Zoo Tycoon (series)

The Zoo Tycoon series is a popular video game series that began in 2001. All of the games in the series focus around building up a successful zoo and running it, although scenarios may have other goals.

Development history

Blue Fang Games was founded in 1998 and then decided that there were little animal-related games. They were inspired by RollerCoaster Tycoon to create a money-related game.

Blue Fang developed Zoo Tycoon, which became available in 2001. It was followed by two expansion packs, Dinosaur Digs and Marine Mania, in 2002. In 2003, Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection was released, which included the original game, the Dinosaur Digs and Marine Mania expansion packs, as well as the bonus Endangered Species downloadable,^[1] also freely available from Microsoft.com.^[2]

In 2004, a sequel for Zoo Tycoon was released, Zoo Tycoon 2. In 2005, a Nintendo DS version of Zoo Tycoon was released, as well as the first expansion pack for Zoo Tycoon 2, Endangered Species. In following year, three expansions were released. They were African Adventure, the Dino Danger Pack and a second Marine Mania. The Dino Danger Pack was a premium download, bought by credit card from the Zoo Tycoon website.

On October 16, 2007, another Zoo Tycoon 2 expansion, Extinct Animals was released. The DS version of Zoo Tycoon 2, Zoo Tycoon 2 DS, came out in February.

In June 2008, the announcement that the official forums, started in September 2006, would be closed to all incoming posts. It is unknown if posts will be accepted again, or if any more games will come out after Ultimate Collection, as Blue Fang's contract with Microsoft ends in 2009.

Games

• Zoo Tycoon (2001)
  • Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs (2002)
  • Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania (2002)
  • Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection (2003) (compilation)
• Zoo Tycoon 2 (2004)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species (2005)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure (2006)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: Dino Danger Pack (2006)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection (2006) (compilation)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania (2006)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals (2007)
  • Zoo Tycoon 2: Ultimate Collection (2008) (compilation)
• Zoo Tycoon 2 DS (2008)

As well as having the original PC versions of the Zoo Tycoon franchise, Zoo Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon 2 are both available for the Nintendo DS, as well as another version Zoo Tycoon 2 being available for the Apple Mac. Zoo Tycoon 2 and its expansion Marine Mania are both available for the mobile phone. None of these games on other platforms (with the exception of 2 DS) were developed by Blue Fang Games like the original versions. However, Blue Fang recently announced they would be expanding to include games on Nintendo DS and Wii, possibly pointing towards a Zoo Tycoon outside the PC.

Merchandise

In addition to the game, there are several mousemats available on Amazon.co.uk. DK released Zoo Tycoon 2: The Ultimate Sticker Collection book. The original Zoo Tycoon 2 box set included a bonus animal pen.

References

External links

• Official website
• Zoo Tycoon guide at StrategyWiki

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