Jester Interactive

Jester Interactive is one of North Wales’ most exciting new companies. Formed in 1997 as Morgan Computing Ltd by Gavin Morgan, Jester is now an established name in the world of computer entertainment, and has a reputation for innovation, quality and productivity. From its initial six-man development team, the company now has over 50 employees with a growth in turnover to match.

The company’s principal product is the development and distribution of music creation software. It is now also diversifying into the expanding video games market. In just over 3 years, Jester has released two award-winning products for PlayStation and PC platforms. ‘Music’ gained the accolade of "Most Innovative Game" from Official Playstation Magazine in June 1999. Music 2000 reached the same magazine’s top 50 games of all time in December 2000.

A year later, Sony gave Jester’s MTV Music Generator their Most Innovative Game status, with Sony’s British Managing Director putting ‘Music’ into his top 5 PlayStation games ever - "one of the most original PlayStation titles of recent times". These products have also received BAFTA Award Nominations and over a million have been shipped worldwide.

In the near future, Jester plans to release sequels on existing platforms and new versions of MUSIC on emerging formats including PS2, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. It intends to create six software titles for release over the next two years and is also planning to rejuvenate old ‘classic’ games so that they can be used on the next generation mobile phones and gaming consoles. Jester also plans to move into the lucrative world of publishing, opening up avenues to distribute the products directly to the consumer through the Internet, interactive television or by more traditional methods.

Jester Interactive aims to become the best, most profitable and most productive global games and interactive entertainment company. It is this ambition that has led the company to its current heights. The firm’s employees are a combination of industry veterans and some of the best graduates, making for a highly innovative but stable company. The company itself has received numerous awards, most recently the Daily Post’s ‘Achievement Wales 2000 Business Award’ and previously the Wales Small Business of the Year Award. The future for Jester looks particularly bright and the team looks forward with anticipation to the next few years.

Sector: Multimedia computer games designer

Growth: 361.0%