When did you realise it was all over for the Speccy? (I mean, commercially)

[PeteProdge]

For many of us, the ZX Spectrum was their first home computer. Home computing pretty much became affordable to households in the early eighties.

I came late to the party, getting a 128K +2 in 1987, but things were definitely thriving back then. Sure, there had already been some 8-bit casualties like the Acorn Electron and BBC pretty much having nothing new games-wise on the shop shelves by then. The holy trinity of Speccy/Commodore 64/Amstrad CPC reigned supreme in the playgrounds back then, and you'd be aware of the 'second division' computers like the MSX and Atari 8-bits that occasionally would have a portion of wares visible by rows and rows of yellow (Speccy), red (C64) and orange (Amstrad) indicated games.

Sure, the vitriol and scorn from 1980s car jokes against Skodas and Ladas were aimed at past 'dinosaurs' like the VIC 20 and the ZX81 (thanks, Red Dwarf), but the Speccy was so hugely popular, that I naively assumed it would just go on forever. I genuinely thought there'd be a +4 at some point, maybe giving us 256K and perhaps the +3's disk drive AND the +2 Datacorder would be on (wow, making it just as wide as an Amstrad CPC!) The Speccy would just regenerate, with better and better models (a la Playstation/X Box).

The 16-bit threat of the Atari ST and Amiga didn't really seem that heavy back then, 'cos they cost, like, ten million quid. Nobody would buy those things. Consoles? Hugely expensive for a cartridge game and they weren't all that, they felt like a tape-free version of a Commodore 64.

But by around 1989 or 1990, even I sensed things weren't well. The Silica Shop adverts really showcased the visuals of the Atari ST and Amigas and the price point was getting affordable. I was at one of the annual computer game shows at Earls Court and Ocean's huge video wall was showcasing Amiga games. Barely anything 8-bit got a look in, that was the lead platform and you'd see it reflected elsewhere. Speccy and Amstrad users were relegated and the C64 presence was just a little bit more visible. That's the point where I realised the Speccy was on its way out.

Sure, the SAM Coupe gave a little hope, it might hold up its own against the 16-bits and could look a bit like their graphics, er, if you squinted. Sadly, not enough compelling software and a lack of 128K support. Oh and then the Mega Drive came along, absolute game-changer, which felt practically like the coin-ops of that time. Plus, Sonic The Hedgehog being a pack-in game in 1990! Yeah, Sonic's not actually that good a game, but the way it pelted a playing area around your screen at 500mph, that was a middle finger not just to Nintendo's plumber, but was just as impressive as a 16-bit tech demo and you could play it! Game over for the 8-bits, we're stuffed by a blue porcupine.

But I did enjoy clinging onto the bitter end. YS had the humour for me, the Spectrum games library was immensely quirky and had a strong 'British' feel that wasn't that present on 16-bit computers. Oh and the cost of games being as little as two or three quid, that's the compelling factor. Did you buy a crap game for £1.99? Of course you did. We all did. Far better to 'lose' two quid on a poor game than spend upwards of £20 on a duff box of disks or around £30-50 on a dismal cartridge.

When did you sense things were going badly for the Speccy?

[Vampyre]

For me it would be late 1988 when I got an ST. I was still using the Speccy - R-Type and Op Wolf around Xmas 1988 I definitely purchased and played a lot of. But I can time it almost to the month with the last Crash I ever purchased (apart from a one-off late 1989) - Jan 1989 (Batman cover). The 16-bit games by then were really taking off and some innovative stuff was being released (the masterpiece that is Dungeon Master for example), so I more-or-less completely switched at that point.

I did have one last hurrah for a few months in 1989 as there were some stone-cold classic Speccy games released - Carrier Command for one and the unbelievable conversion of Chase HQ. But Chase HQ marks the end of my Speccy career really, until about 1994 when I found emulation on PC.

