By Kathy Yakal — originally published in COMPUTE!’s Gazette Issue 2, August 1983
This month we premiere a new regular feature for COMPUTE!’s Gazette: “HOTWARE,” a monthly tracking of best selling software for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
Software – the cartridges, disks, and cassettes that store recorded programs – can be a major investment. Even if you take the time to type in programs from a computer magazine or book, or become adept enough at programming to create your own, you may still want to purchase an occasional program for word processing, record-keeping, or even just for fun.
There are different types of software. Programs which have been written by an individual or group, but which are not copyrighted, are in the public domain and may be freely copied. If you write your own program, it is also permissible for you to make copies to share with people. However, programs typed in from copyrighted magazines or books are themselves copyrighted, and it is illegal for anyone who does not own that copy of the publication to make copies of the program.
So-called commercial software is always copyrighted. These are programs sold by companies for profit. Commercial software is available from two sources: computer manufacturers and third-party vendors. Most computer manufacturers write or acquire the rights to programs for their own machines, such as Atari’s Centipede or Commodore’s Gorf. Third-party software consists of programs owned and sold by independent companies not connected with the computer manufacturers.
Each month, HOTWARE will be tracking the sales of commercial software from both third-party vendors and Commodore itself.
Compiling HOTWARE
When you buy a piece of software at a retail store, most often that software was supplied by a distributor. Distributors stock programs from many different companies. Discount stores, as well as other retailers, often carry programs from third-party companies in addition to those from the computer manufacturer. You can also get software from mail-order houses; sometimes they act as distributors, but some of them carry only programs that they themselves produce.
To compile HOTWARE, we have set up a nationwide network of both distributors and retailers who each month tell us what their best sellers are, and what they see happening in the industry. To insure accuracy, we are constantly expanding this network of sources (distributors and retailers who wish to participate in HOTWARE should contact us for details). These lists are not guesswork. Rankings in each category are based on actual numbers of units sold, although we do not publish the numbers because they are considered proprietary information by the companies involved. To eliminate regional biases, our sources are scattered throughout the United States.
HOTWARE will be more than just a page of lists. As we survey our sources, we ask questions and probe for viewpoints which provide insights into the workings of the home computer software industry. The lists will be accompanied by an analysis of trends and opinions of those who make up the industry.
Commodore 64 Entertainment
Whenever a new computer hits the market, it always takes awhile for a wide supply of software to build up. Although the Commodore 64 has been around for almost a year now, software is still scarce. There are many good programs available, but merchants and customers are frustrated
that there aren’t more. Expect to see this situation improve greatly in the next few months.
Many customers, some retailers say, put a lot of faith in individual software manufacturers. One store owner in Nashville reports that people
will often come in and play couple of games from certain company, then purchase third game from that company that they haven’t even seen. Consequently, some companies account for several programs on single month’s list.
That trend is evident in this month’s best selling games for the Commodore 64. Epyx, West Coast manufacturer, has three games on this
month’s list, placing First, Third, and Ninth: Temple of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Curse of Ra. Another factor in their success is that they are a progressive series of adventure games. Epyx has another game that, although it did not make this month’s Top Ten, may be showing up soon: Jumpman, an action game with five skill levels, eight speeds, and 30 different screens.
Infocom, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, software manufacturer which draws on the skills of people from the nearby Massachusetts institute
of Technology, also has several best sellers. Infocom’s games do not use graphics; they are all text adventures. Of its Zork series, games in which
you have to solve puzzles and problems to get through an underground empire and acquire different kinds of treasures, Zork and Zork III placed
Fifth and Eighth. Suspended, newer game, fared even better, landing in Fourth. Suspended’s packaging, says one distributor, is the best he’s ever
seen. The game involves six robots deep in space who must use their individual talents to restore an ailing planet. The score is measured by the
number of people that survive.
Human Engineered Software (HES) claims the No. 2 position on the games list with Gridrunner (see this month’s “Inside View,” elsewhere in
this issue, for an interview with Gridrunner programmer Jeff Minter). Meteor Madness, game by Soft Plus in which you must destroy comets whizzing by before you yourself are destroyed, finished No. 6. In Seventh place is Magic Carpet’s Weather War II, an unusual battle between castles in which the combatants use weather as their weapons. Tenth place goes to Commdata’s Pakacuda. Incidentally, Commdata also had two other games which just missed making the list: Centrapods and Logger.
