Spectrum HoloByte#Games
{{more citations needed|date=February 2014}}
{{short description|American video game developer and publisher}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Spectrum HoloByte, Inc.
| logo = Spectrum HoloByte logo on black.svg
| type = Public
| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|SYBT}}{{cite web|url=https://www.secinfo.com/dRqWm.8wVa.htm?Find=spectrum+holobyte|title=SEC}}
| fate = Absorbed into Hasbro Interactive
| successor = Hasbro Interactive
| founded = {{Start date and age|1983}}
| founders = Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin
| defunct = {{End date and age|1999}}
| hq_location_city = Alameda, California
| hq_location_country = US
| industry = Video games
| key_people = Gilman Louie
Phil Adam
| parent = {{plainlist|
- Sphere, Inc. (1987–1993)
- MicroProse Inc. (1993–1999)
}}
}}
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher. The company, founded in 1983, was known for its simulation games, notably the Falcon series of combat flight simulators, and for publishing the first version of Tetris outside the Soviet Union (in 1988 for MS-DOS). Spectrum HoloByte published games for various home computers and video game consoles.
History
Spectrum HoloByte was founded in 1983 in Boulder, Colorado, by Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin.
In 1987 Spectrum HoloByte merged with another game developer, Nexa Corporation, forming a common holding company, Sphere, Inc., and prompting the company's move from Colorado to California. Nexa founder Gilman Louie served as chairman of the combined company.
In 1992, Spectrum HoloByte received an investment from Kleiner Perkins, which let the company repurchase shares formerly owned by Robert Maxwell's companies, ending its ties to their bankruptcies.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=101 | title=Spectrum HoloByte Buy-Back Launches Next Generation | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1992 | access-date=5 July 2014 | pages=116}} In December 1993, Sphere, Inc. merged with MicroProse to form MicroProse Inc.{{cite magazine|title=Spectrum + MicroProse = MicroProse Inc.|magazine=GamePro|issue=56|publisher=IDG|date=March 1994|page=186}} For the following years, games from both companies were published under their respective brands, but in 1996 all titles were consolidated under the MicroProse brand.{{cite magazine|title=Stop Press: The Name Game |magazine=Next Generation|issue=19|publisher=Imagine Media |date=July 1996|page=17}}
Hasbro Interactive acquired the merged company in 1998, and what had been Spectrum HoloByte ceased to exist when the development studio in Alameda, California, was closed in 1999.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/08/business/hasbro-to-cut-20-of-its-jobs-and-take-97-million-charge.html|title=Hasbro to Cut 20% of Its Jobs and Take $97 Million Charge|last=Freudenheim|first=Milt|date=8 December 1999|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=11 January 2014}}
{{-}}
Games
| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" |
| Title
! Year and platform ! Developer ! Publisher |
|---|
| GATO
|1984 (MS-DOS, Mac) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Orbiter
|1986 (MS-DOS, MacOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Intrigue!
|1986 (Apple II, C64) |Kinemation |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Lunar Explorer: A Space Flight Simulator
|1986 (Apple II, DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Electric Transit |
| Solitaire Royale
|1987 (MS-DOS, Mac) |Software Resources International |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon
|1987 (MS-DOS, Mac) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Dondra: A New Beginning
|1987 (Apple II) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| PT-109
|1987 (MS-DOS, Mac) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Zig Zag
|1987 (C64) |Zig Zag Software |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Tetris
|1988 (Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, Mac) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Soko-Ban
|1988 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon A.T.
|1988 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Vette!
|1989 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon Operation: Counterstrike
|1989 (Amiga, Atari ST) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Tank: The M1A1 Abrams Battle Tank Simulation
|1989 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Welltris
|1989 (MS-DOS) |Doka, Sphere, Inc. |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Faces...tris III
|1990 (MS-DOS, Mac) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Stunt Driver
|1990 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Flight of the Intruder
|1990 (MS-DOS) |Rowan Software |Spectrum Holobyte |
| Falcon Operation: Firefight
|1990 (Amiga, Atari ST) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Super Tetris
|1991 (MS-DOS, Windows 3.x) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon 3.0
|1991 (MS-DOS) |Sphere, Inc. |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon MC (Macintosh Color)
|1992 (Mac) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Crisis in the Kremlin
|1992 (MS-DOS) |Barbu Corporation, Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Wordtris
|1991 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon 3.0: Operation: Fighting Tiger
|1992 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Tetris Classic
|1992 (MS-DOS, Windows 3.x) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Iron Helix
|1993 (Mac, Windows 3.x) |Drew Pictures |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Tetris Gold
|1993 (MS-DOS, Mac, Windows 3.x) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter
|1993 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| {{Nowrap|National Lampoon's Chess Maniac 5 Billion and 1}}
|1993 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| TinHead
|1993 (Genesis) |Ballistic |
| Soldiers of Fortune
|1993 (Genesis, SNES) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0
|1993 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Tornado
|1993 (MS-DOS) |Digital Integration |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Gazillionaire
|1994 (Windows 3.x) |LavaMind |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Out of the Sun
|1994 (MaS) |
| Formula One
|1994 (MS-DOS) |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation - Futures Past
|1994 (Genesis, SNES) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| BreakThru!
|1994 (SNES, Windows 3.x) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Falcon Gold
|1994 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Fields of Glory
|1994 (MS-DOS) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| WildSnake
|1994 (Game Boy, SNES) |Bullet-Proof Software (GB) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Lords of Midnight
|1995 (MS-DOS) |Maelstrom Games |
| ClockWerx
|1995 (Mac, Windows) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Reflux: Issue.01 - "The Becoming"
|1995 (Mac, Windows 3.x) |Inverse Ink |Inverse Ink |
| Reflux: Issue.02 - "The Threshold"
|1995 (Windows 3.x) |Inverse Ink |Inverse Ink |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity
|1995 (MS-DOS, MaS) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Qwirks
|1995 (Mac, Windows, Windows 3.x) |Big Bang Software |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Perfect Partner Bridge
|1995 (Mac, Windows 3.x) |Positronic Software |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Absolute Zero
|1995 (MS-DOS, Mac) |Domark |
| Knight Moves
|1995 (Windows) |Spectrum HoloByte |
| Curse of Dragor
|1995 (Mac) |Banshee Software |
| Top Gun: Fire at Will!
|1996 (MS-DOS, Mac, PlayStation, Windows) |Spectrum HoloByte |Spectrum HoloByte |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Moby company|spectrum-holobyte-inc}}
Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States
Category:Video game companies established in 1983
Category:Video game companies disestablished in 1999
Category:Video game development companies
Category:1983 establishments in Colorado
{{US-videogame-company-stub}}