-18. Archived 1997-07-13.
  16. DigiZINE, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  17. Interpose, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  18. Grandpa & me!, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  19. Seaside Sam, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  20. Twigger/Win95, Katz Media AS. Archived 1998-07-02.
  21. Whitworth's Planet Earth, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 This is a Norwegian game console developed for Apple (Norwegian) by Martin Gramnæs, PressFire. 2015-03-11.
  23. Distributors Wanted, Katz Media AS. Archived 1997-10-23.
  24. For the good of the company? Five Apple products Steve Jobs killed by Casey Johnston, Ars Technica. 2011-08-25.
  25. The Ultimate Guide to Classic Game Consoles (p.64-66) by Kevin Baker, Google Books. 2013-05-23.
  26. Apple's Folly by Adam Volk, The Gameological Society. 2013-06.

See also[]

External links[]

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