Slam
01-05-2001, 23:19
Did a bit of mooching about and compiled this rather uninteresting facts on some of those old companies for a website I'm doing (I'll be off stamp collecting next week no doubt). Thought you might like to yawn your way through them :E
Not all companies are covered and some of the dates may not be exact, but here's the stuff so far:
21st Century Entertainment - formerly company Hewson, published the fantastic Pinball Dreams & Pinball Fantasies, as well as Pinball Illusions. Last game published was It's a Funny old game in 1996 before going down the pan
Access Software - In 1988 they brought us the golfing classic World Class Leaderboard as well as a handfull of adventures such as Echelon. Bought out by Microsoft in 1999.
Accolade - 1985 these bods gave us The Dambusters for the 8 bits. A string of titles followed, such as Apollo18, Bubble Ghost and the rip- offs of Epyx's classy sports titles, in this case Games: The Winter Challenge and Games: The Summer Challenge. Bought out by Infogrames in 1999.
Anco Software - Started in 1982 and produced a few unmemorable (to me) games for the 8-bits. Then in 1988 kickoff was born to cheers and shouts. However it was the following year (that'll be 1989 then) when they produced possibly the most praised footy game ever - kickoff 2 COME ON!!! They're still going to this day and can be found at http://www.anco.co.uk/
Bitmap Brothers - Surely I don't have to tell you anything about these guys? Oh ok, 1991 - GODS & Speedball bloody great! 1992 was their busiest year tho with Speedball2, Magic Pockets and Chaos Engine. 1996 saw those crazy metal heads in Z before all went quite. However they're back and with Z2 and can be found at http://www.bitmap-brothers.co.uk/
Broderbund - Big german players these kids, with titles such as Lode Runner (83) and Karateka (86) and the simple yet addictive Shufflepuck Cafe in 1989. Bought out by Mattel in 1999.
Cascade - '87 saw 3 titles from these guys - Ace, Ace2 and Sky Runner. I'm sure there where others as well but I haven't come across them yet. No longer in action.
Cinemaware - Every title published was a classy bit of game in my eyes. In 1988 they produced 5 titles (don't quote me on that) starting with Defender of the Crown and ending with the 3 stooges. 1989 saw the first two TV Sports titles appearing which shook the sporting genre by the curlies and showed them what they could do. 1990 saw the fabulous Rocket Ranger and another TV Sports title, followed by It Came from the Desert in 91. Back up and running at http://www.cinemaware.com
Codemasters - One of the big £1.99 and £2.99 kings, bringing us a shedload of budget titles, including the million and one Dizzy games. Also responsible for the Micromachines game, Codemasters was snaffled up in 99 by Yosemite Entertainment (developers for Sierra On-line) before being acquired by Havas Entertainment. Going strong today with Colin Mcrae and Severance B.O.D.
Data East - Brought us some of those All-time Arcade classics in the 80s, such as Commando ('85) and Robocop ('89). Now defunct.
Delphine - Starting in 1988, these French guys brought us some amazing adventure games: Future Wars ('90), Cruise for a Corpse ('91) not to mention the stunning Flashback in ('92). Still going at http://www.delphinesoft.com/
Digital Illusions - Swedish Publishers that brought us 21st Century Entertainments Pinball games. Still going strong too I was amazed to find. http://www.dice.se/
DMA Design - Some great shootem ups came out of this camp: Menace in '88 later followed by the truly marvellous Blood Money in '89. Still going here: http://www.dma.co.uk/
Domark - Yawn fact: named after founder Dominic and Mark. Gave us a fair few memorable games such as Castle Master in '88, APB in '89, Mig29 Fulcrum in '90 and Big Red Racing in 95 (Which I believe was supported on WP2). Bought out by Eidos in 1996.
Electronic Arts Established in '82, Probably one of the most successful games companies ever. Titles start from M.U.L.E. in 1984 through Arctic Fox, Adventure Construction Kit, Artic Fox, Skate or Die and Chuck Yeagers Flight Trainer. Then Fifa and John Madden Football came along and the rest is history.
