Ariolasoft

Carl-Bertelsmann-Str 161, 4830 Gütersloh

In 1983 Ariola Records, the music division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann, set up a software company. This company was named, unsurprisingly, Ariolasoft and went to become the German distributor for Activision, Electronic Arts, and the Sega Master System. The company also published original games including Vermeer, Kaiser, and Ooze: Als die Geister mürbe wurden. Ariolasoft renamed itself United Software in 1990 and was taken over by the German division of MicroProse in 1993. Which is all very interesting but this blog is about the UK software industry and Britain hasn't been a part of Germany since Doggerland was submerged by the rising North Sea.

Durell

Castle Lodge, Castle Green, Taunton, TA1

DURELL SOFTWARE ARE STILL IN BUSINESS! This is almost unreasonably exciting. Sure, there's quite a long list of companies who are still going, Elite, System 3, and Rare spring to mind, but they're often either mining their own past for nostalgia or they've moved on and are essentially unrecognisable. Durell on the other hand are still going, still have a nameplate outside the same building they were in the 1980s, and are still making software. Admittedly it's financial services software which is pretty dull but it feels like there's much more of a direct line to the company's history than there is with, say, Ultimate Play The Game. Robert White, who gave an interview to CRASH in 1986 (February 1986 page 39) is still listed on the Durell website as Founder and Technical Director.