 | SEI: Forgotten and Long Gone |
You get this mysterious feeling when you think about S.E.I. What do we currently know about S.E.I.? We know nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well that was until today when Hugh Falk provided us (TWZ) with the key to unlocking the S.E.I. mystery once and for all.
S.E.I. was formed in Sanford, North Carolina, around 1989 by a few doctors looking for a quick buck or two, according to Richard Frick, the president of American Video Entertainment, who had a few dealings with S.E.I. himself. At this time, John Brazier was the president of Epyx, known for their C64 and Amiga games. His son Michael was the Vice President of S.E.I. This may explain the starting relationship between Epyx and S.E.I.
S.E.I. bought a license from Epyx to release Impossible Mission II on the Nintendo Entertainment System. However, S.E.I. didn't pay Epyx on time and Epyx gained the rights back to release the Nintendo version. Epyx licensed Impossible Mission II to American Video Entertainment later on.
S.E.I.'s only game release was Impossible Mission II (from now on referred to as IM2). IM2 was popular on many home computers. You gather numbers and items as you travel through 8 towers in search of the evil Elvin Atombender. There is very little background music and the game is puzzling to say the least. I really can't get into this game for some unknown reason. The only parts I do like are the introduction screen and the dude's scream when he falls down a pit to his doom. It's a very blood curdling, especially for a NES game.
There are two different label variations of IM2. Epyx did not authorize the plain white label versions while the color label versions were authorized. The labels read "For play on the S.E.I. Entertainment system, Nintendo Compatible." This was placed on the label for unknown reasons, maybe to trick Nintendo?
S.E.I. has now been given the recognition that they deserved for many years now. Hopefully this article has cleared up and shot down many rumors surrounding S.E.I.
When we think about unlicensed game companies, we normally think about Color Dreams, Camerica, American Video Entertainment, and sometimes American Game Carts Inc. Seldom do we think about Active Enterprises, S.E.I. even less.
