View source for Company:Spectrum HoloByte

{{short description|American video game developer and publisher}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Spectrum HoloByte, Inc.
| logo = Spectrum HoloByte logo on black.svg
| type = [[Finance:Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|SYBT}}<ref name=SECINFO>{{cite web|url=https://www.secinfo.com/dRqWm.8wVa.htm?Find=spectrum+holobyte|title=SEC}}</ref>
| fate = Absorbed into Hasbro Interactive
| successor = Hasbro Interactive
| founded = {{Start date and age|1983}}
| founders = Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin
| defunct = {{End date and age|1999}}
| hq_location_city = Alameda, California
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| industry = Video games
| key_people = Gilman Louie, Phil Adam
}}

'''Spectrum HoloByte, Inc.''' was a video game developer and publisher. The company, founded in 1983, was known for its [[Software:Simulation video game|simulation games]], notably the ''[[Software:Falcon (video game)|Falcon]]'' series of combat flight simulators, and for publishing the first version of ''[[Software:Tetris|Tetris]]'' outside the Soviet Union (in 1988 for [[Software:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]]). Spectrum HoloByte published games for various home computers and [[Engineering:Video game console|video game consoles]].

==History==
Spectrum HoloByte was founded in 1983 in Boulder, Colorado by Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin.

In 1987 Spectrum HoloByte merged with another game developer, Nexa Corporation, forming a common holding company, Sphere, Inc., and prompting the company's move from Colorado to California. Nexa founder Gilman Louie served as chairman of the combined company.

In 1992, Spectrum HoloByte received an investment from Kleiner Perkins, which let the company repurchase shares formerly owned by Robert Maxwell's companies, ending its ties to their bankruptcies.<ref name="cgw199212">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=101 | title=Spectrum HoloByte Buy-Back Launches Next Generation | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1992 | access-date=5 July 2014 | pages=116}}</ref> In December 1993, Sphere, Inc. merged with [[Company:MicroProse|MicroProse]] to form MicroProse Inc.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Spectrum + MicroProse = MicroProse Inc.|magazine=GamePro|issue=56|publisher=IDG|date=March 1994|page=186}}</ref> For the following years, games from both companies were published under their respective brands, but in 1996 all titles were consolidated under the MicroProse brand.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Stop Press: The Name Game |magazine=Next Generation|issue=19|publisher=Imagine Media |date=July 1996|page=17}}</ref>

Hasbro Interactive acquired the merged company in 1998, and what had been Spectrum HoloByte ceased to exist when the development studio in Alameda, California, was closed in 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/08/business/hasbro-to-cut-20-of-its-jobs-and-take-97-million-charge.html|title=Hasbro to Cut 20% of Its Jobs and Take $97 Million Charge|last=Freudenheim|first=Milt|date=8 December 1999|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=11 January 2014}}</ref>
{{-}}

