Sirius Software was a publisher of Apple II, Commodore 64 and Atari computer games in the early 1980s. The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit Home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992

Founding and early history

The company was founded in the early 1980s by Jerry Jewell, and gained attention for its dramatically quick rise to prominence and its equally quick collapse in 1984 after 20th Century Fox (Fox Video Games) failed to pay over $18 Million in owed royalties ^[1]. Sirius Software designed and marketed more than 160 computer video games, software products and hardware devices worldwide. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Jewell was profiled by author Steven Levy in his book Hackers. Steven Levy (born 1951 is an American Journalist who has written several books on computers technology Cryptography, the Internet cybersecurity Hackers Heroes of the Computer Revolution (ISBN 0-385-19195-2 is a Book by Steven Levy about the hacker culture.

Sirius' quick rise was due in part to a chain of hits by programmer Nasir Gebelli. Nasir Gebelli (also Nasser Gebelli, born in 1957 is an Iranian-American Programmer and Video Gebelli's breakthrough game was Gorgon, which brought the gameplay of the arcade's Defender to the Apple II. His creativity and Jewell's sales and marketing skills combined to create in a single year a multi-million dollar enterprise operating out of a rented apartment.

Sirius also published a line of graphical adventure games in an attempt to compete with Sierra On-Line, but without much success. Sierra Entertainment Inc is a Worldwide American Video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Most of the company's games were launched on the Apple II line of computers, but they also released some titles for other platforms, notably the Atari 400/800 machines and Commodore 64. The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit Home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992

Jerry Jewell

Jewell currently runs a children's non-profit organization in Rancho Cordova, California that teaches teens teamwork and leadership skills through challenging performing arts projects. Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, USA that incorporated in 2003 The Jewell Performing Arts Center, Inc. produces Scary U, the nation's only haunted house school. Scary U won the coveted "Golden Bucky" award in 2004 for the best professional haunted house in the country. Jewell also designs and manufactures professional animatronics for the Halloween industry. He has one daughter, Kathryn.

The Smithsonian Museum produced a "living history" video of Jewell's role in the early personal computer industry ^[2]. The Smithsonian Institution (smɪθsoʊnɪən is an educational and research institute and associated Museum complex administered and funded by the Government of

Games

The title screen from Sirius Software's Sneakers.

Arcade-style Games

• Both Barrels (1980)
• Bandits
• Star Cruiser (1980)
• Phantoms Five (1980)
• Autobahn (1981)
• Cyber Strike (1981)
• Gorgon (1981)
• Outpost (1981)
• Pulsar II (1981)
• Sneakers (1981)
• Space Eggs (1981)
• Beany Bopper (1982)
• Deadly Duck (1982)
• Fantastic Voyage (1982)
• Fast Eddie (1982)
• Turmoil (1982)
• Type Attack (1982)
• Worm War I (1982)
• Bandits (1983)
• Flash Gordon (1983)
• Plasmania (1983)
• The Earth Dies Screaming (1983)
• Repton (1983)
• SpaceMaster X-7 (1983)

Adventure Games

• Blade of Blackpoole (1982)
• Critical Mass (1982)
• Escape from Rungistan (1982)
• Kabul Spy (1982)
• Gruds in Space (1983)

Strategy Games

• Call to Arms (1982)

Notes