Alternative software

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Alternative Software Ltd.
legal form non-listed corporation
founding 1985
Seat Pontefract (UK)
management Roger Hulley

Alternative Software is a British manufacturer and publisher of video games based in Pontefract , West Yorkshire . The company was founded in 1985, making it one of the oldest still existing companies in the video game industry.

history

Roger Hulley was working in sales for a small game software company called R&R Software when he came into conversation in 1985 with two programmers who had developed a platformer for the ZX Spectrum and sold it by hand under the name "Alternative Software". One of the two was Martyn Brown, who later became the founder of Team 17 . For the professional publication of this game, Henry's Hoard , Hulley bought the two of the rights to the game and the label name. With the help of a grant from the State Design Council, an agency for the promotion of product design, he had the company given a new corporate identity to differentiate itself from the competition. In 1986 Dave Palmer, co-founder of Alligata Software, joined the company and took care of production and packaging design, while Hulley was henceforth responsible for development and acquisition. At the beginning of its business activity, the company mainly acquired rights to one to two year old games for then common home computers and reissued them in the cheap segment as cassettes for £ 1.99. At the same time, however, the first own titles were produced. A special feature was the acquisition of licenses for cartoon characters for younger target groups and their representation in video games, e.g. B. Thomas, the Little Locomotive , Sooty and Sweep , The Trap Door , Yogi Bear , Popeye , Fireman Sam or Postman Pat . In 1987 the sub-label Summit was founded, whose games were aimed at a slightly older target group and which were priced at £ 2.99 more expensive. At that time, the company bought a cassette copier factory in Dewsbury in order to keep the entire production chain in their own hands. From 1988 on, games for 16-bit computers such as Amiga and Atari ST were also produced. In 1990, Alternative had a 17% market share in the UK cheap segment. That year, Hulley founded another sub-label, Friendly Learning, which published educational games for TV animated series. At the beginning of the 1990s, Alternative Software was the first software company to establish a product line of sports games that was based on licensing by national sports associations. With licenses from leagues such as the Super League (rugby) and the Premier League (football), Alternative positioned itself as the most important provider of such games at times. In 1993 the company's business was so large that it was one of the first software companies to be able to afford television commercials for the game Dalek Attack .

With the end of the 8-bit era around 1993, Alternative was able to hold its own as a provider of games for 16-bit computers, PCs and game consoles, but never again achieved the sales that were achieved with games for home computers. The basic business principle of Alternative was to sell high quantities thanks to low production costs. Software for 16-bit computers and consoles required more staff and thus increased production costs, which could have ruined the alternative if it had failed. The company reluctantly turned to new platforms, which led to a significant drop in sales. In addition, the company was hit in 1997 by a fire at the company headquarters, which destroyed inventory and copying technology. At the end of the 1990s, the company added application software such as the SuperRoos Activity Paint Studio , a painting and design program for children, to its portfolio . Another mainstay were film licenses such as Shrek 2, Madagascar, Wallace & Gromit or Transformers, for which video games were created; in addition, games have now also been implemented for game consoles. In 1999 the company developed the technical basis for the football club Manchester United for the temporary appearance as an Internet service provider . Since the 2000s, Alternative Software has continued to produce DVDs and CD-ROMs for advertising campaigns for hardware manufacturers, service providers and trading companies such as Epson , UCI and Sainsbury's . In the area of ​​computer games, the niche segment rugby is covered, the favorite sport of the company boss Hulley, who was chairman of the English first division rugby team Castleford Tigers for many years . In 2008 the first title for mobile devices was published with Super League Rugby .

Published games (selection)

year title genre Systems annotation
1985 Henry's Hoard Platformer ZX Spectrum
1985 Pheenix Shoot 'em up Commodore 16 , ZX Spectrum
1986 Microball Pinball simulation Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum
1987 S * M * A * S * H ​​* E * D Text adventure Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Persiflage on the television series M * A * S * H .
1987 Star Wreck Text adventure Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Parody of the television series Star Trek .
1987 Dead or Alive Action Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum
1987 Football Frenzy Text adventure Commodore 64
1987 Wiz Biz Text adventure Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum
1987 Andy Capp Adventure Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the comic strip of the same name in the Daily Mirror .
1988 Night Walk Action Amiga, Atari ST First alternative game for 16-biters.
1988 The Munsters Action Amiga, Atari ST, C64, DOS, MSX, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the US TV series The Munsters .
1988 BMX ninja Racing game Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum
1989 Sooty & Sweep Action Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the UK children's TV series Sooty and Sweep .
1989 Pro mountain bike simulator Sports game Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64
1989 Count Duckula in No Sax Please - We're Egyptian Action adventure Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the British animated series Count Duckula .
1989 Postman Pat skill Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the UK children's animation series Postman Pat .
1989 Postman Pat 2 Action adventure Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum
1990 Thomas the Tank Engine's Fun With Words Educational game Commodore 64, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the British children's book series Thomas, the Little Locomotive .
1990 Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Racing game Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Genesis, Schneider CPC, SNES, ZX Spectrum
1991 Popeye 2 Platformer Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Schneider CPC, ZX Spectrum Based on the cartoon character Popeye .
1991 Fireman Sam Racing game Commodore 64 Based on the UK children's animation series Fireman Sam .
1992 Dalek Attack Action Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum Based on the British TV series Doctor Who .
1993 Gladiators SEU Commodore 64
1993 Suburban Commando Action Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS Based on the movie The Knight from Space .
1993 Huckleberry Hound in Hollywood Capers Platformer Amiga, Atari ST, DOS Based on the US animated series Hucky and Friends .
1994 Death Mask Ego shooter Amiga First doom- style ego shooter for the Amiga.
1996 Super League Pro Rugby Sports DOS Based on a Super League license .
1998 The quivering Adventure DOS, Windows
2003 NRL Rugby League Sports PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox Based on a license from the National Rugby League .
2005 Rugby League 2 Sports PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox Based on a license from the National Rugby League .
2011 Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge Sports PlayStation 3, PS Vita, Windows, Xbox 360 Based on a license from World Rugby .
2015 PSA World Tour Squash Sports Nintendo Wii Based on a license from PSA .
2016 Rugby Union Team Manager 2017 Sports Mac OS , Microsoft Windows
2017 Rugby League Team Manager 2018 Sports Mac OS, Microsoft Windows
2018 National Rugby Manager Sports Microsoft Windows

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Retrogamer.net: Alternative software. Retrieved March 3, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Graeme Mason: Alternative software . In: Retro Gamer . No. 107, 2012, p. 50.
  3. ↑ a b MCVuk.com: Alternative history: Three Decades of the publisher. Retrieved February 23, 2016 .
  4. ^ Archive.org: 1997 product brochure. Accessed February 21, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Investegate.co.uk: Launch of Internet service. Retrieved March 3, 2016 .