Spectrum HoloByte
From Sega Retro
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| Spectrum HoloByte | ||
|---|---|---|
| Founded: 1982 | ||
| Defunct: 1999 | ||
| T-series code: T-124 | ||
| Merged with: MicroProse, SimTex | ||
| Merged into: Sphere (1987), Hasbro Interactive (1998) | ||
Headquarters:
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Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was an American video game developer which specialized in simulation games, most notably the Falcon series of combat flight simulators. Founded in 1982, the company produced a number of titles for Sega video game systems.
Contents
Company
Founded by Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin in 1982 (and officially incorporated the following year), Spectrum HoloByte began its existence primarily developing video games for personal computers. The company eventually found a niche in the combat flight simulator market with their popular Falcon series, but gained the most notoriety with their 1988 home computer release of Tetris, the first version of the game to be published outside of the Soviet Union. Spectrum HoloByte was also the distributor of British publisher Domark's games before that company established its American branch in San Mateo, California.
Sphere
- Main article: Sphere.
In early 1987, Spectrum HoloByte and Nexa Corporation were acquired by British print publisher Pergamon Press and merged into a new company, Sphere, with its games generally still marketed under the Spectrum HoloByte name.[1]
After the death of Pergamon Press founder Robert Maxwell in November 1991, the publisher's subsidiaries encountered significant financial difficulties in the inter-business conflicts and infighting that followed. Regardless, Nexa Corporation founder Gilman Louie was able to keep Sphere in business, and in September 1992 established the company as an independent entity; in the process, the company was renamed back to Spectrum HoloByte.
Company (later)
The company was publicly held and traded on the NASDAQ National Market exchange under the symbol SBYT. Its five development studios were located in Alameda, California; Hunt Valley, Maryland; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Chipping Sodbury, England. They also had a division in Germany, Spectrum Holobyte GmbH.
In 1993 the company acquired MicroProse, and then SimTex Inc. in 1995. In 1996, all of its products were consolidated underneath the MicroProse banner. Spectrum HoloByte Japan was one of their subsidiaries and eventually became MicroProse Japan K.K. Their Chipping Sodbury, England, subsidiary became MicroProse Ltd. (aka MicroProse-Spectrum HoloByte UK-Europe) and their German division was renamed MicroProse-Spectrum Holobyte GmbH.
The remnants of Spectrum HoloByte disappeared completely when MicroProse merged with Hasbro Interactive in 1998, and their headquarters and studio in Alameda, California, closed in 1999.
Softography
Master System
- F16 Fighting Falcon (1986, as Nexa)
- Monopoly (1987, as Nexa)
- Alf (1989, as Nexa)
Mega Drive
- Soldiers of Fortune (1993)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past (1994)
- Pete Sampras Tennis (1994)
- TinHead (1994 re-release)
- Beastball (unreleased)
- WildSnake (unreleased)
Mega-CD
- Iron Helix (1994)
Game Gear
- Pete Sampras Tennis (1994)
Saturn
- BreakThru! (1995)
- ClockWerx (1996)