Edit: D'oh - you did say "commercially", not personally. I think it was when the re-releases/budget titles per month were outstripping the full-price games - mid 1991-ish. It signalled the death-knell that there wasn't any investment for new stuff and they were just wringing out as much cash as they possibly could before the inevitable demise.

[stupidget]

When Crash became a pamphlet

[PeteProdge]

When Crash became a pamphlet

Pagination totals for Crash from 1989 onwards...

116 January 1989
100 February 1989
100 March 1989
92 April 1989
92 May 1989
36 June 1989
52 July 1989
52 August 1989
52 September 1989
52 October 1989
52 November 1989
76 December 1989
68 January 1990
52 February 1990
52 March 1990
52 April 1990
52 May 1990
52 June 1990
52 July 1990
52 August 1990
52 September 1990
52 October 1990
60 November 1990
76 December 1990
84 January 1991
68 February 1991
60 March 1991
52 April 1991
52 May 1991
52 June 1991
52 July 1991
68 August 1991
68 September 1991
68 October 1991
- November 1991
68 December 1991
68 January 1992
68 February 1992
68 March 1992
84 April 1992

[1024MAK]

I think the down hill slope started around 1988, but only slowly at first. Why then? Well some existing users were moving to 16/32 machines, but there were still plenty of new comers. Some developers were now working and putting effort into software for the 16/32 machines. But the 8 bit market was still strong.

Amstrad did boost the market and extend the commercial life with their versions of the Spectrum. Hence the slow down was considerably slower than it otherwise would have been. But by the early 1990s, it was clear that death was approaching. Then Amstrad stopped production in 1992 and third party support collapsed.

I still think it’s remarkable that the humble Speccy managed ten years of commercial life. Far longer than many, many other home computers.

Mark

[Vampyre]

When those of us who were there at the time are long gone, I think computer historians may have a job on their hands convincing anyone that such an under-powered micro could be a viable platform for a decade. Particularly when far more powerful machines were available (16-bits I mean) were readily available pretty much early in the Speccy's life.

Both the ST and Amiga were available from mid-1985, showcasing vastly improved visuals and sound (well, the Amiga did) - albeit with cost being a huge factor. For the Speccy to remain relevant for that long, with those powerful computers available is, quite frankly, astonishing.

[TMD2003]

I may have said this before... but in case I didn't, the most honest answer is "I never noticed". What was commercially viable and what wasn't, what was popular amongst all he cool kids and what wasn't... such discussions just did not enter my world. It was only when the family PC arrived in late 1993 that I thought my personal Spectrum era might have been over, and it took until being packed off to boarding school in 1995 for that day to properly arrive, even though there weren't any games being released at all by then (at least, not in the UK).

And to this day, I have trouble believing that a Playstation 2 is considered "retrogaming". It was released in 2000! That's the future, right?

[Morkin]

When Crash became a pamphlet

Probably same here (just added a meme pic to this effect )

I think I had a bit of a break from commercial Speccy games where I lost a bit of enthusiasm around 1989 - 1990, other interests eclipsed Speccy stuff and I wasn't really playing anything new other than perhaps an odd game of Chaos/Rebelstar/Laser Squad. So I'm sorry to say the poor little machine got relegated to the 'where are they now' section...

I got an Amiga in the 90s which revitalised my gaming interest a bit, but it marked the end of actually making use of a ZX Spectrum. Until the turn of the century that is...

[WhatHoSnorkers]

Although 16-bit computers were available by the time I got my ZX Spectrum +2 (in 1987 I think), they were still a lot more expensive. That's why I stuck with the ZX Spectrum... and we went for a SEGA Master System instead of the Mega Drive.

Just like the Commodore 64 had certain advantages over our beloved rubber-keyed friend (SID chip, sprites, scrolling, disk drive)... it was also a HELL of a lot more expensive.

I think I realised in the early 90s. I was still enjoying it, but my mates at school were on Amigas or Atari STs. And had been for a while. My mate James' older brother Paul seemed to have BOTH!