Epyx - Raaa! the dudes who, in 1984 gave us the world's best game: Impossible Mission! Also that year came the tire-bursting, split screen action of Pitstop2. Other monumental titles include: Summer Games, Winter Games, Summer Games II and World Games. Heading into 1989 product sales are failing to meet company projections, the C-64 has dropped off the scope as a gaming platform, and a new project called Handy, to be the world's first colour pixel hand-held game, is gathering expenses, games are cancelled and the company staff size keeps shrinking (from 200 to 20). The Handy project is eventually sold to Atari and renamed the Lynx, and shortly after this deal Epyx succumbs to the Atari touch-of-death and files for bankruptcy.
Firebird - Another fantastic bunch of budget publishing bods who gave us the gravity defying Thrust. Not sure whether I knew at the time, but the company was actually owned by our dear friends BT. Bought out by Microprose in the early 90s.
Gremlin - If it wasn't for these guys we may never have had the delights of the Lotus trilogy or that crazy platform critter Zool, or Desert Strike and later Jungle Strike. Bought out by Infogrames in 1999.
Grey Matter - no not the Kingpin guys who are doing Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Grey Matter where a UK outfit who gave us the whacky Fiendish Freddies Big top O' Fun in 1989... before disappearing off the face of the earth.
Hewson - Mega famous for ahead-of-the-time 8bit titles such as Uridium, Paradroid, Cybernoid, Eliminator and Nebulus. Replaced by pinball wizards 21st Century Entertainment in 1991.
Impressions - Dev team behind the industries first First Person 3D affairs, such as CastleMaster ('88), Driller ('90) and The DarkSide ('91). They now do something completely different here: http://www.superscape.com/
Imagine - can't find anything on these guys, although I know they did a shed load of stuff - Mikie, Yie ar KungFu etc...
Llamasoft - Anyone who knows their 8bit history will remember Jeff Minter's trippy creations with fondness: Attack of the Mutant Camels, Hovver Bovver, Ancipital and so on. All the titles are now re-written as PC freeware so you might want to check em out. JM's homepage is: http://www.magicnet.net/yak/
Mastertronic - Founded in 1983, possibly the biggest budget publishers? (also used the Ricochet,MAD and Bulldog labels) Way too many titles to mention, but you might want to head here (http://www.old-arcade.com/mastertronic/). Bought out Melbourne House in 1988 before merging with Virgin to form Virgin/Mastertronic the same year. Was then bought out by SEGA and vanished without a trace soon after.
Ocean - At one point one of the biggest players alongside US Gold. Famous titles include: TopGun ('86), The Great Escape ('87) Wizball ('87), Untouchables ('89) and Sleepwalker ('94). Bought out by Infogrames in 97.
Palace Software - Famous for their saucy magazine adverts for Barbarian ('88) and Barbarian2 ('89) featuring a chesty Mariah Whitaker. Went bust (pardon the pun) in the late 80s apparently.
Psygnosis - Took the 16bit world by storm with Lemmings, as well as developing such classics as Blood Money, Hired Guns and Discworld. Snatched up by Sony interactive in 93, Psygnosis helped kick the PSX off with titles such as Wipeout and Destruction Derby (well apparently anyway). 1998 saw Eidos buy the European part of Psygnosis, with the sony part later abandoned in 2000.
Sensible Software - The brains behind Sensible Soccer!!! did anyone not like this game? Also developed Cannon Fodder and Wizball. Bought out by Codemasters in '96.
Spectrum Holobyte - The 'simulator' dudes. They where the ones responsible for publishing Tetris, Falcon and Stunt Driver and Flight of the Intruder. Bought out Microprose but curiously published all later titles under Microprose instead of Spectrum Holobyte. Later bought out by Hasbro.
System 3 - Responsible for the superb beatem ups in the form of IK ('90) and the Last Ninja ('88 onwards) Series. Now called Studio3 http://www.studio3.co.uk/
Team 17 - dev team behind some of the best Amiga games ever made: Alien Breed, Project X, Superfrog and Body Blows. Later developed the addictive Worms games. http://www.team17.com
US Gold - One of Europes largest publishers, bringing us a massive range of games. Bought out by Eidos in '96.
