07/12 Top-10 Retro Computer Software Companies

[GameGavel]

Our July show is brewing and should be poured out very soon. So now we need to debate the greatest software companies that were making games for all our favorite early gaming computers. Here are our picks. What are yours?

[chrisbid]

i didnt own a computer until 1996, so i am unqualified to answer.

[kynrek]

Lucasarts - for amazing adventure games maniac mansion, monkey island

Sierra - for great adventure games space quest, police quest... etc

Microprose - airborne ranger, master of Orion, civilization..

Interplay Entertainment Wasteland, fallout, star trek 25th anniversary

Bullfrog entertainment for populous and syndacate

Origin for the crusader series and wing commander

[focusrs]

APX, Thorn EMI and Microprose

[Green Bert]

Thalamus (always a quality poduct)
Mastertronic (pocket-money friendly games that you could buy a couple a month)
Ocean (just for the amount of output alone and the fact that they were one of the longest lasting software houses for 8-bit machines)

[BydoEmpire73]

Voted for Epyx. They made so many of my favorite games.

SSI, Electronic Arts, Microprose and Mastertronic should all be right up there. I also really dug Firebird - they put out a lot of unique 8 bit stuff, although I think they came into their own on the ST/Amiga front.

Activision is great, but despite a few cool thinks like Gary Kitchen's Game Maker I think of their 8-bit computer output as *generally* ports of console titles. That's a fine thing, but I wouldn't put them quite in the same league as some of the others for that reason. Now, perhaps I've forgotten a lot of their computer-specific titles, but they don't really spring to mind the way computer-focused companies' games do.

Bullfrog entertainment for populous and syndacate

Origin for the crusader series and wing commander

8-bit Populous, Synicate, and Wing Commander?

[gavv]

Although I missed the recording, one minor company from the day which I enjoyed a lot of their stuff (particularly on Apple II ), was Beagle Bros. I still remember they're I.O. Silver to this day

gavv

[random_dave]

what, no Gremlin Graphics

[Brumisator]

Damn, this list is a toughie...

I went for broderbund because they probably don't get enough love.
...Then again, they're dead, and necrophilia is mostly against the law.

[Nurmix]

I'd have to add Sierra On-Line (for numerous graphic adventure titles), Origin (for the Ultima series), Artworx (Strip Poker, and some other 8-bit computer titles).