[Swainy]

Like Pete, I got my first Speccy in 1987 (grey +2) although I had been playing Spectrum games since they first came out via a few different friends who had them.

1990 saw some great releases, Rainbow Islands was a highlight in my book.

Anyway it served me well but when my cousin got an Amiga for Christmas 1991 and I played Turrican 2 on that, I knew that I wanted to upgrade which so did in July of 92. I still stuck with the Spectrum though until the bitter end but less shops were stocking Speccy games and as the magazines thinned out and started campaigning to get certain titles released it was clear that the end was nigh in a commercial sense.

[MarkRJones1970]

I got an Atari ST, then an Amiga sometime in 1989. I still had a Spectrum set up on my desk but had no interest in new releases for the Spectrum at this time and just used to use it to play the 'classic' games I had saved on about 40 Microdrives. I never loaded anything from any more, instead concentrating on new releases on the Amiga (which I'd settled on after using both 16 bits).

[catmeows]

In 90s Proxima company was publishing games and also ZX Magazin. In summer 94 they announced they are not accepting new ZX games for distribution and they will hand over ZX magazine to another subject.
So that was the moment I realized it is game over for ZX.
Slovak Ultrasoft cancelled its Bit magazine by the end of 1994. Didaktik stopped production of its computers in 1995.

[patters]

When I bought Stunt Car Racer in a newsagent for £1.99. Or maybe at a push £2.99. It must have been 1991. I had played it on an Amiga and loved it. It did not disappoint. The gameplay was all there. I could not believe it.

[Jbizzel]

I believe I got a zx+2a in December 89. With the Operation Wolf light phaser action pack.

A year later I was still heavily into the spectrum.

By December 1991 I reckon I was getting a mega drive.

At this point I felt no love for the spectrum.

From 1992 onward I would have many computers, and I would find them all disappointing. Until about 20 years later when I realised the Spectrum was perfect, and I bought about 5 of them.

[Sham Mountebank]

When Crash became a pamphlet

Probably same here (just added a meme pic to this effect )

Ditto. I completely lost track of the Spectrum scene after getting an Atari ST l. It was a real shock to see Crash in the newsagent and realise how thin it had become. It was weirdly like bumping into an old friend who has been unwell.

The next time I saw Crash it had merged with Sinclair User which was the death knell as far as I was concerned.

[Lee Bee]

For me, it was 1991 when I realised home computers had entered into a whole new era. One day after school, my mate took me back to his house, got out his Amiga 500, placed a strange thing called a "mouse" in my hand, and proceeded to rapidly (and silently) load up games like these:

[Joefish]

I got a (briefly) used Atari ST with a single-sided drive for only £175 around Christmas of 1989. The guy bought it to try his hand at programming it in assembly and gave up. I got the money after ROSS recruited a load of us sixth-formers to work weekends on a production line making frozen shepherd's pies! After that, I didn't pay much attention to the Speccy, until I saw in a newsagent the 'Big Final Issue' of Your Sinclair. September 1993 would have been while I was still a student but doing a year out working right here in Farnborough. I didn't buy it, but I figured the Speccy was all done. The ST only had a few years to go after that too!

[AndyC]

I think it was the start of 1990, the Xmas '89 Batman pack for the Amiga had been a big seller and both it and the Atari ST had clearly been a gift many had for Xmas that year. The playground arguments stopped being C64 Vs Spectrum and were instead ST Vs Amiga (or Why are you still playing crappy 8-bit games?)

[SteveSmith]

The next time I saw Crash it had merged with Sinclair User which was the death knell as far as I was concerned.

This does remind me of the time I wandered into a newsagent at about '91-92 and saw that Sinclair User was still going (I'd sold my Speccy and had had an Amiga for a year or so) It was a sad moment to see what a shadow of its former self it had become from the mid-80's peak. (And then it gets me thinking about how that had been "only" 6 years previously, which these days is the blink of an eye).