Epyx (1984)

Epyx (1984)

While only a distant memory now, Epyx was once a powerhouse among game developers. Epyx first published for Atari computers and then the Commodore 64 when it came along. By 1984, the Commodore 64 was much more popular and Epyx did the bulk of their business on that platform. While shareware wasn't really popular yet, companies were already finding ways to let you try before you buy. This ad shows one such attempt by Epyx.

While you may not remember the Epyx name, you should remember some of the games, at least if you were playing games then. Included on this disk are Summer Games, Impossible Mission, Breakdance, The World's Greatest Baseball Games, Silicon Warrior, and PuzzlePanic. I never had this disk and it isn't clear to me whether these are playable or non-interactive demos. My guess is there is probably some of each. At any rate, a refundable $3.00 which included shipping isn't a bad deal to get to see and/or play these games before shelling out $20-$40 for something you might not end up liking. Epyx tended to make pretty good games though. Summer Games and Impossible Mission are my favorites from this batch.

Epyx later went on to play a large role in the development of the Atari Lynx but as we all know, that system didn't do so well in the long run and that was pretty much the end of Epyx.

The above ad is from the November 1984 issue of K-Power.