Commodore 64 Home/Business/Utility
HES claims two spots in this category: HES Writer, a word processor, and HES Man, a machine language monitor, placing First and Fourth. Calc
Result, a Handic product, placed Second. Another popular word processor, WordPro III +/64 by Professional Software, takes Third. Fifth and Sixth go to two programs by Totl Software: Totl Text and Totl Label. Two to watch for here are PaperClip, a word processor by Batteries Included, and 64 Checkbook Manager, from Data Equipment Supply Corporation.
Commodore 64 Educational
Two math programs appear this month. Commodore’s Bingo Speed Math takes Second, and MicroEd’s Math Bid finishes in Third. First place was won by Taylormade’s Touch Typing Tutor. Watch for Typing Strategy, a new instructional program from Behavioral Engineering, to possibly make next month’s list.
VIC-20 Best Sellers
With thousands of people snapping up VIC-20s at their incredibly low price of less than $90, users are clamoring for more software. Since the
machine has been around longer than the Commodore 64, there is more available from greater variety of manufacturers.
In the entertainment category, Creative Software wins First place with Choplifter, an authorized translation of the popular Broderbund game. Creative Software also comes in Fifth with Apple Panic. Commodore, whose educational programs have done better than its games, nevertheless claims Third in the entertainment category with Gorf, followed by Commercial Data’s Road Toad. Rounding out the list are Exterminator, by
Nufekop; the VIC-20 version of Gridrunner, by HES; Snackman, by Microdigital; and River Rescue, by Thorn E.M.I.
HES Writer and HES Man seem to be as popular with VIC-20 users as with their Commodore 64 fans. These programs take positions two and
three in the home/business/utility category. Quick Brown Fox, word processing program by Quick Brown Fox (who else?), is the top-seller, with
Household Finance by Creative Software coming in at Tenth.
Commodore claims both First and Second in educational programs with its Introduction to Basic and Bingo Speed Math. In Third is VIC Music Composer by Thorn E.M.I, (reviewed elsewhere in this issue). Three best sellers we classify as utilities that is, programs that relate directly to the operation of the computer are Turtle Graphics, by HES; Commodore’s Super Expander (which might be called “firmware,” since it’s combination of software and hardware); and Midwest Micro’s Terminal 40, a program for operating modem (watch for a review in an upcoming issue).
A final word from our sources: some of you who have had computers for a while arc beginning to tire of playing games nil the time and are asking
for more home and business programs. Therefore, expect sales of these to increase. This does not necessarily mean that games sales will drop, however. There is still great demand for entertainment software, especially among new computer owners and young people.
August HOTWARE
Commodore 64 Entertainment
1. Temple of Apshai (Epyx)
2. Gridrunner (HES)
3. Upper Reaches of Apshai (Epyx)
4. Suspended (Infocom)
5. Zork I (Infocom)
6. Meteor Madness (Soft Plus)
7. Weather War II (Magic Carpet)
8. Zork III (Infocom)
9. Curse of Ra (Epyx)
10. Pakacuda (Commdata)
Commodore 64 Home/Business/Utility
1. HES Writer (HES)
2. Calc Result (Handic)
3. WordPro III+/64 (Professional Software)
4. HES Man (HES)
5. Totl Text (Totl Software)
6. Totl Label (Totl Software)
Commodore 64 Educational
1. Touch Typing Tutor (Taylormade)
2. Bingo Speed Math (Commodore Business Machines)
3. Math Bid (Micro Ed)
VIC-20 Entertainment
1. Choplifter (Creative Software)
2. Amok (UMI)
3. Gorf (Commodore Business Machines)
4. Road Toad (Commercial Data)
5. Apple Panic (Creative Software)
6. Exterminator (Nufekop)
7. Gridrunner (HES)
8. Snackman (Microdigital)
9. River Rescue (Thorn E.M.I.)
VIC-20 Home/Business/Utility
1. Quick Brown Fox (Quick Brown Fox)
2. HES Writer (HES)
3. HES Mon (HES)
4. ViCalc (UMI)
5. Totl Text (Totl Software)
6. Totl Label (Totl Software)
7. Turtle Graphics (HES)
8. Super Expander (Commodore Business Machines)
9. Terminal 40 (Midwest Micro)
10. Household Finance (Creative Software)
VIC-20 Educational
1. Introduction to BASIC (Commodore Business Machines)
2. Bingo Speed Math (Commodore Business Machines)
3. VIC Music Composer (Thorn E.M.I.)