In the two previous articles in this series, we looked at games on individual formats and how well they sold, including many surprising numbers for systems such as the Commodore 16 and Plus/4. With Anthony Guter having originally written an article about the top selling games across all formats (i.e.: total sales) we thought we would need to take a deeper dive into that, and bring you what we would like to call the big hitters – the 20 best-selling budget releases from Mastertronic and its associated labels.
These will of course be primarily either because an original game was hugely popular and successful, or a re-release where a second generation of games players may have been able to rediscover a classic for a budget price. Just to clarify – we are only going for budget releases in this series, so any full-price Melbourne House (once purchased by Mastertronic) or later Virgin Mastertronic releases would not quality for this list. Huge thanks as ever goes to Anthony Guter, whose meticulous record keeping as former Financial Controller of Mastertronic made creating this article and interpreting the stats a lot easier along the way.
The Double Dragon Dissection
Before we start, it is interesting to note that in Anthony’s original article, Double Dragon is one of the big sellers. However, when being able to dissect those sales figures further, and based on the time of the game’s re-release on budget on the Mastertronic Plus label, it appears that the original sales for the first two years would be for the Melbourne House full price release. There is clear evidence too in that the re-release was not released or reviewed until early 1991, so even considering the last period of reporting, and if all those sales were the budget re-release, that would have amounted to around 128,000 copies across the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. That would not put it anywhere near the top twenty in this list, but that does mean consequently that the game sold very well at full price on both the 8-bit and 16-bit systems. We thought it worthy of mention and would explain why it will not be appearing in the charts below.
The Top Twenty
So, without further ado, here is what the top twenty looks like, considering all format sales for each budget release or re-release. You will note that a game would have most likely needed to be released for at least two of the three major 8-bit formats, normally the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC – and if all three, that helped considerably. Earlier releases too would have benefitted from Mastertronic’s loyalty to the Commodore 16 and Plus/4, where the reputation they had for putting out generally good games for that system made them one of the three main software companies for that system that supported the machine well – and so was a good sales and income generator.
One final point to note, as per all the other sales stats: the numbers are purely for numbers of copies of the games sold in the UK and exported to Europe. There were no figures for any releases in the USA, which is why for example the double-sided disk version of Speed King that features the Atari XL/XE version does not count anything towards the sales stats.
| Game | Format Info | Total |
| Formula 1 Simulator | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, MSX | 568,013 |
| Ghostbusters | Spec, C64, Ams, Atari | 449,835 |
| BMX Racers | Spec, C64, C16 | 345,784 |
| Finders Keepers | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, MSX | 331,132 |
| Vegas Jackpot | Spec, C64, Vic20, C16, Atari, BBC, Dragon | 306,957 |
| Speed King | C64, Ams, C16, MSX | 304,923 |
| Kikstart II | Spec, C64, Ams, Amiga | 293,941 |
| Kikstart | C64, C16, Atari, C128 | 291,491 |
| Chiller | Spec, C64, Ams, MSX | 280,234 |
| Kane | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, BBC | 262,829 |
| Action Biker | Spec, C64, Atari | 251,887 |
| One Man and His Droid | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, Atari | 212,722 |
| Molecule Man | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, Atari, MSX | 210,693 |
| Ninja | Spec, C64, Ams, Atari, PC, ST, Amiga | 209,751 |
| Feud | Spec, C64, Ams, Atari, MSX, PC, Amiga | 204,786 |
| Storm | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, Atari, MSX, PC | 197,782 |
| 180 | Spec, C64, Ams, Atari, MSX | 196,155 |
| Way of the Exploding Fist | Spec, C64, Ams, C16, BBC | 182,407 |
| Spectipede | Spec, C64, C16, BBC, Electron | 178,115 |
| Milk Race | Spec, C64, Ams, Atari, MSX | 174,110 |
What is notable is that:
- All twenty games in the top twenty list were released for the Commodore 64
- Eighteen of the twenty were released for the ZX Spectrum
- Fifteen of the twenty were released for the Amstrad CPC
- Twelve of the twenty were released for the Commodore 16 and Plus/4
- Eleven of the twenty were released for the Atari XL/XE
Other formats do get a look in too with some of the later releases having Atari ST, Amiga, and PC versions. This no doubt for example helped the likes of Storm, Ninja and Feud a little. Also, only two of this list were re-releases on the Ricochet label: Ghostbusters and Way of the Exploding Fist, both of which were considered classics of their era on first release.
