''SoftAid'' is a software compilation, released by

Quicksilva Quicksilva was a British games software publisher active during the early 1980s. Quicksilva was founded by Nick Lambert in 1980. The name Quicksilva was inspired by a particular guitar solo in a track on the album Happy Trails by Quicksilver Me ...

in March 1985 to support the Famine Relief in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. The software was released on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

home computers. Versions were also planned for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

and

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

but Rod Cousens, Quicksilva's managing director, was unable to secure enough games from publishers. An audio recording of the

charity single A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artis ...

, "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" by Band Aid is also featured on one side of the tape. The tape was unusual in that it was the first time software houses had co-operated to produce a product to support a charity. The tape was sold in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for £4.99.

Games included

ZX Spectrum

* '' Spellbound'' * ''Starbike'' * '' Kokotoni Wilf'' * ''The Pyramid'' * '' Horace Goes Skiing'' * '' Gilligan's Gold'' * ''

Ant Attack ''Ant Attack'' is an action game written for the ZX Spectrum by Sandy White and published by Quicksilva in 1983. A Commodore 64 version was released in 1984. While ''Zaxxon'' and ''Q*bert'' previously used isometric projection, ''Ant Attack'' ad ...

'' * ''3D Tank Duel'' * ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' * ''Sorcery''

Commodore 64

* ''Gumshoe'' * ''

Beamrider ''Beamrider'' is a fixed shooter written for the Intellivision by David Rolfe and published by Activision in 1983. The game was ported to the Atari 2600 (with a slightly reduced feature set), Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, ColecoVision, Commo ...

'' * ''

Star Trader ''Star Trader'' is a 1974 video game and an early example of the space trading genre. The game involves players moving from star to star on a map of the galaxy, buying and selling quantities of six types of merchandise in a competition to make th ...

'' * '' Kokotoni Wilf'' * ''China Miner'' * '' Gilligan's Gold'' * ''

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

'' * ''Gyropod'' * ''Falcon Patrol'' * ''

Flak Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

Reception

''SoftAid'' topped the UK software sales charts for seventeen weeks in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, setting a record for the longest number of consecutive weeks at number one. The record was eventually broken by ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'' in 1989. The compilation raised over £360,000 for the Band Aid Trust and in 1986 ''CRASH'' magazine reported that it was probably the highest selling software release ever.

Legacy

''SoftAid'' was followed in 1986 by another ten game compilation, ''Off The Hook'', which was also organised by Rod Cousens who had then moved to

Electric Dreams Software Electric Dreams Software was a UK-based video game publisher established in 1985 by Activision and run by Rod Cousens and Paul Cooper formerly of Quicksilva . The company published video games for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and th ...

. It was released to support the

Prince's Trust The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are unempl ...

work on drug abuse rehabilitation with versions available for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. In 1987, Cousens worked with

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited, was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established i ...

to produce the ''Kidsplay'' compilation. Released for the Amstrad CPC as well as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, the ten game compilation raised money for the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

and

RSSPCC Children 1st, previously known as the Royal Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, is a Scottish charity which aims to give every child in Scotland a safe and secure childhood. Children 1st supports families under stress, protects ...

References

External links

* * {{WoS game, id=0011356, name=SoftAid 1985 video games Commodore 64 games Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Charity singles Quicksilva games