Datasoft, Inc. (also written as DataSoft and Data Soft) was a software developer and publisher for
home computers founded in 1980 by Pat Ketchum and based out of
Chatsworth, California
Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley.
The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish be ...
. Datasoft primarily published video games, including home ports of
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
s, games based on licenses from movies and
TV shows
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
, and original games. Like competitor
Synapse Software
Synapse Software Corporation (marketed as SynSoft in the UK) was an American video game development and publishing company founded in 1981 by Ihor Wolosenko and Ken Grant. It initially focused on the Atari 8-bit family, then later developed for th ...
, the company also published other software: development tools, word processors, and utilities. Text Wizard, written by William Robinson and published by Datasoft when he was 16, was the basis for
AtariWriter
AtariWriter is a word processor program for the Atari 8-bit family released by Atari as a 16 kB ROM cartridge in 1983. The program was fast and easy to use, while still allowing the creation of fairly complex documents. It was a huge success ...
.
[ Datasoft initially targeted the ]Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...
, Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
, and TRS-80 Color Computer
The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer and sometimes nicknamed the CoCo, is a line of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Co ...
, then later the Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
, IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...
, Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
, and Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
. Starting in 1983, a line of lower cost software was published under the name Gentry Software.[
Datasoft went into ]bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, and its name and assets were purchased by two Datasoft executives, Samuel L. Poole and Ted Hoffman. They renamed the company IntelliCreations and distributed Datasoft games until it closed.
Software
Games
;1982
*''Canyon Climber
''Canyon Climber'' is a video game designed by Steve Bjork and James Garon for the TRS-80 Color Computer and published by Tandy Corporation in 1982. Ports to other home computers were published by Datasoft. ''Canyon Climber'' is a three-screen pl ...
''
*'' Clowns and Balloons''
*''Dung Beetles
Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night.
Many dung beetles, known as ''rollers'', roll dung into round balls, which are used as a food source or breeding cha ...
''
*'' Pacific Coast Highway''
*'' Shooting Arcade''
*'' The Sands of Egypt''
;1983
*''Genesis''
*''Juno First
is an arcade video game developed by Konami and released in 1983. It was licensed to Gottlieb in the United States. ''Juno First'' combines elements of vertically scrolling shooters and fixed shooters, using a slightly tilted perspective simil ...
'', arcade port
*''Moon Shuttle'', arcade port
*''Nibbler
A nibbler, or nibblers,Jeffery Zurschmeide Automotive Welding: A Practical Guide 2009 - Page 26 "Nibblers make a ragged cut and also leave thousands of little sheetmetal nibbles all over your shop. ... Power shears are the best tool going for cut ...
'', arcade port
*'' O'Riley's Mine''
*''Pooyan
is a fixed shooter arcade game released by Konami in Japan in 1982. It was manufactured in North America by Stern Electronics. The player controls "Mama", a pig whose babies have been kidnapped by a group of wolves.
Gameplay
The player contr ...
'', arcade port
*''Zaxxon
is an isometric shooter arcade game, developed and released by Sega in 1982, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses. Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki is also credited for having worked on the d ...
'', arcade port
;1984
*'' Conan''
*''Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
''
*''Lost Tomb
''Lost Tomb'' is an overhead-view multidirectional shooter written by Dan Lee and released in arcades by Stern Electronics in 1982. Armed with a gun and whip, the player uses dual joystick controls to explore the chambers of a South American p ...
'', arcade port
*''The Dallas Quest
''The Dallas Quest'' is a graphic adventure game based on the soap opera ''Dallas''. The game was programmed by James Garon for the TRS-80 Color Computer and published by Tandy Corporation in 1984. It was the second game in the "Animated Advent ...
''
*'' Mancopter''
*''Mr. Do!
is a 1982 maze game developed by Universal. It is the first arcade video game to be released as a conversion kit for other arcade machines; Taito published the conversion kit in Japan. The game was inspired by Namco's ''Dig Dug'' released earl ...
'', arcade port
*''Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'', arcade port
*''Pole Position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
'', arcade port
;1985
*'' Alternate Reality: The City''
*''The Goonies
''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astori ...
''
*''Tomahawk
A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...
''
*''Zorro
Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...
''
;1986
*''Crosscheck''
*''Mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
''
*''Mind Pursuit''
;1987
*''221B Baker Street
221B Baker Street is the London address of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the United Kingdom, postal addresses with a number followed by a letter may indicate a separate address within ...
''
*'' Alternate Reality: The Dungeon''
*'' Bismarck''
*''Black Magic
Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...
''
*''Dark Lord''
*''Force 7''
*''Gunslinger''
*''Saracen''
;1988
*'' Napoleon in Russia: Borodino 1812'' (MS-DOS)
Education
*''Bishop's Square / Maxwell's Demon'' (1982)
Word processing
*Text Wizard (1981)
*Spell Wizard (1982)
*Letter Wizard (1984)
Other software
*Micro-Painter (1982)
References
External links
*
Adventureland Company Profile
Atari 8-bit family
Video game companies established in 1980
Defunct video game companies of the United States
Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
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