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Epyx, Inc. was a notable computer game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and 1980s' game console and home computer arena. The company was founded under the name Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman.
History
Epyx (then Automated Simulations) was founded in 1978 as a vehicle for publishing Freeman and Connelley's first game in BASIC, Starfleet Orion for the Commodore PET. Their company quickly started developing games for other popular home computers of the era, such as the Apple II and TRS-80 and Atari home computers. Among Epyx' best known titles are the Summer Games and Winter Games series, the Temple of Apshai series, Jumpman, and the "Computer Activity Toys" licenses of Hot Wheels, GI Joe and Barbie.
For the bestselling Commodore 64 home computer, Epyx made the FastLoad cartridge which enabled a fivefold speedup of disk accesses through Commodore's very slow 'serial IEEE-488' interface. Additionally, the FastLoad featured convenient disk access commands (for e.g. directory listings and program loads/saves), and a 'disk editor' – a hacking tool allowing for direct low-level access to floppy disks (to be used at one's own risk!). Epyx also developed the Lynx handheld games console, the rights of which were later purchased by Atari.
In 1989, Epyx filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to Stephen Landrum, a long-time programmer at Epyx, the company went bankrupt because "it never really understood why it was so successful in the first place, and then decided to branch out in many directions, all of which turned out to be failures."
External links
- MobyGames' entry on Epyx (http://www.mobygames.com/company/sheet/companyId,35/)
- "An Epyx Tale" (http://www.emuunlim.com/doteaters/play4sta3.htm) – An in-depth history of Epyx
- History of Epyx (http://www.geocities.com/conspiracyprime/e2_epyx.htm) – A brief history of the company
Epyx Ltd is a UK software company, specialising in Internet transaction processing. It has no connection with the games and console company.
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