Ratbag Games

Ratbag Games Pty Ltd was an Australian developer of games software such as Powerslide, The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee and World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002.

About The Company

Ratbag was founded in 1993 by Richard Harrison and Greg Siegele. Known initially as Emergent Games, the company took 3 years to prototype their first title Powerslide. The company continues to be located in Adelaide, South Australia, but is now known as Midway Studios - Australia following its acquisition by Midway Games on August 4th, 2005. The studio was later closed by its parent company on 13th December, 2005, leaving the staff employed there without a job.

About The Games

Ratbag made a name for itself with its debut title Powerslide. The arcade racer, set in a post-apocalyptic future was one of the first PC titles to support 3D Acceleration, and met with critical if not commercial success. A slew of PC racing titles followed over the years, and before too long Ratbag found itself "typecast" as a simulation racing developer.

With the arrival of the Playstation 2 in late 2000, Ratbag saw an opportunity to move into the lucrative console market. World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 was the first of several Playstation 2 titles developed and released, with a handful of titles going unpublished, most notably the followup to Powerslide, Powerslide: Slipstream.

The last title developed by Ratbag (prior to their acquisition) was The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee for the Playstation 2 and Xbox. The "Adventure/Racing" title was the first Ratbag title to break from the simulation tradition set forth by previous titles and features simple "on-foot" gameplay in addition to various story-driven racing missions.

Games Releases

• Powerslide - PC
• Dirt Track Racing - PC
• Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars - PC
• Dirt Track Racing 2 - PC
• Leadfoot - PC
• Holden Dirt Track Racing Australia - PC
• World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars 2002 - PS2
• Saturday Night Speedway - PS2 & PC
• The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee - PS2 & Xbox

External links

• Ratbag Games website.
• Midway Games website.
• News Report - Midway Closes Ratbag Games]