[projectaon] Re: Spectrum Games
- From: "David Davis" <feline1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <projectaon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:01:00 +0100
OK, I actually did some work for once ;-)
here's a little research into the ads that appeared at the back of the books
for these games
(it is worth noting the games were for the *48K* Speccy - they were too big
for the 16K model ;-)
Here are the books I have which contain ads:
'Flight From the Dark' (Sparrow Books, 1st edition, first reprint, 1984):
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are forthcoming, available from Sept '84, advance
orders for cassette-only editions can be placed with Hutchinson for £5.95
each.
'Fire On the Water' (Sparrow Books, 1st ed. 1984)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are forthcoming, available from Sept '84, advance
orders for cassette-only editions can be placed with Hutchinson for £5.95
each.
'The Caverns of Kalte' (Sparrow Books, 1st ed, 1984)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are available, cassette-only editions available
mail order from Hutchinson for £6.95 each
'The Chasm of Doom' (Sparrow Books, 1st ed., 1985)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are available, cassette-only editions available
mail order from Hutchinson for £6.95 each
'Shadow on the Sand' (Sparrow Books, 1st ed., 1985)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are available from Hutchinson, cassette only £6.95,
or £8.95 for book+tape version. It also claims "The Ice Halls of Terror",
based on Book 3, is available for 48K Spectrum and for Commodore 64, and can
be ordered direct from Hutchinson for £9.95 (cassette only)!
'The Kingdoms of Terror' (Beaver Books, 1st ed, 1985, signed by Joe Dever &
Gary Chalk ;-)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are available from Century Communications Ltd,
cassette only £6.95, or £8.95 for book+tape version. It also claims "The
Ice Halls of Terror", based on Book 3, is available for 48K Spectrum and for
Commodore 64, and can be ordered direct from Hutchinson for £9.95 (cassette
only)!
'Grey Star the Wizard' (Beaver Books, 1st ed., 1985, signed by Ian Page &
Joe Dever ;-)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are available from Century Communications Ltd,
cassette only £6.95, or £8.95 for book+tape version. It also claims "The
Ice Halls of Terror", based on Book 3, is available for 48K Spectrum and for
Commodore 64, and can be ordered direct from Hutchinson for £9.95 (cassette
only)!
'The Forbidden City' (Beaver Books, 1st ed., 1986, signed by Joe Dever ;-)
- ad states Games 1 & 2 are available from Beaver Books, cassette only
£6.95, or £8.95 for book+tape version. No mention any more of 'Ice Halls of
Terror'
Note that the mail order address for all the above was always 17-21 Conway
Street, London W1P 6JD
So as you can see, the tie-in games for Flight From the Dark and Fire on the
Water appear to have been part of Hutchinson's publishing/marketing plan
since day one: advance orders are being taken for them from the very
beginning
(I don't know if anyone here has access to the first printing of the 1st
Sparrow edition of Flight From the Dark? I'm presuming that contains the ad
too - indeed, IIRC, Books 1 & 2 were published simultaneously?)
I can't recall what month in 1984 that FFLD and FOTW came out (May?) ... it
seems the computer games lagged behind them by about 6 months, but were on
the shelves by the time Caverns of Kalte came out later in the year.
Surprisingly, the latter 3 of the 4 books published in 1985 all claim "The
Ice Halls of Terror" exists and Hutchinson will take your cheques or postal
orders (ah, how quaint ;-) for them!
All the adverts state "allow 14 days for delivery" at the bottom, and there
was considerably more than 14 days between the publication of "Shadow on the
Sand" and "Kingdoms of Terror" and "Grey Star the Wizard",
so it appears there was some false advertising going on here! I presume
anyone who ordered one eventually got a refund!
Indeed, it would almost make me suspect that the game must surely have
existed, otherwise how would they have gotten away with it? ...
however the fact that this game is absent from the advert in "The Forbidden
City" tallys with our information from the title-screen designer that it in
fact never got published.
After this, Hutchinson seem to have dropped the games: from "Beyond the
Nightmare Gate" and "Castle Death", they are no longer advertised at the
back of the books.
So.....
That's all really Too Much Information to go onto our web page, but we
should probably include a few of the salient points?
DAVID
~~~~~~
Manage your subscription at http://www.freelists.org/list/projectaon
Other related posts: