Hewson Consultants
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2009) |
| Industry | Video game |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Hewson Consultants were one of the smaller software companies which produced video games for home computers in the mid-1980s. They had a reputation for high-quality games which continually pushed the boundaries of what the computers were capable of and can be compared favourably with other ground-breaking software houses like Ultimate Play the Game and Beyond. [citation needed] Fourteen of their games were awarded "Megagame" by Your Sinclair.[1]
Hewson was founded by Andrew Hewson in the early 1980s. He became interested in computers while working at the British Museum when their first machine arrived.[2] After learning to program, Andrew wrote the programming guide book Hints and Tips for the ZX80.[2] Following the publication, bedroom coders began to send Andrew the games they had programmed on cassette tape, giving Andrew the idea to publish the games. Hewson Consultants was born, and initially released games via mail order advertisements in computing magazines.[2] Andrew was also a columnist in Sinclair User magazine throughout the 1980s.[2]
Releases[edit]
- Space Intruders - 1981 - Space Invaders clone for the ZX81
- Pilot - 1982
- Nightflite - 1982
- Heathrow Air Traffic Control - 1983
- Nightflite II - 1983
- Knight Driver[3] - 1983
- Quest Adventure - 1983
- 3D Space-Wars - 1983
- 3D Seiddab Attack - 1984
- 3D Lunattack - 1984 - Reviewed in Crash issue 4 - 90%
- Avalon - 1984 - Reviewed in Crash issue 10 - 91%
- Technician Ted - 1984 - Reviewed in Crash issue 13 - 96%
- Dragontorc - 1985
- Astro Clone - 1985
- Paradroid - 1985
- Gribbly's Day Out - 1985
- Firelord - 1986
- Pyracurse - 1986
- Quazatron - 1986
- Southern Belle - 1986
- Uridium - 1986
- Technician Ted: The Megamix - 1986
- Cybernoid - 1987
- Exolon - 1987
- Zynaps - 1987
- Impossaball - 1987
- Nebulus - 1987
- Ranarama - 1987
- Evening Star - 1987
- Anarchy - 1987
- Netherworld - 1988
- Cybernoid II: The Revenge - 1988
- Marauder - 1988
- Zamzara - 1988
- Eliminator - 1988
- Battle Valley - 1988
- Steel - 1989
- Stormlord - 1989
- Astaroth - 1989
- Onslaught - 1989
- Deliverance - 1990
- Insects in Space - 1990
- Zarathrusta - 1991
Legacy[edit]
Andrew and other members of the Hewson management team went on to form 21st Century Entertainment[4] after Hewson shut down in the early 1990s, releasing several games such as Pinball Dreams,[4] Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions. Andrew was also the founder of ELSPA (European Leisure Software Publishers Association) which continues to be the European regulating body for the video games industry.
References[edit]
- ^ "Company Softography". Ysrnry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
- ^ a b c d One Life Left. Season 9. Episode 6. 2013-10-16. Resonance FM.
- ^ Clive Brooker
- ^ a b "Hints & Tips for Videogame Pioneers by Andrew Hewson & Rob Hewson « My Commodore 64". Mycommodore64.com. 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2016-08-07.