Post by janskjaer on Sept 11, 2023 14:21:01 GMT -5
Today, Hardwar (supposedly) celebrates the 25th anniversary of its UK release.
Copies of the game somehow didn't make it to all GAME and Electronics Boutique stores (my regular haunts) on release day, and instead I purchased the game at WH Smith in Meadowhall, Sheffield (home city of the producers, Gremlin) once they finally received their copies 2 days later.
I still remember it like yesterday - running around the shopping mall with my best friend on Saturday the 12th, perplexed that the biggest 2 (and only) video game stores in Europe's biggest shopping mall weren't stocking the game on release day. A member of staff from either informed me that it might be on shelves tomorrow, and I was determined to get a copy. For the first time ever, I remember re-visiting Meadowhall on a Sunday to find that the stores still did not have it. My last-ditch attempt to find a copy was just as surprising, to find WH Smith (who weren't known for stocking many game titles) had less than a handful of copies tucked away at the back of the store. Relieved, it was a mad rush to get the train home and install Hardwar version F2.0. It did not disappoint.
I have kept my original save game file all these years, from my first (and probably longest) play-through.
My last play-through was on the 20th anniversary, 5 years ago, whilst living in Japan, played on Linux via Wine on a Macbook Unibody 2010.
For the 25th, I'll be playing on period-correct hardware, switching between both PowerVR and 3Dfx hardware on the big-screen.
Ironically, some years later, as a software engineer, having worked in a building next door to Software Refinery's old headquarters on Water Lane in Leeds, and having studied and worked in Sheffield, I feel my life and career have a strong affiliation and have been directly influenced by this game.
Thank you to Ian, Ciaran and the rest of the Software Refinery team for releasing what is quite simply, one of the best games ever made.
Happy 25th Anniversary, flyers. Stay Greedy.
Copies of the game somehow didn't make it to all GAME and Electronics Boutique stores (my regular haunts) on release day, and instead I purchased the game at WH Smith in Meadowhall, Sheffield (home city of the producers, Gremlin) once they finally received their copies 2 days later.
I still remember it like yesterday - running around the shopping mall with my best friend on Saturday the 12th, perplexed that the biggest 2 (and only) video game stores in Europe's biggest shopping mall weren't stocking the game on release day. A member of staff from either informed me that it might be on shelves tomorrow, and I was determined to get a copy. For the first time ever, I remember re-visiting Meadowhall on a Sunday to find that the stores still did not have it. My last-ditch attempt to find a copy was just as surprising, to find WH Smith (who weren't known for stocking many game titles) had less than a handful of copies tucked away at the back of the store. Relieved, it was a mad rush to get the train home and install Hardwar version F2.0. It did not disappoint.
I have kept my original save game file all these years, from my first (and probably longest) play-through.
My last play-through was on the 20th anniversary, 5 years ago, whilst living in Japan, played on Linux via Wine on a Macbook Unibody 2010.
For the 25th, I'll be playing on period-correct hardware, switching between both PowerVR and 3Dfx hardware on the big-screen.
Ironically, some years later, as a software engineer, having worked in a building next door to Software Refinery's old headquarters on Water Lane in Leeds, and having studied and worked in Sheffield, I feel my life and career have a strong affiliation and have been directly influenced by this game.
Thank you to Ian, Ciaran and the rest of the Software Refinery team for releasing what is quite simply, one of the best games ever made.
Happy 25th Anniversary, flyers. Stay Greedy.
