 | |
| Industry | Video game industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Defunct | 1990 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Computer games |
Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s.
| |
| Industry | Video game industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Defunct | 1990 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Computer games |
Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The company was originally set up in 1983 by Colin Courtney and Trevor Scott[1] to release educational software but soon moved into the video games market on which it concentrated for most of its time. It developed numerous games for a wide variety of 8-bit micros, particularly those less well catered for by other publishers such as the Commodore 16, BBC Micro and Atari 8-bit computers. They also had a budget label, MicroValue, that issued compilations, reissues and some original games.[1]
They had most success with their multi-load games such as Summer Olympiad, Circus Games and Rodeo Games. They also released licensed ports to smaller systems such as Software Projects' Jet Set Willy (Atari 8-bit, Commodore 16/Plus/4, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron), First Star Software's Boulder Dash (BBC, Electron) and Spy vs. Spy (C16/+4, BBC, Electron) and Mindscape's Indoor Sports (C16/+4, BBC, Electron). From the late 1980s, they released games for the 16-bit computers Amiga and Atari ST as well as PC but failed to capture a large share of this new market and with the demise of the 8-bit games scene, their sales fell. The company went bankrupt in June 1990[2] when its sister printing business incurred massive debts.[1]
Programmer Brian Jobling left the company in 1988 to set up Zeppelin Games with programmer and journalist Derek Brewster.[1]
Colin Courtney set up a new company, Flair Software, which continued to use the MicroValue label for budget releases. Flair published one title that had originally been scheduled for release by Tynesoft, Elvira: The Arcade Game,[1] but a reported conversion of Games Workshop's Blood Bowl[3][4] never appeared. The company currently operates under the name Casual Arts and releases games for PC, Mac, Nintendo DS/3DS, iOS, Android and Kindle.[5]