Thorn EMI Computer Software

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Thorn EMI Computer Software was a British video games software house set up in the early 1980s as part of the now-defunct British conglomerate Thorn EMI. They released a number of games in the early 1980s, initially for the Atari 8-bit family, and later for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and VIC-20 computers. In 1984, the Thorn EMI name was dropped in favour of Creative Sparks as the company were reportedly unhappy with their image in the video games market. [1] A budget label, Sparklers, was created in early 1985 to publish titles at £2.50. [2] Later in 1985, Creative Sparks, Sparklers and the distribution company, Creative Sparks Distribution (CSD) gained independence from Thorn EMI after a management buyout. [3]

Contents

In July 1987, six months after buying software company Mikro-Gen for a "substantial" sum, [4] Creative Sparks went into receivership with debts estimated at up to £1.5million. [5]

The back catalogue of the company was acquired by Tynesoft, Alternative Software and Maynard International (Top Ten Software). [6] The former management at CSD went on to form Software Publishing Associates, owners of the Crysys and Pirate Software labels. [7]

Releases

Many of the company's games listed below were issued on more than one label over the years. A typical example is River Rescue, first released under the Thorn EMI label, [8] then later sold (with updated artwork) under the Creative Sparks brand. [9] This was followed by a budget release on the company's own Sparklers label [10] then- after Creative Sparks' demise- another budget reissue by Alternative Software. [11]

'Thorn EMI' label

'Creative Sparks' label

'Sparklers' label

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References

  1. ↑ "News". Crash. No. 4. Newsfield. May 1984. p. 101. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "News". Home Computing Weekly. No. 4. Argus Specialist Press. 19 March 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Management Buy-Out at Thorn EMI". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 4, no. 47. Sunshine Publications. 21–27 November 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "MikroGen is sold to distributor". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 5, no. 50. Sunshine Publications. 11–17 December 1986. p. 6.
  5. ↑ "Receiver Called In At Creative Sparks". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 6, no. 29. Sunshine Publications. 24–30 July 1987. p. 6. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Equinox may see the light of day". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 6, no. 38. Focus Magazines. 25 September – 1 October 1987. p. 11. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  7. ↑ David Lester (10–16 December 1987). "Risen from the ashes". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 6, no. 49. Focus Magazines. p. 32. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Atari 400 800 XL XE River Rescue : scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms [Thorn EMI version]". www.atarimania.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26.
  9. ↑ "Atari 400 800 XL XE River Rescue [ Creative Sparks version]". www.atarimania.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03.
  10. ↑ "Atari 400 800 XL XE River Rescue [Sparklers version]". www.atarimania.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26.
  11. ↑ "Atari 400 800 XL XE River Rescue [Alternative Software version]". www.atarimania.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06.
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  15. ↑ "Home Financial Management - Software - Game - Computing History". www.computinghistory.org.uk.
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  18. ↑ "Atari 400 800 XL XE Submarine Commander : scans, dump, download, screenshots, ads, videos, catalog, instructions, roms". www.atarimania.com.
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  21. ↑ "Countdown to Meltdown - Software - Game - Computing History". www.computinghistory.org.uk.
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  25. ↑ "Snodgits at Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware". Spectrum Computing.
  26. ↑ "Special Delivery at Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware". Spectrum Computing.
  27. ↑ "Stagecoach at Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware". Spectrum Computing.
  28. ↑ "Story House - Software - Game - Computing History". www.computinghistory.org.uk.
  29. ↑ "Bargain Basement!!! At Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware".
  30. ↑ "Desert Burner at Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware". Spectrum Computing.
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  32. ↑ "Quackshot at Spectrum Computing - Sinclair ZX Spectrum games, software and hardware". Spectrum Computing.
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