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U.S. Gold

{{Short description|British video game publisher, 1984–1996}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox company

| name = U.S. Gold Limited

| logo = US gold logo.png

| type = Subsidiary

| industry = Video games

| fate = Closed

| founded = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1984}}

| founder = Anne and Geoff Brown{{Cite book|last1=Wilkins|first1=Chris|title=The Story Of U.S. Gold|last2=Kean|first2=Roger M|publisher=Fusion Retro Books|year=2015|isbn=9780993131530|page=27|quote=On 12 March 1984, Anne and Geoff purchased an incorporated shell, formed on 30 January 1984 with the resonant name of Covsound Ltd, changed its name, and so US Gold Ltd was born.}}

| defunct = {{End date and age|1996|04}}

| hq_location_city = Witton, Birmingham

| hq_location_country = England

| key_people =

| parent = {{Unbulleted list|CentreGold (1984–1996)|Eidos Interactive (1996)}}

}}

U.S. Gold Limited was a British video game publisher based in Witton, Birmingham, England. The company was founded in 1984 by Anne and Geoff Brown in parallel to their distributor firm, CentreSoft, both of which became part of Woodward Brown Holdings (later renamed CentreGold). The company primarily aimed at publishing games imported from the United States with a lower price tag in Europe and especially the United Kingdom.

History

By 1985, U.S. Gold projected a turnover of {{US$|6 million}} for their first fiscal year, and expected to release further 150 games in the year to come.{{cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Chris |date=June 1985 |title=On top of the US Goldmine |url=https://archive.org/stream/zzap64-magazine-002/ZZap_64_Issue_002_1985_Jun#page/n45/mode/2up |magazine=Zzap!64 |issue=2 |publisher=Newsfield |pages=46–48 |access-date=5 June 2017}} In 1988, U.S. Gold received the Golden Joystick Award for "Software House of the Year".{{cite magazine |last=Lacey |first=Eugene |date=May 1988 |title=Golden Joystick Awards 1988 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cvg-magazine-079/CVG_079_May_1988#page/n37/mode/2up |magazine=Computer and Video Games |issue=79 |publisher=Future Publishing |page=39 |access-date=5 June 2017}} The company also operated the budget range label Kixx.{{Cite web|title=Mastertronic Style|url=http://www.guter.org/mastertronic/mastertronic_covers4.htm|access-date=2021-01-31|website=www.guter.org|author=Anthony Guter}}

In 1988, the company struck a deal with Japanese company Capcom to port their arcade video games for home computers in Europe. They paid {{£|2 million|long=no}} or {{US$|{{To USD|2000000|GBR|year=1988|round=yes}}|long=no|1988|round=-5}} for a ten-game deal with Capcom. The first four games they announced as part of the deal were ports of the 1987 arcade games Street Fighter, Tiger Road, 1943: The Battle of Midway and Black Tiger for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and Amiga platforms.{{cite magazine |title=Ready Steady Go! |magazine=Computer & Video Games |date=15 May 1988 |issue=80 (June 1988) |pages=84–5 |url=https://worldofspectrum.org/archive/magazines/computer--video-games/80#84}} Their first five Capcom releases sold over 250,000 copies in the UK by 1989, with their best-selling Capcom release up until then being Bionic Commando with over 70,000 UK sales. Their next Capcom release was Forgotten Worlds in 1989.{{cite magazine |title=Capcom: A Captive Audience |magazine=The Games Machine |date=18 May 1989 |issue=19 (June 1989) |publisher=Newsfield |location=United Kingdom |pages=24–5 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-19/page/n23/mode/2up}}

In April 1996, Eidos Interactive acquired the entire CentreGold umbrella (including U.S. Gold) for {{GBP|17.6 million}},{{cite web|url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/eidos-proposes-to-take-over-centregold--78475|title=Eidos proposes to take over Centregold|date=29 March 1996|website=www.telecompaper.com|access-date=4 June 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/03/it-felt-like-robbery-tomb-raider-and-the-fall-of-core-design/|title="It felt like robbery": Tomb Raider and the fall of Core Design|first=Richard|last=Moss|date=31 March 2015|website=arstechnica.com|access-date=4 June 2017}} as a result of which U.S. Gold and CentreSoft ceased all operations.

Games published

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Platform(s)

scope="row" | 1984

| Beach Head

| Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro

scope="row" | 1984

|The Dam Busters

|Amstrad CPC, Apple II, C64, MS-DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1984

| Dropzone

| Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Game Gear, NES

scope="row" | 1984

| Raid over Moscow

| Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, BBC

scope="row" | 1984

| Impossible Mission

| Commodore 64, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 7800, BBC Micro, Master System, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1985

| Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back

| Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1985

| Bruce Lee

| ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1985

|Road Runner

|Atari ST

scope="row" | 1986

|Summer Games

|Commodore 64, Amiga, Apple II, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Master System, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1986

|Summer Games II

|Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari ST, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga

scope="row" | 1985

| The Goonies

| Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1985

| Whirlinurd

| Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64

scope="row" | 1985

|Winter Games

|Commodore 64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, IBM PC, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Macintosh

scope="row" | 1985

| Spy Hunter

| Amstrad CPC, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum, C64, Apple II, ColecoVision, IBM PC

scope="row" | 1986

| Gauntlet

| Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Macintosh, Commodore 64, MSX, Master System, NES, Genesis, ZX Spectrum, MS-DOS, PlayStation

scope="row" | 1986

| Revolution

| ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1986

| Zorro

| ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1986

| World Games

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX, Master System, IBM PC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1986

| Ace of Aces

| Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Atari 7800, Commodore 64, MSX, MS-DOS, Master System, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1986

