
Therefore, the rights have been owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment since its parent, Sony, acquired Columbia in 1989. The Q*bert character became known for his "swearing" – an incoherent phrase made of synthesized speech generated by the sound chip and a speech balloon of nonsensical characters that appear when he collides with an enemy.īecause the game was developed during the period when Columbia Pictures owned Gottlieb, the intellectual rights to Q*bert remained with Columbia, even after they divested themselves of Gottlieb's assets in 1984. The game's success resulted in sequels and the use of the character's likeness in merchandising, such as appearances on lunch boxes, toys, and an animated television show. It has been ported to numerous platforms. The game was Gottlieb's most successful video game and is among the most recognized brands from the golden age of arcade games. Q*bert was well-received in arcades and among critics. Q*bert was developed under the project name Cubes.

Lee designed the title character and original concept, which was further developed and implemented by Davis. The game was conceived by Warren Davis and Jeff Lee. Players use a joystick to control the character. The objective of each level in the game is to change every cube in a pyramid to a target color by making Q*bert, the on-screen character, hop on top of the cube while avoiding obstacles and enemies. It is a 2D action game with puzzle elements that uses isometric graphics to create a pseudo-3D effect. Q*bert / ˈ k juː b ər t/ is an arcade game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982.
