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Maelstrom game mastertronic8/25/2023 ![]() Even the normally enthusiastic CRASH seems put out by their silence. While PERSONAL COMPUTING TODAY runs a news story with the headline "Lower Priced Software May Mean Mediocrity," ( July 1984 page 9). YOUR COMPUTER magazine describes Atlantis Software's move to release £1.99 software as "following Mastertronic downmarket," ouch. What coverage there is tends to be limited and a bit suspicious. This interview with director Martin Alpher from POPULAR COMPUTER WEEKLY vol 3 number 29 ( 19-25 July 1984 page 12) is an exception. They also don't seem to have talked to the computer press, much. ![]() When Mastertronic started out they didn't advertise. "Part of the arrangement was that our name was not supposed to be brought into this. They saw the potential which has been thereĪll along." That said, he didn't seem to be pleased to be interviewed. Up with a new idea in marketing and we could not afford to be left out. It gets to the stage where you get fed up with hammering on the door. We have been hammering on the door to be let in. To continue with them myself, but the market has been ignoring me. And if their minds remain unchanged this could lead to an even bigger problem now that we've decided to go for the (potentially) much larger Spectrum market." He expands on this in the April launch article from HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY. He was quoted in the June 1984 issue of YOUR SPECTRUM ( issue 4 page 58 ) "although got a good response from both the public and the press, the distributors were unwilling to take it. Mr Chip founder Doug Braisby had grown frustrated trying to persuade distributors to take his games and took advantage of Mastertronic's new distribution network. W ithout realising it, Mastertronic reinvented the publisher/developer model used between companies like Hewson Consultants and Graftgold. L ater, Richard and David Darling would write for the company before going off to form Codemasters. V egas Jackpot and Duck Shoot came from Mr Chip, in Llandudno, while Gloucester based R&R Software supplied Gnasher and Spectipede. One thing I didn't realise was how many of Mastertronic's early games were brought in from elsewhere.
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