So, we will now look at the twenty games, in order, and break down the sales figures with formats so you can see just how much each one contributed to that overall total. If we have reviewed the game there will be a link for the format selected:
1. Formula 1 Simulator (568,013)
Commodore 16 and Plus/4 – 173,498
ZX Spectrum – 138,161
Amstrad CPC – 98,436
Commodore 64 – 96,696
MSX – 61,222
This game was a tale of two different games entirely: the first was a re-release of a ZX Spectrum game originally by Spirit Software, based on a more 3D cockpit view driving perspective, and came with a rather unique (and some would say useless) attempt at a peripheral. That version was converted to the Amstrad CPC and MSX, whilst in the meantime Shaun Southern of Mr Chip Software came up with entirely a different game for the Commodore machines: based more on the likes of Pole Position where you needed to complete a lap before the time runs out. Indeed, on the Commodore 16 and Plus/4, that sales figure is the highest for a game on any format, and to this day I have counted around seven or eight different cassette label variations alone, and own four of them. And with the likes of Nigel Mansell breaking through in 1985 and more so in 1986 to be a series Formula 1 challenger, when you could watch it on proper telly, the timing of releasing such a game for a budget price no doubt would have hit home.
2. Ghostbusters (449,835)
ZX Spectrum – 168,626
Commodore 64 – 147,108
Amstrad CPC – 97,188
Atari XL/XE – 36,913
Without doubt when Activision released this licenced game back in 1984, off the success of the film, being able to drive around and locate the ghosts, complete with some versions having synthesized speech and an excellent rendition of the theme tune along the way (and admit it, on the C64 and Atari versions we all pressed the space bar to get the speech in time with the tune didn’t we?) just made it such a worthwhile package. The game played solidly enough too, from choosing the right equipment for the vehicle, to the fact you can get slimed for missing the ghost, and the final battle at Zuul late in the game is nerve shredding at times. As it was one of the earliest playable and enjoyable film tie-ins, being able to get this on re-release was a steal, and was purchased well over several years, a spike more so when the second film was released.
3. BMX Racers (345,784)
Commodore 64 (version 1 and version 2) – 127,215
Commodore 16 and Plus/4 – 120,227
ZX Spectrum – 98,342
Anything that was related to the initial craze of riding a BMX bike was always going to sell well in the 1980s, and a game based on said bike was a logical step. There are in fact two versions for the Commodore 64, the first bring one with the oil and the grannies with their walking sticks, and the second more of an endless runner that was only slightly better, but Games Creator specials that were, sadly, a cash cow. Tony Kelly of Mr Chip Software handled the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 conversion, and it suffers from being a little too difficult, even if the colours are much nicer and you need to collect both fuel and flags along the way. He would go on to make much better games for the system. On the ZX Spectrum, it is the C64’s version 1, but plays considerably better overall and small tweaks to the playability help. It is not earth shattering by any means, but a marked improvement.
4. Finders Keepers (331,132)
ZX Spectrum – 117,209
Commodore 64 – 69,563
Amstrad CPC – 60,007
Commodore 16 and Plus/4 – 46,300
MSX – 38,053
The first game in the Magic Knight series, and certainly one which set the tone. Depending on the version, you either needed to escape the castle and get past the Big Puss in Boots, get enough money to trade, and locate the special present for the Princess’ birthday, or even blow up the castle of Spriteland should you wish to do so. It is notable that the Commodore 64 conversion has different solutions to some of the puzzles than others, and because of cramming the game into 16K, the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 version just has you attempting to escape the castle. Nonetheless, the look and feel and playability was strong on all versions, whether this be the platform jumping, the need to trade items to do well, and work out a suitable route to solve the puzzles and mazes along the way, no doubt made it a big hit. The David Dunn music on the Commodore 64 version is also very catchy and I guarantee you will hum that for hours after play.
5. Vegas Jackpot (306,957)
Commodore 16 and Plus/4 – 100,651
Commodore 64 – 74,044
Commodore Vic-20 – 48,115
Atari XL/XE – 33,160
ZX Spectrum – 31,632
BBC / Electron – 17,022
Dragon 32/64 – 2,333
One of two games on this list to sell across seven different formats, it was a case of different fruit machine games bearing the same name. The Vic-20 version by Shaun Southern was called Jackpot and released by Mr Chip Software first before re-release, same as the Commodore 64 version called Jackpot 64. Shaun handled the colourful Commodore 16 and Plus/4 conversion, and the Atari XL/XE version is also based on the Mr Chip Commodore 64 version too. The BBC version is a hybrid of the Vic-20 and C64 versions, similar too on the Dragon, albeit that does suffer some slowdowns. The one to avoid here is the ZX Spectrum, unless you happen to like walking through treacle. Nonetheless, having access to play a virtual fruit machine game and not lose any more real money did have appeal. This is the only appearance here for a Vic-20 and Dragon version of a game in the total sales charts, with the Commodore 16 and Plus/4 version selling over 43 times what the game sold on the Dragon.
continues…
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