Atlantis Software
Encyclopedia
Atlantis Software was a London
-based UK
computer games publisher
that published a number of games during the 1980s and early 1990s.
The company was set up by Michael Cole and Rodger Coghill in January 1984 with the first four games released in May of that year. The philosophy of the company was to sell high volume at low 'pocket-money' prices - at first all games were at the £1.99 price point. The Atlantis Gold label was launched the following year at the £2.99 price point (the 'Gold' tag was soon dropped with games at both price points being released under the Atlantis logo but with the suggested price on the cover).
Their primary focus remained on the low-cost cassette-based games for 8-bit machines at the £1.99 and £2.99 price points (commonly known as "budget" games) that formed a significant part of the UK 8-bit software market during the 1980s.
However, they later published games for the 16-bit disk-based Atari ST
and Commodore Amiga
formats.
Formats covered included the ZX Spectrum on which they published several games reviewed by the UK gaming press.
Dates shown are for the first version. In many cases, ports to other machines were released over a number of years (eg League Challenge wasn't ported to Amiga until 1991).
Atlantis also re-released games that had been published at a higher price by publishers such as Computasolve and Audiogenic
at the same budget price as their new titles. Examples of this are Mrs Mopp
, 3D Glooper, Omega Orb, Last Of The Free and Psycastria 2.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
computer games publisher
Software publisher
A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined ....
that published a number of games during the 1980s and early 1990s.
The company was set up by Michael Cole and Rodger Coghill in January 1984 with the first four games released in May of that year. The philosophy of the company was to sell high volume at low 'pocket-money' prices - at first all games were at the £1.99 price point. The Atlantis Gold label was launched the following year at the £2.99 price point (the 'Gold' tag was soon dropped with games at both price points being released under the Atlantis logo but with the suggested price on the cover).
Their primary focus remained on the low-cost cassette-based games for 8-bit machines at the £1.99 and £2.99 price points (commonly known as "budget" games) that formed a significant part of the UK 8-bit software market during the 1980s.
However, they later published games for the 16-bit disk-based Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Commodore Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
formats.
Formats covered included the ZX Spectrum on which they published several games reviewed by the UK gaming press.
Select titles
- Master Mariner, 1984 (ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
) - Monster Munch, 1984 (Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
) - Cops 'n' RobbersCops 'n' RobbersCops 'n' Robbers is a game for home computers published by Atlantis Software originally in 1985 for the Commodore VIC-20 and in virtually identical form on the Commodore 64. It was ported to the Commodore 16/Commodore Plus/4 , Acorn Electron and BBC Micro and the Atari 8-bit family of computers...
, 1985 (Commodore VIC-20Commodore VIC-20The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...
, C64, Commodore 16Commodore 16The Commodore 16 was a home computer made by Commodore with a 6502-compatible 8501 CPU, released in 1984. It was intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20 and it often sold for 99 USD...
, Acorn ElectronAcorn ElectronThe Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, BBC MicroBBC MicroThe BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, Atari 8-bit) - Death Race, 1985 (VIC-20, C64, C16, Atari 8-bit)
- League Challenge, 1986 (Spectrum, C64, C16, Electron, BBC, Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPCThe Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari STAtari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
) - SurvivorsSurvivors (video game)Survivors is a game for home computers published by Atlantis Software originally in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum. It was ported to the MSX, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 16/Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 64, Acorn Electron and BBC Micro and the Amstrad CPC...
, 1986 (Spectrum, C64, C16, Electron, BBC, Atari 8-bit, CPC, MSXMSXMSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
) - Panik!, 1986 (C16, Electron, BBC, Atari 8-bit)
- Gunfighter, 1988 (Spectrum, C64, Electron, BBC, Atari 8-bit, CPC)
- Crack-Up!, 1989 (Spectrum, C64, Electron, BBC, Atari 8-bit, CPC)
- Cavemania, 1990 (Spectrum, C64, CPC, Amiga, ST)
- Hobgoblin, 1990 (Spectrum, C64, Electron, BBC, CPC)
- Apache Flight, 1992 (Amiga, ST)
Dates shown are for the first version. In many cases, ports to other machines were released over a number of years (eg League Challenge wasn't ported to Amiga until 1991).
Atlantis also re-released games that had been published at a higher price by publishers such as Computasolve and Audiogenic
Audiogenic
Audiogenic Software is one of the oldest United Kingdom video game developers. It was established in 1985 out of the ashes of an earlier Audiogenic company that had been founded in the late 1970s. It published its last new title in 1997, after the core of the development team were taken over by...
at the same budget price as their new titles. Examples of this are Mrs Mopp
Mrs Mopp
Mrs Mopp is a 1983 arcade game developed by Tina Billett for the ZX Spectrum. It was originally issued by Computasolve and later rereleased by Atlantis Software....
, 3D Glooper, Omega Orb, Last Of The Free and Psycastria 2.