Broderbund

Broderbund Software
IndustrySoftware
Video games
Founded1980; 44 years ago (1980)
San Rafael, California, US
Founder
Defunct1998
FateAcquired by SoftKey and dissolved.
Education brands went under The Learning Company brand.
Productivity, reference and entertainment brands given to Mindscape division.
SuccessorSoftKey
Headquarters
Key people
Revenue172,000,000 ±1000000 United States dollar (1995) Edit this on Wikidata
ParentThe Learning Company Edit this on Wikidata
Websitebroderbund.com

Broderbund Software, Inc. (stylized as Brøderbund) was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits Choplifter, Lode Runner, Karateka, and Prince of Persia (all of which originated on the Apple II), as well as The Print Shop—originally for printing signs and banners on dot matrix printers—and the Myst and Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, and moved to San Rafael, California, then later to Novato, California.[1] Broderbund was purchased by SoftKey in 1998.

Many of Broderbund's software titles, such as The Print Shop, PrintMaster, and Mavis Beacon, are still published under the name "Brøderbund". Games released by the revived Broderbund are distributed by Encore, Inc. Brøderbund is now the brand name for Riverdeep's graphic design, productivity, and edutainment titles such as The Print Shop, Carmen Sandiego, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, the Living Books series, and Reader Rabbit titles, in addition to publishing software for other companies, notably Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm.

The company would often release school editions of their games, which contained extra features to allow teachers to use the software to facilitate students' learning.[2]

  1. ^ "About Brøderbund." Brøderbund. April 12, 1997. Retrieved on June 3, 2011. "Brøderbund Software, Inc. 500 Redwood Blvd. Novato, California 94948"
  2. ^ "What's in a School Edition?". Archived from the original on February 19, 1997. Retrieved March 5, 2017.