Mastertronic

This article is about the original Mastertronic. For the business of the same name in existence from 2004 to 2015, see Mastertronic Group.

Mastertronic
IndustryComputer game software
Founded1983
FoundersMartin Alper
Frank Herman
Terry Medway
Alan Sharam
FateMerged with Virgin Group in 1988, and acquired by Sega in 1991. Publishing operations renamed Virgin Interactive Entertainment

Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983.[1] Their first games were launched on April 2, 1984.[2] At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved by selling cassette-based software at £1.99. As well as supplying leading retailers such as Woolworth's and Toys "R" Us, Mastertronic sold software in outlets such as newsagents which had not been previously associated with the software market.

Their range of budget games were incredibly successful during the 1980s, with titles such as Kikstart, Action Biker, Finders Keepers, Chiller and Flash Gordon (released under the M.A.D. Label).

Later diversification included the setting up of US operations to source and distribute their software, as well as an unsuccessful arcade games division (Arcadia Systems). However, it was their decision to market the Master System in the UK that ultimately proved most successful. It resulted in the Master System selling much better than its rival, the NES than in many other territories[3] and was cited by some as Virgin Group's reason for investing in the company (and later buying it outright).

As the budget software market declined, the Sega hardware distribution became the dominant part of the business, and the company was eventually merged into Sega itself. Although the original company no longer exists, the rights to the name were acquired by another company, Mastertronic Group, formed in 2006 as a result of a merger of The Producers and Sold Out Sales & Marketing with Frank Herman, one of the founders of the original company, as its chairman.[4]

  1. ^ "Mastertronic History". Archived from the original on 30 August 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Software houses merger". Home Computing Weekly. No. 71. Argus Specialist Publications. 17 July 1984. p. 5. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Retro Sales Age Thread".
  4. ^ "Games Industry Mourns Frank Herman". MCV UK. 1 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018. Frank Herman founded Mastertronic with Martin Alper and Alan Sharam in 1983. [..He..] later joined 'new Mastertonic' as chairman - the company having been formed from the merger of [Sold Out, Just Flight, and The Producers].