This February, several of my staff and I traveled to Tokyo to meet with Game Arts, developers of the legendary action game Thexder. Game Arts, a major Japanese software publisher, had developed a follow-up product to Thexder called Silpheed and we wanted to convince them that Sierra was the right publisher to introduce this product to the American audience.
Since the first copy of Silpheed arrived at Sierra's offices about four months ago, our Japanese computer has been the most popular computer in the building. We even investigated an event where someone broke into the programming offices at night just to play Silpheed. We know this because a soft drink was found spilled on the keyboard, but nothing in the building was missing!
Those who have played Thexder are familiar with the great music that Game Arts produces. Well, in Silpheed, they have outdone themselves. Each level (14 in total) of the game has its own original composition. An album of Silpheed music has been released in Japan, as well as a book consisting of sheet music from the game. Our favorite way to play Silpheed at Sierra is to wait until night, turn out the lights, hook up Bose stereo speakers, crank up the sound and turn it into a multimedia experience. There are some lawyers renting space in our building who thought we were crazy at first, but then they developed a Silpheed habit of their own.
The IBM version of Silpheed will be programmed by Gary Butts (pictured to the right) and the Apple IIGS version by John Rettig. Versions for other computers will not be coming until the first quarter of 1989.
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Issue 3: Spring 1988
- A New Breed of Viruses Attack Computers
- Apple II Graphics Book Available
- Correction to Sierra Product Catalog 1988
- Crossword Winners Announced - Spring 1988
- Dealer List: Spring 1988
- Entertainment: Mother Goose Crossword / How Good Are Your Eyes / Word Search Winners
- Hints On How To Get A Hint
- Issue 3 Credits
- I Wish I Got Paid For Playing Games All Day
- King's Quest III Ships for Apple!
- Latest Versions of Sierra Prorgrams - Spring 1988
- New Products for the IIGS!
- Order Form: Spring 1988
- Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel
- Sierra Announced New 3-D Animated Adventure! Manhunter: New York
- Sierra Cartoon Contest - Spring 1988
- Sierra Drawing Contest - Spring 1988
- Sierra Keeps Growing! Breaks Ground On New, Larger Building Site
- Sierra Mailbag - Spring 1988
- Sierra Newsletter Results
- Sierra's Contract With Disney Expires
- Sierra Signs Contract for Silpheed
- Sierra Visits Japan! Compares U.S. and Japanese Software Markets
- Smart Money 2.0 IBM Ships!
- Solutions to Early Sierra Game Puzzles Revealed!
- Special Offer on Sierra T-shirts!
- The New Sierra BBS
- The Sierra Explorer (Space Quest II Ad)
- Thexder Contest Winner!
- You Make 'Em, We Break 'Em - Quality Assurance At Sierra
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