Thorn EMI Computer Software

Thorn EMI Computer Software¹ (also known as Thorn EMI Video Programmes)² was a British video games software house set up in the early 1980s as part of the now-defunct British conglomerate Thorn EMI.

They released a number of games in the early 1980s using the same "Thorn EMI Video" label³ as their home video releases. Initially these were for the Atari 8-bit computers, and later for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and VIC-20 formats.

In 1984, the Thorn EMI name was dropped in favour of Creative Sparks as the company felt its "big corporate" associations were inappropriate for the video games market.⁴ A budget label, Sparklers, was created in early 1985 to publish titles at £2.50.⁵ Later in 1985, Creative Sparks, Sparklers and the distribution company, Creative Sparks Distribution (CSD) gained independence from Thorn EMI after a management buyout.⁶

In July 1987, six months after buying software company Mikro-Gen for a "substantial" sum,⁷ Creative Sparks went into receivership with debts estimated at up to £1.5million.⁸

The back catalogue of the company was acquired by Tynesoft, Alternative Software and Maynard International (Top Ten Software).⁹ The former management at CSD went on to form Software Publishing Associates, owners of the Crysys and Pirate Software labels.¹⁰

Many of the company's games listed below were issued on more than one label over the years. A typical example is River Rescue, first released under the Thorn EMI label,¹¹ then later sold (with updated artwork) under the Creative Sparks brand.¹² This was followed by a budget release on the company's own Sparklers label¹³ then- after Creative Sparks' demise- another budget reissue by Alternative Software.¹⁴

• Blockade Runner¹⁵
• Carnival Massacre³
• Cribbage and Dominoes
• Darts
• Gold Rush¹⁶
• Home Financial Management¹⁷
• Mutant Herd
• Orc Attack¹⁸
• River Rescue¹¹
• Road Racer¹⁹
• Submarine Commander²
• Snooker and Billiards
• The VIC Music Composer
• Tower of Evil
• Volcanic Planet²⁰
• 8-Ball and Tournament Pool

• Black Hawk
• Computer War²¹
• Countdown to Meltdown²²
• Danger Mouse In Double Trouble²³
• Danger Mouse In The Black Forest Chateau²⁴
• Delta Wing²⁵
• Snodgits²⁶
• Special Delivery²⁷
• Stagecoach²⁸
• Story House²⁹
• Tower of Evil
• Danger Mouse in Making Whoopee

• Bargain Basement³⁰
• Desert Burner³¹
• Doombase³²
• Quackshot³³
• St Crippens³⁴