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|
| Fate | Bankrupt |
|---|---|
| Successor | Beau Jolly, Ocean Software |
| Founded | Liverpool, United Kingdom (1982) |
| Founder(s) | Mark Butler, David Lawson |
| Defunct | 9 July 1984[1] |
| Headquarters | Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Key people | Ian Hetherington, David Lawson, Mark Butler, Bruce Everiss |
| Industry | Computer and video games |
| Products | Computer games |
| Employees | 80[2] |
- For the American company, see Imagine Software (US)
Imagine Software was a British video games developer based in Liverpool which existed briefly in the early 1980s, initially producing software for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20.
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History
Imagine Software was founded in 1982 by former members of Bug-Byte including Mark Butler, David Lawson and Eugene Evans. Mark and Eugene had previously worked at Microdigital, one of the first computer stores in the UK. Imagine Software produced several very successful games, including Arcadia for the Vic 20 and ZX- Spectrum, before running into financial trouble in late 1983.[citation needed]
Rumours of Imagine's financial situation began to circulate in December 1983 following the revelations that an estimated £50,000 of its advertising bills had not been paid.[3] The following year the debts mounted, with further advertising and tape duplication bills going unpaid, and Imagine was forced to sell the rights to its games to Beau Jolly in order to raise money. The company then achieved nationwide notoriety when it was filmed the following year by a BBC documentary crew while in the process of going spectacularly bust.[4]
On the 28th of June 1984 a writ was issued against Imagine by VNU Business Press for monies owed for advertising in Personal Computer Games magazine, and the company was wound up on 9 July 1984 at the High Court in London after it was unable to raise the £10,000 required to pay this debt (though by this time its total debts ran to hundreds of thousands of pounds).[1][2]
Former programmers went on to establish Psygnosis and Denton Designs. The company's back catalogue was owned by Beau Jolly, while rights to the Imagine label were acquired by Ocean Software, which used it to publish home computer conversions of popular arcade games under the name of Imagine Studios. The final game bearing the Imagine name was released in 1989.[citation needed]
Games
As Imagine Software
- Arcadia, 1982
- Wacky Waiters, 1982
- Catcha Snatcha, 1983
- Ah Diddums, 1983
- Stonkers, 1983
- Zip Zap, 1983
- Zzoom, 1983
- Alchemist, 1983
- Schizoids, 1983
- Molar Maul, 1983
- Jumping Jack, 1983
- Bewitched, 1983
- BC Bill, 1984
- Pedro, 1984
- Cosmic Cruiser, 1984
- Wizadore, 1984
Under Ocean Software's Imagine Studios label
- Hyper Sports, 1985
- Mikie, 1985
- World Series Baseball, 1985
- Yie Ar Kung-Fu, 1985
- Green Beret, 1986
- M.O.V.I.E., 1986
- Psycho Soldier, 1987
- Renegade, 1987
- Arkanoid, 1987
- Target: Renegade, 1988
- Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja, 1988
- Salamander, 1988
Megagames
Imagine developed (but never released) six so-called "Megagames", the most well-known of which were Psyclapse and Bandersnatch. These games were designed to push the boundaries of the hardware of the time, even to the extent that they were intended to be released with a hardware add-on which would have increased the capabilities of the computer, as well as guarding against piracy. The games were advertised heavily and would have retailed at around £30 - an expensive price tag when the average price of a game at the time was £7.20 - but Imagine's collapse meant that they remained vaporware and never saw the light of day.[4][5][6]
References
- ^ a b "Imagine in hands of receiver". Popular Computing Weekly. 1984-07-19. http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/8bitgamer/?cat=39. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ a b "Bitter split breaks Imagine". Popular Computing Weekly. 1984-07-05. http://www.zxsoftware.co.uk/8bitgamer/?p=50. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ "The Bubble Bursts". Crash (Newsfield Publications Ltd). 1984-08. http://www.crashonline.org.uk/07/news.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
- ^ a b Kean, Roger (1984-12). "The Biggest Commercial Break Of Them All". Crash (Newsfield Publications Ltd). http://www.crashonline.org.uk/12/imagine.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ Walton, Paul (1984-06-05). "The Ascent Of Everiss". Your Spectrum. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27paw4/yr04/yr04_88.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ Gasking, Frank; Marc Dawson, Peter Weighill, Angelo. ""Mega Games"". GTW64. http://gtw64.retro-net.de/Pages/m/Review_Megagames.php. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
External links
- The Bubble Bursts - article from CRASH documenting the fall of Imagine Software
- Imagine Software profile on MobyGames
- Imagine Software at World of Spectrum
- Commercial Breaks, the 1984 BBC documentary about Imagine
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