In 1985, Electronic Arts released "The Bard's Tale - Tales of the Unknown".
In other news...MARKET TURNS BULLISH FOR HIGH-TECH BEAR SALES SOAR FOR TEDDY RUXPIN, 'YUPPIE TOY OF 1985'
WELCOME to the dark ages of home computing. So says Trip Hawkins, president of Electronic Arts of San Mateo. Hawkins calls himself the head of "not only a home software company, but actually a profitable company." This description is nothing to sneeze at, he says, because companies like Apple Computer Inc. and Commodore International Ltd. deny even the existence of a home market.
"There's no reason why an intelligent human being would want a home computer unless you're a writer," says '60s guru and software designer Timothy Leary.
1985 Chart Toppers
| The Melodys | The Tune-Meisters |
|---|---|
| Like A Virgin | Madonna |
| I Want To Know What Love Is | Foreigner |
| Careless Whisper | Wham! featuring George Michael |
| Can't Fight This Feeling | REO Speedwagon |
| One More Night | Phil Collins |
| We Are The World | USA for Africa |
| Crazy For You | Madonna |
| Don't You (Forget About Me) | Simple Minds |
| Everything She Wants | Wham! |
| Everybody Wants To Rule The World | Tears For Fears |
| Heaven | Bryan Adams |
| Sussidio | Phil Collins |
| A View To A Kill | Duran Duran |
| Everytime You Go Away | Paul Young |
| Shout | Tears For Fears |
| The Power Of Love | Huey Lewis & The News |
| St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) | John Parr |
| Money For Nothing | Dire Straits |
| Oh Shelia | Ready For The World |
| Part-Time Lover | Stevie Wonder |
| Miami Vice Theme | Jan Hammer |
| We Built This City | Starship |
| Separate Lives | Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin |
| Broken Wings | Mr. Mister |
| Say You, Say Me | Lionel Richie |
In 1986, Electronic Arts released "The Bard's Tale 2 - The Destiny Knight".
In other news...CHRISTMAS COMPUTERS THE PLUSES AND MINUSES OF THIS YEAR'S 'BIG THREE' SOUND-AND-GRAPHICS MACHINES - Each Christmas they appear under the tree, and each year they are different. Home computers have included everything from a $99 Timex Sinclair to a scaled-down version of the IBM PC called the PCjr. But Christmas computers of the past never equaled the success of the perennial Commodore 64, Apple IIe and computers from Atari.
PLAYING A NEW TUNE PRICES ARE DROPPING OF OME AGING SOFTWARE HITS, BUT DON'T COUNT ON BUSINESS-TITLE BARGAINS - Several of Electronic Arts' chart-topping hits have become "golden oldies." In June, the San Mateo software company slashed the prices on many of its best-known entertainment titles -- One-on-One, Pinball Construction Set and Archon, to name a few. The suggested prices used to be around $35, but are now less than $15.
COPY-PROTECTION WON'T BUG SOFTWARE USERS MUCH LONGER - When 1986 is said and done, it undoubtedly will be remembered as the year that copy-protection bit the dust. To protect their programs, publishers embed special coding into the software, which prevents you from making duplicates. Publishers want to keep you from giving copies to people who might otherwise pay for the software.
... the information was stored on a new type of computer memory disk called a CD-ROM, which can hold more than 1,000 times as much information as a floppy disk ...
SOFTWARE AND HARD FEELINGS - Heated verbal exchanges fueled the recent Techno-Jam session of the Festival of Electronic Arts at San Jose State University. The discussion-demonstration of computer-music software by various manufacturers evolved into a marathon, running 4 1/2 hours and ending at midnight Thursday. Some members of the audience jumped on the reps, irate that the software could not squeeze a lot more features into their home computers. Doubtless some of them came in with chips on their shoulders.
There was a time, several years ago, when Pat Benatar ruled the world of female pop. Her career was accented with million-selling records, awards and sold-out tours. And then, the Laupers and Madonnas and Sade came along, and the spotlight was theirs. Now, Benatar is back, with a new record, "Seven the Hard Way," and a tour that brings her to the Oakland Coliseum, Highway 17 at Hegenberger Road...
COMMODORE DEADLINE NEAR BANKRUPTCY RUMORS UNDERCUT COMPUTER MAKER'S STOCK PRICE - Commodore International Ltd. faces a loan-agreement deadline today amid signs the home computer company's troubles may be deepening. Wall Street speculation has run rampant this week over Commodore's attempts to renegotiate the loan agreement on which it is in technical default. Commodore's lenders had granted a waiver that expires today, but the company won't say whether that deadline has been further extended.
