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The company was founded in the early 1980s by Jerry Jewell and Terry Bradley. It gained attention for its dramatically quick rise to prominence and its equally quick collapse in 1984 after [[20th Century Fox]] (Fox Video Games) failed to pay over [[United States dollar|USD$]]18 Million in owed royalties.<ref name="ReferenceA">S. Levy, ''Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'', Doubleday, Garden City, 1984</ref> Sirius Software designed and marketed more than 160 computer [[video games]], software products and hardware devices worldwide. Jewell was profiled by author [[Steven Levy]] in his book ''[[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution|Hackers]]''.
The company was founded in the early 1980s by Jerry Jewell and Terry Bradley. It gained attention for its dramatically quick rise to prominence and its equally quick collapse in 1984 after [[20th Century Fox]] (Fox Video Games) failed to pay over [[United States dollar|USD$]]18 Million in owed royalties.<ref name="ReferenceA">S. Levy, ''Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'', Doubleday, Garden City, 1984</ref> Sirius Software designed and marketed more than 160 computer [[video games]], software products and hardware devices worldwide. Jewell was profiled by author [[Steven Levy]] in his book ''[[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution|Hackers]]''.


Sirius' quick rise was due in part to a chain of hits by [[game programmer|programmer]] [[Nasir Gebelli]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Gebelli's breakthrough game was ''[[Gorgon (computer game)|Gorgon]]'', which brought the gameplay of the arcade's ''[[Defender (game)|Defender]]'' to the Apple II. His technical ability and Jewell's sales and marketing skills combined to create in a single year a multimillion-dollar enterprise operating out of a rented apartment.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} By June 1982 the game had sold 23,000 copies, making it one of the [[List of best-selling PC video games|best-selling computer games]] at the time.<ref name="cgw_1982">{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|date=September–October 1982 |volume=2|issue=5|page=2|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1982&pub=2&id=6 | title=List of Top Sellers}}</ref> By early 1984 ''InfoWorld'' estimated that Sirius was the world's 15th-largest microcomputer-software company, with $11 million in 1983 sales.<ref name="caruso19840402">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 | title=Company Strategies Boomerang | work=InfoWorld | date=1984-04-02 | accessdate=10 February 2015 | author=Caruso, Denise | pages=80–83}}</ref>
Sirius' quick rise was due in part to a chain of hits by [[game programmer|programmer]] [[Nasir Gebelli]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Gebelli's breakthrough game was ''[[Gorgon (computer game)|Gorgon]]'', which brought the gameplay of the arcade's ''[[Defender (1981 video game)|Defender]]'' to the Apple II. His technical ability and Jewell's sales and marketing skills combined to create in a single year a multimillion-dollar enterprise operating out of a rented apartment.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} By June 1982 the game had sold 23,000 copies, making it one of the [[List of best-selling PC video games|best-selling computer games]] at the time.<ref name="cgw_1982">{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]]|date=September–October 1982 |volume=2|issue=5|page=2|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1982&pub=2&id=6 | title=List of Top Sellers}}</ref> By early 1984 ''InfoWorld'' estimated that Sirius was the world's 15th-largest microcomputer-software company, with $11 million in 1983 sales.<ref name="caruso19840402">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 | title=Company Strategies Boomerang | work=InfoWorld | date=1984-04-02 | accessdate=10 February 2015 | author=Caruso, Denise | pages=80–83}}</ref>


Sirius also published a line of graphical adventure games in an attempt to compete with [[Sierra Entertainment|Sierra On-Line]], but without much success.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Most of the company's games were launched on the [[Apple II family|Apple II]] line of computers, but they also released some titles for other platforms, notably the [[Atari 8-bit family]] and [[Commodore 64]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Sirius also published a line of graphical adventure games in an attempt to compete with [[Sierra Entertainment|Sierra On-Line]], but without much success.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Most of the company's games were launched on the [[Apple II family|Apple II]] line of computers, but they also released some titles for other platforms, notably the [[Atari 8-bit family]] and [[Commodore 64]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Revision as of 11:24, 14 December 2021

For other companies and software called Sirius, see Sirius (disambiguation).

Sirius Software was a video game publisher of Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and VIC-20 games in the early 1980s. Sirius also developed games for the Atari 2600 which were published by 20th Century Fox Video Games.

History

The company was founded in the early 1980s by Jerry Jewell and Terry Bradley. It gained attention for its dramatically quick rise to prominence and its equally quick collapse in 1984 after 20th Century Fox (Fox Video Games) failed to pay over USD$18 Million in owed royalties.[1] Sirius Software designed and marketed more than 160 computer video games, software products and hardware devices worldwide. Jewell was profiled by author Steven Levy in his book Hackers.

Sirius' quick rise was due in part to a chain of hits by programmer Nasir Gebelli.[1] Gebelli's breakthrough game was Gorgon, which brought the gameplay of the arcade's Defender to the Apple II. His technical ability and Jewell's sales and marketing skills combined to create in a single year a multimillion-dollar enterprise operating out of a rented apartment.[citation needed] By June 1982 the game had sold 23,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling computer games at the time.[2] By early 1984 InfoWorld estimated that Sirius was the world's 15th-largest microcomputer-software company, with $11 million in 1983 sales.[3]

Sirius also published a line of graphical adventure games in an attempt to compete with Sierra On-Line, but without much success.[citation needed] Most of the company's games were launched on the Apple II line of computers, but they also released some titles for other platforms, notably the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64.[1]

The Smithsonian Museum produced a "living history" video of Jewell's role in the early personal computer industry.[4]

Games

Action

Adventure

Strategy


Atari 2600

References

  1. ^ a b c S. Levy, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, Doubleday, Garden City, 1984
  2. ^ "List of Top Sellers". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 2, no. 5. September–October 1982. p. 2.
  3. ^ Caruso, Denise (1984-04-02). "Company Strategies Boomerang". InfoWorld. pp. 80–83. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  4. ^ Smithsonian Institution Archives
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