Golden Era of Spanish Software

The golden age of Spanish software (Spanish: edad de oro del software español) was a time, between 1983 and 1992, when Spain became the second largest 8 bit computer entertainment software producer in Europe, only behind the United Kingdom. The disappearance of the 8 bit technology and its replacement by the 16 bit machines marked the end of this era, during which many software companies based in Spain launched their career: Dinamic Software, Topo Soft, Opera Soft, Made in Spain and Zigurat among others. The name Edad de oro del soft español was coined by specialized magazines of the time and has been used to refer to these years until nowadays.

In the year 1983, the first home personal computers started arriving in Spain, all of them 8 bit machines. ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC were the most sold in the country, followed by MSX and Commodore 64 among others. These were simple machines, with lesser resources, therefore easy to manipulate, so many young programmers all over the country started experimenting with them.

The Golden Era of Spanish Software officially starts with the launch of Bugaboo, by Indescomp, the first Spanish video game to get a massive international distribution. Shortly, Fred (Roland in the Caves), by the same authors, this time under the company Made in Spain, was another success, and the owners of Made in Spain decided to create Zigurat, a mother company that would at first be dedicated to distribution, turning Made in Spain into a producing company for Zigurat, which also would at first distribute titles from independent companies. Years later, Made in Spain and Zigurat would completely merge into a single producer and distributor company.

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