CDS Software (also known as CDS Micro Systems for its earlier titles) was an independent publisher and developer of computer game software based in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, South Yorkshire, UK.

History

The company was founded by Ian Williams, a computer programmer from Doncaster who started developing games for the Sinclair ZX80 shortly after its launch. After the initial company success he employed Giles Hunter (A manager from Doncaster W.H Smiths) to help expand the business. He sold his company to Giles Hunter to pursue other interests in 1985. In 1985, the company launched the

Blue Ribbon The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon w ...

budget label. In 1988 CDS Software, under the CDS group of companies changed its name to Nimrod Holdings Ltd, also publishing games for the Amiga. Publishing continued under the CDS Software Label until the early 1990s.

Guildhall Leisure Services

The company operated as RHSCO One Limited between January 1994 and March 1994, and then as Guildhall Leisure Services between March 1994 and May 2002. As Guildhall, the company published games for the Amiga including the well-regarded title ''

Gloom Gloom is a low level of light which is so dim that there are physiological and psychological effects. Human vision at this level becomes monochrome and has lessened clarity. Optical and psychological effects Light conditions may be considered g ...

''.

iDigicon

Subsequently the company operated as iDigicon Limited until its dissolution in May 2013.

Games

The first games released in 1982-3 were for the 16k

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

consisting mainly of clones of arcade games. The company expanded to different formats with titles like ''Steve Davis Snooker'' and ''

Colossus Chess ''Colossus Chess'' is a series of chess-playing computer programs developed by Martin Bryant, commercially released for various home computers in the 1980s. History Bryant started ''Colossus Chess'' in 1983, using his '' White Knight Mk 11'' ...

'' seeing releases on most platforms of the day. The launch of the budget label ''Blue Ribbon'' saw simple arcade type games diverted to that label with CDS concentrating on full price titles, often incorporating tie-in licences such as ''

Brian Clough's Football Fortunes ''Brian Clough's Football Fortunes'' is a video game featuring Brian Clough. Reception Paul Rixon for ''Page 6'' said "C'mon CDS, you can do better than this. A great package but what about the program to go with it?" ''Your Commodore'' said "F ...

'' and '' Sporting Triangles''. They also released the computer game crossed with a board game, ''TankAttack''. ''The Complete Home Entertainment Centre'' was a compendium of games that were later split and sold as stand alone titles by Blue Ribbon (such as ''Video Card Arcade'' and ''Dominoes''). In the early 90s, CDS re-issued or picked up UK distribution of games for companies such as D&H (e.g. '' Multi-Player Soccer Manager''),

MicroIllusions MicroIllusions, based in Granada Hills, California was a video game developer, computer game developer and video game publisher, publisher of the home computer era (late 1980s to early 1990s). MicroIllusions, as a company, was a strong supporter of ...

(e.g. ''

Fire Power Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potenti ...

'') and

Artworx Artworx was a Naples, Florida software company that produced and supported a line of computer games (primarily specializing in poker and other card games) from 1981 to 2020. It is named after the founder's given name. At first the company publishe ...

(e.g. the ''Strip Poker'' games).

8-bit games published

* Gobble a Ghost (1982) * 3D Painter (1983) * Bozy Boa (1983) * Catterpillar (1983) * Leapfrog (1983)) * Magic Meanies (1983) * French is Fun (1983) * Othello (1983) * Pool (1983) * Reversi (1983) * Winged Warlords (1983) * German is Fun (1984) * Italian is Fun (1984) *

Steve Davis Snooker ''Steve Davis Snooker'' is a sports simulation video game developed and published by CDS Software in 1984. The budget release published by Blue Ribbon Software reached the top of the UK charts in May 1988. ''Steve Davis Snooker'' simulates the ...

(1984) * Timebomb (1984) * Spanish is Fun (1985) * Colossus Chess 4 (1986) * Colossus Bridge 4 (1986) *

(1987) * Tank Attack (1988) * Video Card Arcade (1988) * Sporting Triangles (1989) * European Superleague (1990)

16-bit games published

As CDS: * Bravo Romeo Delta (1992), Frankenstein * Rugby Coach (1992), D&H Games * Colossus Bridge X (1992) As Guildhall: * Xtreme Racing (1995), Silltunna * Fears (1995), Bomb *

(1995), Black Magic Software * Legends (1996), Krisalis * Minskies Furballs (1997), Binary Emotions

Re-release games

* Spectrum Safari (1984) *

(1988) * Centerfold Squares (1988) * Blitzkrieg at the Ardennes (1989) * Dr. Plummet's House of Flux (1989) * Multi-Player Soccer Manager (1991)

References

External links

Companies based in Doncaster Defunct video game companies of the United Kingdom Video game development companies Video game publishers {{UK-videogame-company-stub