software then I don't care if they don't buy mine.
When I'm designing software I really design it for the people who know my style; if the others don't want to buy it then too bad.
AW: There are plenty of new computer owners out there, and the new owners from the Christmas period who have never bought a game before. So What do they do? They go into Boots. And what do Boots buy? The charts. There's lots of good software that never charts.
JM: The thing is, if they ever get deeply enough into computers then they'll get to know who's good and who's bad anyway.
MS: They won't find out themselves, they'll find out basically by listening to other people and checking charts.
JM: If somebody takes notice of charts then they're probably not suitable to play my games.
AW: I think you're a little too sharp. They would enjoy your games given the chance, and that's a shame. That's people you ought to reach.		 Jeff Minter - "Charts are to be ignored and despised."
Andy Walker - "It's very, very easy for people who don't know what they're buying to buy the top 20."

Big K - Game - Charts
Big K magazine Charts for the month of March 1984.		 intended to succeed and they're trying to soften us up for MSX2?

MS: It's a poor attempt to muscle in on the market. I can't see it failing miserably because they must have already sold enough now to justify its development costs - which were practically nil.
AW: I don't think they've sold enough to justify its existence. They came along in the summer with huge great muscle and were planning to take ten percent of the UK market by Christmas. (Murmurs of 'No Way').
AW: I don't believe it's a grand scheme for MSX2. People who subscribe to that honestly believe MSX will fail, and this age-old belief that the Japanese cannot fail is false. They have failed in the UK, and are doing it again.
TC: I think it's like videos. The video came out and loads of companies went to develop it and they got themselves a name - and that's what they're trying to do with computers.
JM: What do I do? I'm not going to pay £5000 to get it in the charts or whatever. The distributors look, they say, "Oh well, you've got eight full page adverts in this magazine. Right so we'll buy that instead of buying somebody else's games."
AW: For example, Boots now will say, "Are we going to take your new game or not? Well, what's your add spend for this game?"
JM: That's it. That's all they care about.		 MS: Distributors are shifting people around to their own advantage.

In what way?

MS: They're only interested in their own profits and the product they're selling. So there's an awful lot of really bad programs on sale.

So what's the answer?
(Ironic laughter)

MS: The way it worked for years		 was that the programmers duplicated and sold direct to the public. That's when it was fun and nobody got screwed.

Let's diversify a little and discuss the new micros and see how you view them. What about the MSX? Matthew?

MS: It would have been great five years ago.

Is there any substance to the theory that MSX1 is not 		OVERPRICED

MSX

JM: Basically MSX is overpriced. It's quite a flexible system but it's not up to today's standard, really. If it was down to £150 it would be a good entry level system. The price is not realistic.

How many people here are planning to target MSX? And, if so, are you doing it defensively or in the firm belief it will succeed?
TC: They're doing that with us.
JM: I hate distributors. They're evil, EVIL!
AW: Their days are numbered, because for the first time ever everybody is coming to feel the same - they're evil - and we're not the only businesses to suffer. Distributors are now deciding what will sell. If it's not on their shelves it doesn't stand a chance.
MS: Well, with retrospect, distributors should be taking over that part.
AW: It's not right, though, is it?
MS: It's right for the people using them.
JM: Is it right to book nine full-page adverts?
 Big K - Superstars - Andy Walker - Matthew Smith - Tony Takoushi - Jeff Minter
THE VENUE:
BIG K editorial Romp Room: after initial objections to Minter's Afghan coat, the meeting comes to order.		 MS: Yes we at Software Projects are releasing for MSX, but they will be conversions. We don't have plans to release new titles for the system.

Do you think there's any future in MSX2, which is said to be a 68000 chip and 128K basic RAM?

MS: There has to be an MSX2, but I don't really see which direction Microsoft will go when it comes down to the O/S.
AW: Why shouldn't it be that they plain just got it WRONG?

We have heard that MSX machines are not as compatible as they are said to be?