Thanks to anyone for their comments so far and glad you're enjoying it. Going into the first knock-on effect here as I realise this TL will go back and forth a fair but as we see the various effects the POD will have. Hope you enjoy this one and let me know if there's anything I can do to improve in terms of plausibility as I'm not 100% sure for some events.
Part Four: De-coring The Apple:
“It started when Stephen was on his trip to the UK. He had a lot of work to do but hearing about John Denver being on this British show perked his interest. He did a bit of research, the science fiction thing interesting the both of us, and he took the time to make a visit. It really went down well, was even given copies of the old episodes he brought back here to watch, showed a few to me. He also got a present from the producer of the show, Turner. A copy of a game they were releasing based off Doctor Who for the Apple II. Steven brought it back over here and booted it up and we actually enjoyed ourselves with it after watching one of those serials of the show. Looking back, that's when my interest started in how video games could convey a story. It was the birth of Lucas Arts, Ultima followed some time afterwards and my long time involvement with the medium began.”
- Extract from an interview with George Lucas, 1999
Doctor Who: Adventure Through Time. Released for various consoles and home computers, most notably on the Apple II Europlus, Adventure Through Time was a text based adventure game based off the seventeenth series when John Denver was in the role of the Doctor. Telling the story of the Doctor having to stop the Cybermen from attacking Human progress throughout its history, Adventure Through Time was notable for its writing style, being penned in large part by Douglas Adams as his last act before leaving the show. With a strong narrative and well thought out puzzles that verged from thoughtful to near-maddening, the game was a success and was the first of several such text based adventures, although none of them matched its popularity.
- Extract from GamesMaster article detailing the history of Doctor Who video games, 1996
Having been introduced to Apple products through its Europlus computer, George Lucas sent a letter expressing his admiration for the console and Apple's work. Steve Jobs took notice of this, using it as publicity for Apple itself as his ambitions once more took hold. The thought of branching out from the home computer market into consoles was taking place, in order to expand into further markets Jobs looked to Atari as potential competitor. With the publicity from letter, as well as a new ad campaign to boost it, the board reluctantly went along with Jobs' decisions, the feeling that he trying to take control of all projects started to sink in and would lead to consequences further down the line.
- Extract from Apple, The Inside History, 2002
“Merchandising was something that George was happy to teach me about as E.T. was being made. He had a keen mind for that, almost groundbreaking in how he applied it to his own films. When it came to his advice, he helped me look at the video game Atari were working on and realised what was going wrong. I spoke to Howard Warshaw, who was heading the project and found out they were looking to rush it out far too soon. I let the matter of gameplay drop, as Warshaw managed to convince me that unique gameplay would help the game stand out more. But I remained insistent that the game itself get more time, even if it meant missing out on the Christmas release period. With so much being put into the game, but without it going through the proper channels, I was worried about it failing and reflecting badly on the film itself. Development was delayed while it was tested, although because of a leak, this was soon found out to retail outlets who cut down on their orders. I suppose this also helped in some ways as the numbers they were pushing for production seemed overly optimistic.”
- Extract from an interview with Steven Spielberg, 1998
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1983), a video game adaptation of the 1982 film of the same name. After two months of delays as it was play tested, the game was finally released in February of 1983. The delay had caused a dip in confidence over the ability of the game to sell, as well as the delay taking away some of the excitement from it. Combined with the Christmas period also passing, projected sales of the games fell considerably to 700,000 units being ordered by retailers. When finally released though, the game proceeded to exceed these expectations, selling close to a million copies throughout 1983. Gameplay was well received as it worked as a puzzle with E.T. trying to assemble a phone while avoiding government agents, the puzzle elements added in due to suggestions from some test players. Although regarded as a success, the initial hopes of the game being a smash hit went unfulfilled, the respectable success was at least satisfying in a business sense.
- Extract from An Encyclopedia of Video Games, 2001
1983-1985 were regarded as the 'slump years' for many within the video game industry. A glut had been reached in the market with a plateau being reached in terms of sales and new ideas. Atari remained on top with the Atari 2600 being the giant of the era. The failure of their port of Pac-Man had a damaging impact, combined with an excessof consoles and poor titles that made many question how long the industry could handle in its stagnation. Although not an actual danger to gaming in general, the period was regarded as a downtime before Apple came onto the market in early 1985 with its own console computer.