Got a bit bored of typing it out towards the end - apols for the amount of text there, it may not be 100% accurate, but hope it atleast jogs your memory a bit about some of the old companies. It was interesting to see how much of an influence the UK had on the games market during the 8bit era.
Not all companies are covered and some of the dates may not be exact, but here's the stuff so far:
21st Century Entertainment - formerly company Hewson, published the fantastic Pinball Dreams & Pinball Fantasies, as well as Pinball Illusions. Last game published was It's a Funny old game in 1996 before going down the pan
Access Software - In 1988 they brought us the golfing classic World Class Leaderboard as well as a handfull of adventures such as Echelon. Bought out by Microsoft in 1999.
Accolade - 1985 these bods gave us The Dambusters for the 8 bits. A string of titles followed, such as Apollo18, Bubble Ghost and the rip- offs of Epyx's classy sports titles, in this case Games: The Winter Challenge and Games: The Summer Challenge. Bought out by Infogrames in 1999.
Anco Software - Started in 1982 and produced a few unmemorable (to me) games for the 8-bits. Then in 1988 kickoff was born to cheers and shouts. However it was the following year (that'll be 1989 then) when they produced possibly the most praised footy game ever - kickoff 2 COME ON!!! They're still going to this day and can be found at http://www.anco.co.uk/
Bitmap Brothers - Surely I don't have to tell you anything about these guys? Oh ok, 1991 - GODS & Speedball bloody great! 1992 was their busiest year tho with Speedball2, Magic Pockets and Chaos Engine. 1996 saw those crazy metal heads in Z before all went quite. However they're back and with Z2 and can be found at http://www.bitmap-brothers.co.uk/
Broderbund - Big german players these kids, with titles such as Lode Runner (83) and Karateka (86) and the simple yet addictive Shufflepuck Cafe in 1989. Bought out by Mattel in 1999.
Cascade - '87 saw 3 titles from these guys - Ace, Ace2 and Sky Runner. I'm sure there where others as well but I haven't come across them yet. No longer in action.
Cinemaware - Every title published was a classy bit of game in my eyes. In 1988 they produced 5 titles (don't quote me on that) starting with Defender of the Crown and ending with the 3 stooges. 1989 saw the first two TV Sports titles appearing which shook the sporting genre by the curlies and showed them what they could do. 1990 saw the fabulous Rocket Ranger and another TV Sports title, followed by It Came from the Desert in 91. Back up and running at http://www.cinemaware.com
Codemasters - One of the big £1.99 and £2.99 kings, bringing us a shedload of budget titles, including the million and one Dizzy games. Also responsible for the Micromachines game, Codemasters was snaffled up in 99 by Yosemite Entertainment (developers for Sierra On-line) before being acquired by Havas Entertainment. Going strong today with Colin Mcrae and Severance B.O.D.
Data East - Brought us some of those All-time Arcade classics in the 80s, such as Commando ('85) and Robocop ('89). Now defunct.
Delphine - Starting in 1988, these French guys brought us some amazing adventure games: Future Wars ('90), Cruise for a Corpse ('91) not to mention the stunning Flashback in ('92). Still going at http://www.delphinesoft.com/
Digital Illusions - Swedish Publishers that brought us 21st Century Entertainments Pinball games. Still going strong too I was amazed to find. http://www.dice.se/
DMA Design - Some great shootem ups came out of this camp: Menace in '88 later followed by the truly marvellous Blood Money in '89. Still going here: http://www.dma.co.uk/
Domark - Yawn fact: named after founder Dominic and Mark. Gave us a fair few memorable games such as Castle Master in '88, APB in '89, Mig29 Fulcrum in '90 and Big Red Racing in 95 (Which I believe was supported on WP2). Bought out by Eidos in 1996.
Electronic Arts Established in '82, Probably one of the most successful games companies ever. Titles start from M.U.L.E. in 1984 through Arctic Fox, Adventure Construction Kit, Artic Fox, Skate or Die and Chuck Yeagers Flight Trainer. Then Fifa and John Madden Football came along and the rest is history.
