Micro Power


Micro Power was a British company established in the early 1980s by former accountant Bob Simpson. The company was best known as a video game publisher, originally under the name Program Power. It also sold many types of computer hardware and software through its Leeds 'showroom' or via mail order.

Games

From 1980 to 1987 the company published a number of video games and other software for various home computers. The earliest programs were released for the Acorn Atom but Micro Power is best remembered for its games for that machine's successor, Acorn's BBC Micro. A large selection of games that could be were ported to the Acorn Electron after its release in 1983 and most new games were now released for these 2 machines in 1984. A few were also ported to other 8-bit platforms including Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum but these never achieved the success of the Acorn originals.
Most of these were basic single screen games, typically arcade clones. While mostly well received and popular at the time, by the mid 1980s, video games were becoming increasingly complex. While simple early arcade-style games still sold well, it was usually at a budget price. Micro Power themselves released Micro Power Magic compilations in 1986, each featuring ten of their games that had previously sold at up to £7.95 each, for £7.95.
From 1985 onwards, Micro Power began to produce a few advanced games as opposed to a high quantity of simpler games. The first of these was the arcade adventure Castle Quest by Tony Sothcott, billed as "Probably the most challenging game ever devised for the BBC Micro". It was never converted for the Electron, because it used near full-screen scrolling in an 8-colour mode which was not possible on the more limited machine. This game was successful and a sequel was started which became Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror, a huge arcade adventure that required its own ROM chip to run on the BBC Micro. Another later release was puzzle/platform game Imogen by Michael St. Aubyn which was noted for its witty, original puzzles and cute high-resolution monochrome graphics.
These games took more money and time to produce and with significantly fewer releases per year, contributed to the downfall of the company. The Doctor Who game in particular is often cited as crippling the company with a number of problems such as the added cost of producing the ROM chips for the BBC version and the unreleased ZX Spectrum version which would have required an add-on cartridge.
There were also two 32-bit games, Chess 3D and Zelanites the Onslaught for the Acorn Archimedes, released under the Micro Power name in 1991. It is unknown how these releases relate to the original company as there hadn't been a Micro Power release for four years.
Notable earlier games include:

As well as games, Micro Power released a number of educational programs as well as utility software such as the Draw art package, Basic Extensions and Constellation astronomy program.

Hardware

Micro Power also released hardware such as the 'Micro Power Add-On' for the ZX Spectrum which added 2 joystick ports and 3-channel sound capability.

Leeds Store

Micro Power had a store on the corner of North Street and Meanwood Road in Leeds. They primarily sold Acorn hardware and software. Also they sold software for other computers including C64, ZX Spectrum, and QL. In the 1990s Micro Power downsized and moved further up Meanwood Road to reduce outgoings.
There is still the original Micro Power sign at the back of their first premises.