- Extract from A History of Video Games, 2000
The state of the video game industry in early 1983 was something that Steve Jobs took note of. The weakness of the current competitors made him realise that something new could burst onto the scene and sweep away any competitors. Getting Apple's engineers to work on a new project, one that could branch Apple out into a new market. Job's ambitions regarding gaming had been kindled and he was looking to see them realised. With Steve Wonziak in control of the project, it progressed for a year before producing a result both Wonziak and Apple could be happy with. But by the time it was released, Jobs had left the company after his radical ideas for Apples products and abrasive managing style alienated him from many on the board of directors. It was felt that the company was taking too many risks, with Jobs being the main instigator of them. The final straw was Jobs planning a highly expensive advertisement campaign for the Macintosh 128k that many were sceptical over and felt Jobs was risking the well being of the company. Late 1983 saw Jobs enter a power struggle with the then CEO of Apple, John Sculley, over which direction Apple would go, resulting in the board of directors siding with Sculley and forcing Jobs to leave the company in January, 1984. In the aftermath, it was decided for project GAME Jobs had headed to see their release after resources had been put into them, wanting to see some money returned on the investment.
- Extract from Apple, The Inside History, 2002
The Apple GAME: Released in March, 1984, the GAME was Apple's first foray into video game consoles and would go onto be an unexpected success for the company. The console was developed by Apple engineers, working in tandem with newly hired ones to help design something new. Headed by Steve Wonziak, the project was thought to be a waste by several in Apple's board of directors before the release and success of the console became apparent. In many ways, it was similar to Nintendo's Famicom in terms of technical specification although it was released with a joystick similar to many arcade ports as opposed to the controllers. With eight-bit graphics that supported over fifty colours and able to support up to five sound channels, the GAME was advanced compared to most of its initial competitors. John Sculley was one of the few Apple directors left who wanted to see the project through, sensing that Jobs had been correct in its ideas, but not the scope. With a limited release, the Apple GAME soon sold out as word of mouth passed on the quality of the console and its launch titles. Unlike Atari, Apple was determined to keep the games on its console under the company's control and not allow a glut of units that were of questionable reliability.
- Extract from An Encyclopedia of Video Games, 2001
Apple Baseball League – US Games
Apple Football – US Games
Star Chasers – Games by Apollo
Empire IV: Rise of Nations – Edu-Ware
Escape From Alcatraz – Edu-Ware
Space Traveller – Edu-Ware
Rupan III: Theft in Mamo – Gaming by Apple
- A selection of titles either released with the Apple GAME, or released in the months afterwards and contributed to its success
“We honestly didn't expect the success of the GAME really. A lot of the board were highly sceptical of going into console but production for a limited line had already started. I managed to get people behind the project enough to set up a limited release. We put money in for advertising, hoping to at least break even when we got the consoles out and then let it fade away if there was no interest. The sudden popularity of the GAME was something that caught us off guard. We underestimated how much the console market had been craving something new as the success of the GAME was beyond our expectations as the orders from retailers shot through the roof. After some long, late night meetings, a company strategy was decided upon as we realised the full potential before us.”
- Extract from interview with John Sulley, 2008
Despite the growing success of the Apple GAME in 1984, Wonziak decided to leave Apple itself, unhappy with being placed into positions that had mind more in a position of managing as opposed to his first love, engineering. Resigning from Apple after being pegged for another managerial position, Wonziak was contacted by Steve Jobs in quick order. Promising Wonziak that he'd only ever do the engineer work he loved, Jobs convinced his old colleague to join his new company and project. Funding it by the Apple shares he sold, as well as his own fortune, Jobs was determined to bring about the competitor to the home computer market he had intended Apple to be.
- Extract from NeXT, The Silent Revolution, 1997
By 1985, Apple was starting to suffer in sales for its home computers. The Macintosh 128k, while a success, was a minor one that managed to make decent sales, but growth was slow. In contrast, the Apple GAME was going from strength to strength as the home console market was invigorated after the dual boost from both the GAME and release of the Famicom a year afterwards. With Apple itself keeping a strong hold on the games that could be released on its console, the GAME received a reputation for high quality units which could be found on it. Seeing that the console market offered a chance for profit after all, Apple founded an entire division of its company solely devoted to to consoles and games themselves, looking to further profit from the sleeper hit that was the GAME.
- Extract from A History of Video Games, 2000
“And if you look at the notes in front of you, we can see that Nintendo are looking to really get into the North American market. Unless Atari manage to rally in some manner, Nintendo will prove to be the strongest force in the gaming market for the foreseeable future.”
“What about other competitors from Japan? Could ones like this... Sega, be able to break through?”
“Oh, we're not worried about Sega.”
- Alleged quote from a meeting between heads of Apple's gaming division and the board of directors, 1985, possibly too amusing in hindsight to be true.