Epyx - Raaa! the dudes who, in 1984 gave us the world's best game: Impossible Mission! Also that year came the tire-bursting, split screen action of Pitstop2. Other monumental titles include: Summer Games, Winter Games, Summer Games II and World Games. Heading into 1989 product sales are failing to meet company projections, the C-64 has dropped off the scope as a gaming platform, and a new project called Handy, to be the world's first colour pixel hand-held game, is gathering expenses, games are cancelled and the company staff size keeps shrinking (from 200 to 20). The Handy project is eventually sold to Atari and renamed the Lynx, and shortly after this deal Epyx succumbs to the Atari touch-of-death and files for bankruptcy.
Firebird - Another fantastic bunch of budget publishing bods who gave us the gravity defying Thrust. Not sure whether I knew at the time, but the company was actually owned by our dear friends BT. Bought out by Microprose in the early 90s.
Gremlin - If it wasn't for these guys we may never have had the delights of the Lotus trilogy or that crazy platform critter Zool, or Desert Strike and later Jungle Strike. Bought out by Infogrames in 1999.
Grey Matter - no not the Kingpin guys who are doing Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Grey Matter where a UK outfit who gave us the whacky Fiendish Freddies Big top O' Fun in 1989... before disappearing off the face of the earth.
Hewson - Mega famous for ahead-of-the-time 8bit titles such as Uridium, Paradroid, Cybernoid, Eliminator and Nebulus. Replaced by pinball wizards 21st Century Entertainment in 1991.
Impressions - Dev team behind the industries first First Person 3D affairs, such as CastleMaster ('88), Driller ('90) and The DarkSide ('91). They now do something completely different here: http://www.superscape.com/
Imagine - can't find anything on these guys, although I know they did a shed load of stuff - Mikie, Yie ar KungFu etc...
Llamasoft - Anyone who knows their 8bit history will remember Jeff Minter's trippy creations with fondness: Attack of the Mutant Camels, Hovver Bovver, Ancipital and so on. All the titles are now re-written as PC freeware so you might want to check em out. JM's homepage is: http://www.magicnet.net/yak/
Mastertronic - Founded in 1983, possibly the biggest budget publishers? (also used the Ricochet,MAD and Bulldog labels) Way too many titles to mention, but you might want to head here (http://www.old-arcade.com/mastertronic/). Bought out Melbourne House in 1988 before merging with Virgin to form Virgin/Mastertronic the same year. Was then bought out by SEGA and vanished without a trace soon after.
Ocean - At one point one of the biggest players alongside US Gold. Famous titles include: TopGun ('86), The Great Escape ('87) Wizball ('87), Untouchables ('89) and Sleepwalker ('94). Bought out by Infogrames in 97.
Palace Software - Famous for their saucy magazine adverts for Barbarian ('88) and Barbarian2 ('89) featuring a chesty Mariah Whitaker. Went bust (pardon the pun) in the late 80s apparently.
Psygnosis - Took the 16bit world by storm with Lemmings, as well as developing such classics as Blood Money, Hired Guns and Discworld. Snatched up by Sony interactive in 93, Psygnosis helped kick the PSX off with titles such as Wipeout and Destruction Derby (well apparently anyway). 1998 saw Eidos buy the European part of Psygnosis, with the sony part later abandoned in 2000.
Sensible Software - The brains behind Sensible Soccer!!! did anyone not like this game? Also developed Cannon Fodder and Wizball. Bought out by Codemasters in '96.
Spectrum Holobyte - The 'simulator' dudes. They where the ones responsible for publishing Tetris, Falcon and Stunt Driver and Flight of the Intruder. Bought out Microprose but curiously published all later titles under Microprose instead of Spectrum Holobyte. Later bought out by Hasbro.
System 3 - Responsible for the superb beatem ups in the form of IK ('90) and the Last Ninja ('88 onwards) Series. Now called Studio3 http://www.studio3.co.uk/
Team 17 - dev team behind some of the best Amiga games ever made: Alien Breed, Project X, Superfrog and Body Blows. Later developed the addictive Worms games. http://www.team17.com
US Gold - One of Europes largest publishers, bringing us a massive range of games. Bought out by Eidos in '96.
Got a bit bored of typing it out towards the end - apols for the amount of text there, it may not be 100% accurate, but hope it atleast jogs your memory a bit about some of the old companies. It was interesting to see how much of an influence the UK had on the games market during the 8bit era.