Maelstrom game mastertronic trailer full#
Maelstrom game mastertronic trailer series#

With great expansion comes great risk and as the budget market became saturated Mastertronic's position as the leading light began to wane.

Around the same time, Mastertonic launched Ricochet a re-release label that they used to re-market games from publishers such as the afore-mentioned Melbourne House, Bubble Bus and Activision.

Maelstrom game mastertronic trailer full#

Keeping the label name alive, Mastertronic used the Melbourne House moniker to enter the full price software market. Mastertronic continued to grow and in 1988 acquired the Australian software outfit Melbourne House. (Mastertronic Added Dimension) which retailed at a slightly higher price than the basic line.As well as M.A.D., Mastertronic also ran the shortlived Entertainment USA and Bulldog labels designed to showcase the best in American and British releases respectively. Success allowed the company to expand and as well as their self-titled orginal label, they were soon releasing games under their offshoot labels most notably M.A.D. Mastertronic paved the way for companies like Alternative Software and Codemasters to follow in their stead (and in fact published The Darling Brothers first game - the C64 only BMX Racers). Mastertronic identified a gap in the market for low cost games (originally retailing for £1.99 in the United Kingdom, 9,95 DM (= 5,09€) in Germany & $9.99 in Australia) and as well as producing titles for 'The Big 3' specialised in releasing original games for some of the lesser served systems like the BBC Electron and Commodore C16. 2.6 Melbourne House (Post Mastertronic takeover)įormed in 1983, Mastertronic established itself as a one of the premier budget software houses of the 8-bit era, producing games for the CPC as well as its main competitors the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.I still own and play all of these games on my Commodore 64. Here’s a selection of Mastertronic games that are very nostalgic for me. Mastertronic formed the basis for Sega Europe, which remains a significant player in the video game industry to this day. Sega eventually stepped in to purchase Mastertronic outright, with Virgin Games going its separate ways and becoming Virgin Interactive in 1994. By 1991, the Mastertronic side of the company owed the vast majority of its profit to its distribution of Sega products. In the following years, Mastertronic phased out its traditional budget software strategy for home computers in favour of bigger releases for video game consoles.

With Virgin’s support, Mastertronic took over Sega distribution in France and Germany.

Maelstrom game mastertronic trailer series#

This move proved to be a turning point for Mastertronic, as it led to a series of deals that saw the company renamed “Mastertronic Group Ltd.” Eventually, Mastertronic merged with Virgin Games, becoming Virgin Mastertronic. To address these issues, the Virgin Group stepped in, buying a 45% stake in the company. In 1988, Mastertronic acquired Melbourne House, the parent company of Beam Software, which left the company with severe cashflow problems. In the following years, they would also distribute the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear. Mastertronic’s success with the Sega Master System made it the first truly successful market for the console. This move proved to be a game-changer, as the Master System gained huge popularity in the country, out-selling Nintendo and their NES system. In 1987, Mastertronic secured the rights to distribute the Sega Master System in the UK. On the other hand, Mastertronic sold the games directly to retailers at a higher rate of £1.30 per unit. However, after the market became more competitive, the rate reduced to 80 pence per unit. They also started to release their own hardware, including the Mastertronic Added Dimension (MAD) range of joysticks and peripherals.īefore the gaming market became more competitive, Mastertronic used to sell their games to distributors at a rate of 90 pence per unit. They expanded their portfolio to include games for other platforms such as the Amiga and the Atari ST, and their games became increasingly popular. These games were not only popular in the UK but were also successful in other markets, such as Europe and the United States.Īs the gaming industry grew, so did Mastertronic. The company was responsible for publishing several successful games and franchises, including the budget release of “Ghostbusters” and the other popular budget games like Kikstart. Mastertronic Software quickly rose to prominence in the video game industry due to its innovative business model and marketing strategies.