Re: Games for December - Tower of Babel & Magic Fly

On Dec 10, 1:44 pm, Sam Smith <unkno...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> RichardH wrote:
> > That is usually the sign of a game that didn't ****ft in any
> > large numbers, which is a shame as Babel had a lot going for it.
>
> Thanks for the info! :)
>
> I guess one of the reasons TOB didn't sell that well was the fact that
> it required a bit too much effort to get into by lazy game players. Also
> it looked quite highbrow and was probably too original for its own good
> even the concepts have common puzzle elements.
>
> It had that effect on me too. I played the demo (even though I don't
> actually remember the level - I must have done as I have the issue of
> AF) and it put me off totally. Only when my brother bought the Ten Star
> Pack a little later did I give it a proper go and found it to be a
> wonderfully rewarding puzzler. It would have been better if the demo had
> had a proper tutorial section - then it would probably have sold more on
> the off. Such is life with original games! :)
>
> What happened to Microprose? Who did they sell out to? One of the many
> great UK software houses - always loved their detailed manuals stuffed
> with background info.
>
> ---
> Sam

Yes, original games are always harder to sell to punters.

MicroProse merged with Spectrum Holobyte for a while (http://
www.redherring.com/Home/10122), before they also got into
difficulties. It then gets a bit complicated.... They were almost sold
to GT Interactive, but eventually were bought up by Hasbro, who then
were bought up by Infogrames who eventually became Atari Inc.

I'm not sure whether any of that means that technically Atari Inc.
were/are the 'owners' of the Firebird and Rainbird labels. Probably
not, as both labels hadn't been used since the MicroProse days so they
probably weren't even mentioned in the negotiations.