Harry Price (games programmer)
Encyclopedia
Harry S. Price was a programmer for the ZX Spectrum
. He became infamous in 1986 when a game he had programmed, called Crime Busters, published by IJK was alleged by Mastertronic
to have been heavily based on pirated code from their own release Spellbound
. Price initially denied the allegations but admitted stealing the code after Mastertronic threatened legal action. IJK withdrew Crime Busters and a representative of the company stated "We're an old software house, five years old, and we're extremely upset that something like this could have happened when we launch our first Spectrum game."
Spectrum game enthusiasts have since claimed further examples of apparent plagiarism across virtually all of Price's games, but Crime Busters is the only one he has admitted as being pirated.
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
. He became infamous in 1986 when a game he had programmed, called Crime Busters, published by IJK was alleged by Mastertronic
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...
to have been heavily based on pirated code from their own release Spellbound
Spellbound (computer game)
Spellbound is a computer game that was designed and programmed by David Jones with music by Rob Hubbard and released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers...
. Price initially denied the allegations but admitted stealing the code after Mastertronic threatened legal action. IJK withdrew Crime Busters and a representative of the company stated "We're an old software house, five years old, and we're extremely upset that something like this could have happened when we launch our first Spectrum game."
Spectrum game enthusiasts have since claimed further examples of apparent plagiarism across virtually all of Price's games, but Crime Busters is the only one he has admitted as being pirated.
External links
- Harry S. Price on World of SpectrumWorld of SpectrumWorld of Spectrum is a website devoted to cataloging and archiving material for the ZX Spectrum home computer popular in the 1980s, and has been officially endorsed by Amstrad which holds the rights to the ZX Spectrum brand...
.