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Codemasters is one of the oldest British software houses. Founded in 1986 by Richard and David Darling (who worked previously for Mastertronic), Codemasters quickly established themselves in the growing ZX Spectrum market, mostly with action games that required the player to solve simple puzzles by combining different objects. One of the best examples of these games are the Dizzy series, which turned Dizzy into the un-official Spectrum mascot.
As the Spectrum market diminished, Codemasters quickly turned to the 8-bit and 16-bit console markets, where they had major success with the Micro Machines series and Pete Sampras Tennis (which featured the J-Cart, which allowed two extra controllers to be attached to the game cart without requiring EAs 4 way play or SEGAs four player adaptor).
Codemasters is notable for making the large majority of games published by the controversial Camerica company, which bypassed Nintendo's lock-out chip by breaking the 10NES "code" and produced unlicensed NES games. These NES games were known for being shiny gold and silver cartridges that were slightly different than normal NES cartridges in shape, though they still fit into the cartridge slot. Many Codemasters titles were also featured on Camerica's Aladdin Deck Enhancer.
In 1990 Codemasters developed a device called the Power Pak, later renamed the Game Genie. It was cheat cartridge for the NES, released in the US by Galoob and in Canada and the UK by Camerica. Codemasters would later develop a successful game based on Galoob's Micro Machines toy range.
Always taking the most from technology as it evolved, Codemasters never stopped releasing best-selling titles, such as the ground breaking TOCA Touring Car, Colin McRae Rally series and Operation Flashpoint.
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