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234:. However, publicizing the authors without employing them proved to weaken the company's negotiating position. This compounded on the changing economics of computer distribution which made California Pacific’s product less profitable. Lastly, Remmers suffered addiction which led to tensions between him and the authors, leaving the company bereft by the end of 1981.
198:. The publisher was known for its high quality packaging, though its games were distributed in sealed plastic bags rather than retail boxes. It used the label "Top of the Orchard Software" on many advertisements and disks. Much of the art was provided by Michael Pondsmith – future creator of the
146:(1979) for the Apple II. He discovered that the game had not been widely distributed so he created California Pacific Computer to act as a collector and publisher for Apple II programs. Over 20,000 units were sold and it was named the highest selling Apple II program by 1980.
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The company published several further games, the last few under the
Progame label. Remmers sought addiction treatment and changed businesses. He became a documentary filmmaker, and died in 2022.
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Remmers soon devised the concept of promoting the names of the software authors with his products. After meeting Bill Budge while seeking copy protection for the floppy disk version of
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magazine to identify the author under the pseudonym of Lord
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computer and was an early commercial outlet for several important game designers including
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The company was founded by Alvin Earl
Remmers (1942-2022), who had previously been in the
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to track SKUs. While traveling to computer stores in
California, he saw a copy of
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Knudsen, Richard (January 1981). "Innovative
Marketing Budges Retailers".
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California
Pacific kept the loyalty of collaborators through generous
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by Alvin
Remmers. Its software was published exclusively for the
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Al
Remmers and his wife celebrated the first anniversary of
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153:, they published three of his games in a collection titled
326:(April 1981) Created by Tom Luhrs. Clone of arcade title
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and it also served as the agent for early game companies
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developed the copy protection for its later products.
508:"Ultima ...the ultimate fantasy role-playing game".
482:. Vol. 1, no. 1. October 1980. p. 27.
182:for early microcomputer software. Its short-lived
601:Defunct video game companies of the United States
263:(October 1979) Created by M. Hata. Later renamed
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497:. Vol. 2, no. 3. May 1981. p. 10.
596:Defunct software companies of the United States
360:(1982) Created by Nakan. Clone of arcade title
350:(April 1981) Created by Richard Garriott and
616:Companies based in Solano County, California
641:Video game companies disestablished in 1986
419:. Vol. 1, no. 4. pp. 32–34.
631:Software companies disestablished in 1986
636:Video game companies established in 1979
611:Video game companies based in California
578:. Vol. 3. August 1983. p. 173.
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186:office distributed the operating system
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136:shirt business and started using early
626:Software companies established in 1979
606:Software companies based in California
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561:. Vol. 3. July 1983. p. 167.
436:. Vol. 1. April 1981. p. 13.
227:(1981), the first in the long-running
221:to programmers. In 1981, it published
544:. Vol. 3. May 1983. p. 127.
529:. Vol. 1. July 1982. p. 35.
514:. Vol. 1. April 1981. p. 2.
306:(October 1980) Created by Bill Budge.
290:(July 1980) Clone of the arcade game
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104:active from 1979 to 1986, founded in
651:1986 disestablishments in California
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430:"Super Invader Is Readers' Choice".
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284:(March 1980) Created by Bill Budge.
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382:(July 1983) Created by Greggy.
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270:Bill Budge's Trilogy of Games
169:(1980), he collaborated with
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314:(December 1980) Created by
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163:(1980). After discovering
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157:(1980) and later four in
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311:Akalabeth: World of Doom
281:Bill Budge's Space Album
206:, who later worked with
166:Akalabeth: World of Doom
160:Bill Budge's Space Album
56:March 3, 1986
372:(May 1983) Created by
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370:Brainteaser Boulevard
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452:The Davis Enterprise
448:"Alvin Earl Remmers"
454:. December 30, 2022
202:tabletop RPG – and
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540:"Marketalk News".
476:"The Top Thirty".
332:. Also includes a
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241:Software published
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621:Davis, California
122:Michael Pondsmith
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76:Headquarters
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495:Peelings II
180:distributor
31:Video games
590:Categories
387:References
358:Hungry Boy
352:Ken Arnold
323:Apple-oids
274:Bill Budge
118:Bill Budge
60:1986-03-03
458:March 21,
329:Asteroids
200:Cyberpunk
527:Softline
380:Lady Tut
335:Breakout
253:in 1981.
110:Apple II
98:software
27:Industry
575:Softalk
558:Softalk
542:Softalk
511:Softalk
479:Softalk
433:Softalk
417:Softalk
363:Pac-Man
340:Chipout
293:Head On
288:Head-On
184:Oakland
172:Softalk
134:tie-dye
128:History
71:Defunct
58: (
53:Defunct
45:Founder
37:Founded
347:Ultima
232:series
230:Ultima
224:Ultima
120:, and
460:2024
194:and
188:CP/M
100:and
68:Fate
40:1979
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468:^
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395:^
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62:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
