Prism Leisure Corporation
Encyclopedia
Prism Leisure Corporation was a distribution and publishing company which primarily focused on reissues and compilations, often at low prices. The company was located in Enfield
, Middlesex
, United Kingdom
, and founded in the 1980s.
The company expanded in 2002 by acquiring competitors and became the UK’s leading wholesaler and worldwide distributor of CDs, cassettes, computer games, videos and DVDs They also handled board games and toys.
The company went into administration in 2007. A new company, Prism Leisure Ltd, was set up by former managing director Ivor Young.
on DVD
and VHS
. Titles include films such as
Doomwatch
, The Jigsaw Man
, March or Die
, The Brave Little Toaster
, The Shawshank Redemption
, Treasure Island
and The Whistle Blower
. They also released television series including Birds of a Feather
.
's Feed Your Head : Live '67–'69
.
) and Addictive Games
(home of the best-selling Football Manager). Further acquisitions included Paxman Promotions (a budget reissue label) as well as the rights to the back catalogue of various defunct companies. Addictive was kept on as a full price label (with releases including HotShot
, The Kristal
and further Football Manager games) while the Paxman Promotions name was used for compilations. Prism also became the UK publisher for the US company First Star Software
and saw them release new versions of some of their games including Superman: The Game
and Boulder Dash II
. Many old games were licensed for compilations with some getting individual releases.
Enfield Town
Enfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, United Kingdom
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...
, and founded in the 1980s.
The company expanded in 2002 by acquiring competitors and became the UK’s leading wholesaler and worldwide distributor of CDs, cassettes, computer games, videos and DVDs They also handled board games and toys.
The company went into administration in 2007. A new company, Prism Leisure Ltd, was set up by former managing director Ivor Young.
DVD/Video
Prism Leisure became a major publisher and distributor of budget home videoHome video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. Titles include films such as
Doomwatch
Doomwatch
Doomwatch is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC One between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist , responsible for investigating and combating various...
, The Jigsaw Man
The Jigsaw Man
"The Jigsaw Man" is a short story in the Known Space universe by Larry Niven. The story was first published in Harlan Ellison's anthology Dangerous Visions, and is included in Niven's collections All the Myriad Ways and Tales of Known Space....
, March or Die
March or Die (film)
March or Die is a 1977 film directed by Dick Richards, starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve and Ian Holm.The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion...
, The Brave Little Toaster
The Brave Little Toaster
The Brave Little Toaster is a novel by Thomas M. Disch intended for children or as put by Disch, A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances...
, The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman....
, Treasure Island
Treasure Island (1950 film)
Treasure Island is a 1950 Disney adventure film, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It starred Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton as Long John Silver...
and The Whistle Blower
The Whistle Blower
The Whistle Blower is a 1986 British spy thriller film, starring Michael Caine, based on the novel of the same name by John Hale.-Plot:Frank Jones is a retired British naval officer, who is now a businessman...
. They also released television series including Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
.
CD/Cassette
The majority of Prism's musical catalogue were compilations and reissued material including Jefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
's Feed Your Head : Live '67–'69
Feed Your Head : Live '67–'69
-Personnel:*Marty Balin – vocals, guitar*Grace Slick – vocals, piano*Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals*Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals*Jack Casady – bass*Spencer Dryden – drums...
.
Video games
Prism Leisure entered the video game industry in 1987 by purchasing local Enfield company Endurance Games (who had the rights to International KarateInternational Karate
International Karate is a karate fighting game created and published by System 3 for various home computers. Of these versions the 1986 releases for Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers, created by Archer MacLean with music by Rob Hubbard, stand out for their good playability and overall high...
) and Addictive Games
Addictive Games
Addictive Games was a UK video game publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s. It is best known for the Football Manager series of games created by company founder Kevin Toms...
(home of the best-selling Football Manager). Further acquisitions included Paxman Promotions (a budget reissue label) as well as the rights to the back catalogue of various defunct companies. Addictive was kept on as a full price label (with releases including HotShot
HotShot (video game)
HotShot is a pinball/breakout similar game published in 1988 for 8-bit and 16-bit platforms.Player handles a human or alien hero which take control of a ball with a magnet gun and his primary objective is to destroy bricks located on the player side before the enemy does the same.- External links...
, The Kristal
The Kristal
The Kristal is an action game/adventure game first released in 1989 for the Commodore Amiga computer. It was later released for the Atari ST and DOS. It was developed by the UK-based company Fissionchip Software, and published in Europe by Addictive Games and in the USA by Cinemaware...
and further Football Manager games) while the Paxman Promotions name was used for compilations. Prism also became the UK publisher for the US company First Star Software
First Star Software
First Star Software, Inc. is a computer game development, publishing and licensing company, founded by Richard Spitalny and Fernando Herrera in 1982. It is best known for its classic Boulder Dash franchise and Spy vs. Spy titles, originally written for 8-bit home computers like the Apple II, Atari...
and saw them release new versions of some of their games including Superman: The Game
Superman: The Game
Superman: The Game is a 1985 game designed by Fernando Herrera and first published in the US by First Star Software for the Commodore 64. The title was ported to a number of other home computers in Europe.-Gameplay:...
and Boulder Dash II
Boulder Dash
Boulder Dash, originally released in 1984 for Atari 8-bit computers, is a series of computer games released for the Apple II, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and ColecoVision home computers, and later ported to the NES, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, PC, Amstrad CPC, Amiga and many other platforms...
. Many old games were licensed for compilations with some getting individual releases.