| Sinclairvoyance |
FOR THOSE ROMANTICS who used to find the amateurism of much of the Sinclair market appealing, we have some bad news. There are signs that the dreams of being able to write a brilliant program and then make a fortune from it using the garage as business premises may soon be unfulfilled.
The latest signs of the major change are the entry of the record companies into the market. Virgin and K Tel have been the first to take the plunge but no doubt others will follow quickly, bringing with them all the razzmatazz and hype associated with the promotion of pop music.
An example of what to expect was the launch of Virgin Games at the Garden Club, the former roof garden at Derry and Toms. Loud music, large crowds, a Maggie Thatcher impersonator and, almost as an afterthought, the games being shown and their writers wandering around looking a little lost.
That may have been the latest sign but the moves away from the old, friendly, low-key activities of the early market when a few people selling games from wooden desks was considered a big event have been happening subtly for the last year.
The changes in the popular ZX Microfairs have shown what has been happening. Originally it was a small group of companies selling their wares on bare trestle tables, with little thought given to presentation. At the recent fair at Alexandra Pavilion in north London, a number of bigger companies like Quicksilva, dK'Tronics and Kempston had specially-designed stands and more companies are thinking of doing the same thing.
At the same time, Imagine made a name for itself by being the first company not to follow the usual method of steady growth. After the founders broke with Bug-Byte, they announced their presence with colour advertisements throughout the home computer press to establish themselves quickly in a booming market.
It is a move which appears to have been a success, with many of the company's games featured regularly in the Top Ten software sales.
The effect of all the changes has been to raise the threshold of entering the Sinclair market. It is still possible to follow the 'amateur' route of writing a program and to start selling it through small advertisements in Sinclair User. That will no doubt continue to prove profitable but for a program to make really big money it will now need a major launch. Without strong financial backing and a supporting catalogue of other software, that would be impossible.
It would be much easier to go to an established company and let it look after the marketing and to pay you a royalty on the sales. Apart from allowing you to enter the market more quickly, it also removes what can be a major headache.
The eventual change of the market into something more similar to that of records has been mentioned previously a number of times in this column. While many people might feel that it is a change for the worse, it is one which must happen if home computing is to fulfil its promise of becoming a major leisure industry in the next few years.
When the market was new and small, people were more willing to tolerate delays and poor quality because that was to be expected from new and inexperienced developments. As more people have become hooked by home computing, the tolerance level has fallen.
If sales are to continue to grow, the need for tips on how to do many of the basic things in the hobby, such as LOADing and SAVEing, must disappear. No-one expects to buy a record and then find they have to spend half an hour adjusting a music centre before they can play it.
In the same way people should be able to buy a program and have no difficulty LOADing it. The introduction of ROM cartridges is a great help in that, as has already been recognised in the States.
For those who are worried that the ethics of the music industry may be the death knell of home computing as they know it, it has a number of differences which should ensure that does not happen. For a start, while it is possible to have Top Ten-selling cassettes we are unlikely to have Top of the Cassettes on television and day-long radio programmes promoting the latest releases.
Also, unlike the music industry, it is possible to derive plenty of enjoyment from using a computer without having to buy other people's programs. It can be costly making your own record but for the computer you have to pay only for the cassette and take time to record your program and, after all your work. you may be able to make a fortune.
WE CONGRATULATE Sir Clive on his knighthood, even if it presents some problems to his many supporters. Do they call him Sir Uncle Clive or Uncle Sir Clive? We are sure the difficulty will not last for long.
There can be no doubt that he has done a great job for the British computer industry and has made the sector one of the few bright lights in the general gloom of British manufacturing. That has been achieved on the success of only one good idea, the cheap home computer.
That resulted in a rapid rise to fame and fortune. It also engendered a belief that he can be seen as a saviour of British industry and that only stimulates growing pressure - increased by the news that he has an option on the factory of that former saviour of Northern Ireland, John de Lorean.
The more honours Sir Clive receives, the more the pressure grows and the more difficult it will be to live up to expectations.