==Games==
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
|-
! Title
! Year and platform
! Developer
! Publisher
|-
|''[[Software:Gato (video game)|GATO]]''
|1984 (DOS, [[Software:MacOS|MacOS]])<br />1985 (Apple II, Commodore 64)<br />1986 ([[Engineering:Atari ST|Atari ST]])<br />1987 (Atari 8-bit)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Company:Atari Corporation|Atari Corporation]] (Atari 8-bit)
|-
|''[[Software:Orbiter (1986 video game)|Orbiter]]''
|1986 (DOS, MacOS)<br />1988 (Atari ST)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />Sphere, Inc. (Atari ST)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Intrigue!|Intrigue!]]''
|1986 (Apple II, C64)
|Kinemation
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Lunar Explorer: A Space Flight Simulator''
|1986 (Apple II, DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|[[Company:Electric Transit, Inc.|Electric Transit, Inc.]]
|-
|''[[Software:Solitaire Royale|Solitaire Royale]]''
|1987 (DOS, MacOS)<br />1988 (Amiga)<br />{{Nowrap|1989 ([[Engineering:Apple IIGS|Apple IIGS]]), DOS, Macintosh, MSX, [[Engineering:PC-8800 series|PC-88]], PC-98, [[Engineering:Sharp X1|Sharp X1]]}}
|Software Resources International
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon (video game)|Falcon]]''
|1987 (DOS, MacOS)<br />1988 (Atari ST)<br />1989 (Amiga)<br />1991 (CDTV)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Dondra: A New Beginning''
|1987 (Apple II)<br />1988 (Apple IIGS)<br />1989 (DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Company:Electronic Arts|Electronic Arts]] (DOS)
|-
|''[[Software:PT-109 (video game)|PT-109]]''
|1987 (DOS, MacOS)
|[[Company:TX Digital Illusions|Digital Illusions]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Zig Zag (1987 video game)|Zig Zag]]''
|1987 (C64)
|Zig Zag Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Tetris|Tetris]]''
|1988 (Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, DOS, MacOS)<br />1989 (Atari ST)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Soko-Ban|Soko-Ban]]''
|1988 (DOS)<br />1988 (Apple II, C64)
|[[Company:ASCII Corporation|ASCII]], [[Company:Thinking Rabbit|Thinking Rabbit]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Falcon A.T.''
|1988 (DOS)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Vette!|Vette!]]''
|1989 (DOS)<br />1991 (MacOS)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon (video game)|Falcon Operation: Counterstrike]]''
|1989 (Amiga, Atari ST)
|Rowan Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Tank: The M1A1 Abrams Battle Tank Simulation|Tank]]''
|1989 (DOS)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Welltris|Welltris]]''
|1989 (DOS)<br />1990 (MacOS)
|Doka, Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Faces...tris III|Faces...tris III]]''
|1990 (DOS, MacOS)<br />1991 (Amiga)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Stunt Driver|Stunt Driver]]''
|1990 (DOS)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Flight of the Intruder (video game)|Flight of the Intruder]]''
|1990 (DOS)<br />1991 (Atari ST)
|Rowan Software<br />Spectrum Holobyte (Atari ST)
|Spectrum Holobyte<br />Mirrorsoft (Atari ST)
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon (video game)|Falcon Operation: Firefight]]''
|1990 (Amiga, Atari ST)
|Rowan Software<br />Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Super Tetris|Super Tetris]]''
|1991 (DOS, Windows 3.x)<br />1992 (Amiga, MacOS)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon 3.0|Falcon 3.0]]''
|1991 (DOS)<br />1992 (TG-16)
|Sphere, Inc.<br />Spectrum HoloByte (TG-16)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />Turbo Technologies (TG-16)
|-
|[[Software:Falcon (video game)|Falcon MC (Macintosh Color)]]
|1992 (Macintosh)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Crisis in the Kremlin|Crisis in the Kremlin]]''
|1992 (DOS)
|Barbu Corporation, Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Wordtris|Wordtris]]''
|1991 (DOS)<br />1992 (GB, SNES)<br />1993 (MacOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />Armenica (DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />Sphere, Inc. (GB)<br />[[Company:Nintendo|Nintendo]] (SNES)
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon 3.0#Expansions|Falcon 3.0: Operation: Fighting Tiger]]''
|1992 (DOS)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Tetris Classic|Tetris Classic]]''
|1992 (DOS, Windows 3.x)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Iron Helix|Iron Helix]]''
|1993 (MacOS, Windows 3.x)<br />1994(Sega CD)
|Drew Pictures
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Tetris Gold''
|1993 (DOS, MacOS, Windows 3.x)
|Sphere, Inc.
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon 3.0#Expansions|Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter]]''
|1993 (DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|{{Nowrap|''National Lampoon's Chess Maniac 5 Billion and 1''}}
|1993 (DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''TinHead''
|1993 (Genesis)
|[[Company:MicroProse|MicroProse]]
|Ballistic
|-
|''Soldiers of Fortune''
|1993 (Genesis, SNES)
|[[Company:The Bitmap Brothers|The Bitmap Brothers]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon 3.0#Expansions|MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0]]''
|1993 (DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Tornado (1993 video game)|Tornado]]''
|1993 (DOS)
|Digital Integration
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Gazillionaire|Gazillionaire]]''
|1994 (Windows 3.x)
|LavaMind
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Out of the Sun''
|1994 (MacOS)
|[[Company:Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|[[Company:Eidos Interactive|Eidos Interactive]]
|-
|''[[Software:F1 (video game)|Formula One]]''
|1994 (DOS)
|[[Company:Lankhor|Lankhor]]
|[[Company:Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|-
|''Star Trek: The Next Generation - Futures Past''
|1994 (Genesis, SNES)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Company:Sega|Sega]] (Genesis)
|-
|''[[Software:BreakThru!|BreakThru!]]''
|1994 (SNES, Windows 3.x)<br />1995 (GB)
|[[Company:Zoo Corporation|Zoo Corporation]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Falcon 3.0#Expansions|Falcon Gold]]''
|1994 (DOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Fields of Glory|Fields of Glory]]''
|1994 (DOS)
|[[Company:MicroProse|MicroProse]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:WildSnake|WildSnake]]''
|1994 (GB, SNES)
|Bullet-Proof Software (GB)<br />J.S.C. Gamos (SNES)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Lords of Midnight: The Citadel|Lords of Midnight]]''
|1995 (DOS)
|Maelstrom Games
|[[Company:Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|-
|''[[Software:ClockWerx|ClockWerx]]''
|1995 (MacOS, Windows)
|Callisto Corporation
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Reflux: Issue.01 - "The Becoming"''
|1995 (MacOS, Windows 3.x)
|Inverse Ink
|Inverse Ink
|-
|''Reflux: Issue.02 - "The Threshold"''
|1995 (Windows 3.x)
|Inverse Ink
|Inverse Ink
|-
|''Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity''
|1995 (DOS, MacOS)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Qwirks''
|1995 (MacOS, Windows, Windows 3.x)
|Big Bang Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Perfect Partner Bridge''
|1995 (MacOS, Windows 3.x)
|Positronic Software
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''[[Software:Absolute Zero (video game)|Absolute Zero]]''
|1995 (DOS, MacOS)
|[[Company:Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|Domark
|-
|''[[Software:Knight Moves (video game)|Knight Moves]]''
|1995 (Windows)
|[[Company:Kinesoft|Kinesoft]]
|Spectrum HoloByte
|-
|''Curse of Dragor''
|1995 (MacOS)
|Banshee Software
|[[Company:Square Enix Europe|Domark]]
|-
|''Top Gun: Fire at Will!''
|1996 (DOS, MacOS, [[Engineering:PlayStation (console)|PS1]], Windows)
|Spectrum HoloByte
|Spectrum HoloByte<br />[[Company:MacSoft|MacSoft]] (MacOS)
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Moby company|spectrum-holobyte-inc}}

[[Category:Video game development companies]]



{{Sourceattribution|Spectrum HoloByte}}