| Kung-Fu Master

| Commodore 64

scope="row" | 1986

| Infiltrator

| Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1986

| Leader Board

| Commodore 64/128, Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST, Apple II, MS-DOS, Mac, Master System, Game Gear, Genesis/Mega Drive, Acorn Archimedes

scope="row" | 1987

|California Games

|Apple II, Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple IIGS, Atari 2600, Lynx, Atari ST, MS-DOS, MSX, NES, Sega Genesis, Master System, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1987

|Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

|Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1987

| Tower Toppler

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS

scope="row" | 1987

| Out Run

| PC-88, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, PC Engine, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1987

| RoadBlasters

| Genesis, Lynx, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, NES

scope="row" | 1987

|Solomon's Key

|Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, IBM PC, PC Engine

scope="row" | 1987

|Street Sports Basketball

|Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1987

|Tag Team Wrestling

|Apple II, Commodore 64, IBM PC

scope="row" | 1987

| Gauntlet II

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, MS-DOS, NES, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| 1943: The Battle of Midway

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, FM Towns, MS-DOS, MSX2, PC-88, PC-98, Master System, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| Bionic Commando

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

|Dive Bomber

|Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| Last Duel

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| Vigilante

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| Thunder Blade

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, IBM PC, X68000, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1988

| Techno Cop

| Apple II, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amiga

scope="row" | 1988

| Street Fighter

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1989

| Strider

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC, X68000, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1989

| U.N. Squadron

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1989

| Tiger Road

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MS-DOS

scope="row" | 1989

| Turbo Outrun

| Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1989

|Dragons of Flame

|Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, FM Towns, Famicom, MS-DOS, PC-9801, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1989

| Beast Busters

| Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST

scope="row" | 1989

| Crack Down

| Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1989

| Cyber Police ESWAT

| Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64

scope="row" | 1989

| Forgotten Worlds

| Amiga, Commodore 64, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1989

| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, MS-DOS, Game Boy, Game Gear, MSX, Genesis, Master System, NES, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1990

| Line of Fire

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1990

| Black Tiger

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1990

| Bonanza Bros

| Amiga, Commodore 64, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1990

|California Games II

|Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Master System, SNES

scope="row" | 1990

|E-Motion

|Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1990

| Mega Twins

| Amiga, Atari ST

scope="row" | 1990

|Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

|Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1990

| Murder!

| Amiga, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS

scope="row" | 1990

| Strider II

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Gear, Master System, Genesis, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1991

|Gauntlet III: The Final Quest

|Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1991

| Alien Storm

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1991

| Another World

| Amiga, Atari ST

scope="row" | 1991

|Cruise for a Corpse

|Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS

scope="row" | 1991

| James Pond 2

| Game Gear, Master System

scope="row" | 1991

| Mercs

| Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64

scope="row" | 1991

| Out Run Europa

| Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Gear, iOS, Master System, ZX Spectrum

scope="row" | 1991

| Final Fight

| Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC

scope="row" | 1991

| Shadow Dancer

| Commodore 64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST

scope="row" | 1991

|Shadow Sorcerer

|Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS

scope="row" | 1992

| Olympic Gold

| Game Gear, Genesis, Master System

scope="row" | 1992

| Flashback

| Amiga, Acorn Archimedes, Mega Drive/Genesis, MS-DOS, PC-98, SNES, Sega CD, FM Towns, 3DO, CD-i, Jaguar

scope="row" | 1992

| Championship Hockey

| Master System, Game Gear

scope="row" | 1992

| Super Kick Off

| Master System, Game Boy, Genesis, SNES

scope="row" | 1992

| Putty

| Amiga, SNES, CD32

scope="row" | 1993

| James Pond 3

| Game Gear, Super Nintendo Entertainment System

scope="row" | 1993

| Winter Olympics

| Amiga, Genesis, Game Boy, SNES, Game Gear, MS-DOS, Master System

scope="row" | 1993

| Star Wars

| Master System, Game Gear

scope="row" | 1994

| Road Rash

| Master System, Game Gear

scope="row" | 1994

| The Incredible Hulk

| SNES, Genesis, Master System, Game Gear

scope="row" | 1994

| Power Drive

| Amiga, CD32, Game Gear, MS-DOS, Genesis, SNES

scope="row" | 1994

| World Cup Golf: Professional Edition

| PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO, CD-i, MS-DOS

scope="row" | 1994

| World Cup Golf: Hyatt Dorado Beach

| 32X

scope="row" | 1994

| World Cup USA '94

| Genesis, Sega CD, SNES, Master System, MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Gear, Game Boy

scope="row" | 1994

|Dominus

|MS-DOS

scope="row" | 1994

| Hurricanes

| SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Gear

scope="row" | 1995

| Fever Pitch Soccer

| SNES, Genesis, Jaguar

scope="row" | 1995

| Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings

| Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System

scope="row" | 1995

| Mega Man

| Game Gear

scope="row" | 1996

| Izzy's Adventure

| Windows 95, Windows 3.1

scope="row" | 1996

| Johnny Bazookatone

| 3DO, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Saturn

scope="row" | 1996

| Olympic Soccer

| PlayStation, Sega Saturn, DOS, 3DO

scope="row" | 1996

| Olympic Summer Games

| PlayStation, 3DO

scope="row" | 1996

| Shellshock

| PlayStation, Sega Saturn

scope="row" | 1996

| Duke Nukem 3D

| MS-DOS

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Defunct companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands

Category:Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Eidos

Category:Golden Joystick Award winners

Category:Square Enix

Category:Video game companies established in 1984

Category:Video game companies disestablished in 1996

Category:Video game publishers