1986 Chart Toppers
| The Merry Melodies | The Melody Makers |
|---|---|
| That's What Friends Are For | Dionne (Warwick) & Friends |
| How Will I Know | Whitney Houston |
| Kyrie | Mr. Mister |
| Sara | Starship |
| These Dreams | Heart |
| Rock Me Amadeus | Falco |
| Kiss | Prince & The Revolution |
| Addicted To Love | Robert Palmer |
| West End Girls | Pet Shop Boys |
| Greatest Love Of All | Whitney Houston |
| Live To Tell | Madonna |
| On My Own | Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald |
| There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) | Billy Ocean |
| Holding Back The Years | Simply Red |
| Invisible Touch | Genesis |
| Sledgehammer | Peter Gabriel |
| Glory Of Love | Peter Cetera |
| Papa Don't Preach | Madonna |
| Higher Love | Steve Winwood |
| Venus | Bananarama |
| Take My Breath Away | Berlin |
| Stuck With You | Huey Lewis & The News |
| When I Think Of You | Janet Jackson |
| True Colors | Cyndi Lauper |
| Amanda | Boston |
| Human | The Human League |
| You Give Love A Bad Name | Bon Jovi |
| The Next Time I Fall | Peter Cetera with Amy Grant |
| The Way It Is | Bruce Hornsby & The Range |
| Walk Like An Egyptian | The Bangles |
In 1988, Electronic Arts released "The Bard's Tale 3 - Thief of Fate".
In other news...HOW NINTENDO CONQUERED THE VIDEO GAME MARKET - Santa is being asked for lots of video games this Christmas. But not just any video games -- only Nintendo's. Not Sega's. Not Atari Games'. Although these two game systems are -- at least from an adult's perspective -- roughly equivalent to Nintendo, they carry the curse of the also-rans: the Lees and Wranglers to the Levis of the denim world.
DELUXE PAIR USES IIGS 'MACNESS' - The main "productivity" programs for the Apple IIgs -- such as spreadsheets, graphics, data bases and word processors -- look more and more like their Macintosh counterparts. Even the venerable AppleWorks and the Apple II system software have been transformed into window-laden, icon- packing, pull-down-menu-proud programs. However, these programs rarely match the speed of their Macintosh cousins. But the IIgs can claim a real advantage over the Mac: color.
MODEM WARS LETS YOU PLAY WITH A PHONE BUDDY - Modem Wars owes something to arcade shoot-'em-ups, something to more cerebral strategy games and something to football. You move little figures around the handsomely designed screens, things with names like Grunt, Rider and Spy. There are seven situations, from fairly easy to really tough, and plenty of variations and complications.
ATARI SHOOTS FOR VIDEO GAME COMEBACK THIS YEAR - The television ad shows a 1970s teen-ager magically stepping into his younger brother's room in the 1980s. The younger brother is doing something the older brother used to do all the time -- playing a video game. The video game market is back, and while it is nowhere near its $3 billion peak of 1982, some analysts estimate it could top $1 billion. Personal computer maker Atari Corp. of Sunnyvale hopes to cash in on the resurgence by spending $6 million in advertising this Christmas.
SIERRA HOPES FOR RANSOM FROM KING'S QUEST GAME - At the same time Sierra On-Line Inc. ventures into the stock market, it has come out with a new computer game that industry followers say is likely to be one of the biggest sellers of the year. Sierra develops and publishes computer software games. Its debut on the stock market was on the heels of the release of King's Quest IV, the latest in a popular adventure series it started in 1984.
WAITING FOR NEXT'S BIG THING JOBS' POST-APPLE COMPUTER REPORTEDLY WILL SIMPLIFY PROGRAMMING - Some industry insiders and educators close to Next Inc. say Steve Jobs will blow away people Wednesday when he unveils the computer he has been working on since he was ousted from Apple Computer Inc. three years ago. But others are certain that the intense media speculation about the Palo Alto computer maker -- unprecedented even for a Steve Jobs venture -- has already doomed the product with expectations it can never meet.
1988 Chart Toppers
| Faith | George Michael |
|---|---|
| So Emotional | Whitney Houston |
| Got My Mind Set On You | George Harrison |
| The Way You Make Me Feel | Michael Jackson |
| Need You Tonight | INXS |
| Could've Been | Tiffany |
| Seasons Change | Expose |
| Father Figure | George Michael |
| Never Gonna Give You Up | Rick Astley |
| Man In The Mirror | Michael Jackson |
| Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car | Billy Ocean |
| Where Do Broken Hearts Go | Whitney Houston |
| Wishing Well | Terence Trent D'Arby |
| Anything For You | Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine |
| One More Try | George Michael |
| Together Forever | Rick Astley |
Dirty Diana| Michael Jackson | |
| The Flame | Cheap Trick |
| Hold On To The Nights | Richard Marx |
| Roll With It | Steve Winwood |
| Monkey | George Michael |
| Sweet Child O' Mine | Guns N' Roses |
| Don't Worry Be Happy | Bobby McFerrin |
| Love Bites | Def Leppard |
| Red Red Wine | UB40 |
| Groovy Kind Of Love | Phil Collins |
| Kokomo | The Beach Boys |
| Wild, Wild West | The Escape Club |
| Bad Medicine | Bon Jovi |
| Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley | Will To Power |
| Look Away | Chicago |
| Every Rose Has Its Thorn | Poison |
News Clips gathered from Mercury Center. Chart Topper Information gathered from Memory Lane Record Store.
You can contact me at WebMaster@BardsTale.com. Until next month, farewell fellow Bard's Tale fans!