PF Magic was a video game developer founded in 1991 and located in San Francisco, California, United States. Though it developed other types of video games, it was best known for its virtual pet games, such as Dogz and Catz. The company was able to make extra revenue by selling plush toys under the Petz trademark. It was bought out in 1998 by Mindscape, Inc. After changing hands a few more times, Ubisoft now owns the copyright on its Petz, Oddballz and Babyz titles. One of PF Magic's earliest efforts was the 1994 video game Ballz, published by Accolade. The innovative game featured main characters composed completely of spheres. This early game failed in the marketplace, though it would inspire many of their following games, such as Petz. The company also produced Max Magic, the world’s first electronic magic kit, which represented a breakthrough in interactive 3D character design. PF Magic's designer and programmer, Andrew Stern, created an experimental project with Michael Mateas and others for five years. The project became Façade, a freeware game in which the player interacts with a couple whose ten-year marriage is in trouble. History PF Magic was born out of a failed hardware venture with AT&T and Sega to build a Sega Genesis accessory called "The Edge", which was to allow for online multiplayer over telephone lines. AT&T pulled out of the venture due to the cost of the device, leaving the company with half their initial funding. With their hardware project cancelled, the company needed a new product to work on. Co-founder Rob Fulop saw the controversy generated by Night Trap, a game he worked on, and wanted to make something that was the complete opposite of it. Fulop talked with a mall Santa who told him that the number one gift children requested for Christmas was still a puppy. After this conversation, the idea of doing a title about animals came about, resulting in Petz, which was based on the graphics technology they previously used in Ballz. Petz was an enormous success, became one of the company's flagship products and has been credited with popularizing virtual pets. Selected titles Ballz Ballz is a two-player 3D action fighting game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the 3DO. It was developed by PF Magic and published by Accolade in 1994. The 3DO version was released as a director's cut