Brøderbund Software

Brøderbund Software at a Glance

Brøderbund Software started in Eugene, Oregon around 1980 and operated until 2004. Their catalog on PlayPile contains 91 games total, with 81 listed as publisher titles and 39 as developer credits. The company dominated the early personal computer market, releasing 54 games in the 1980s alone. This number dropped to 34 in the 1990s and fell to just two titles in the 2000s before the brand was absorbed by The Learning Company. Their platform strategy focused heavily on older hardware. Apple II leads their releases with 40 games, followed by DOS with 32 and Mac with 29. They also supported Commodore C64/128/MAX with 28 entries, PC Windows with 27, and Atari 8-bit systems with 24. The genre list shows a strong lean toward arcade action with 24 titles, followed closely by adventure games at 22. Point-and-click adventures account for 20 games, while puzzle titles make up 18 entries. Quality varies across their library. The average IGDB rating sits at 68.2 out of 100 based on 13 rated games. Only two titles reached the great tier with scores above 80. These top-rated games include The Last Express from 1997, which scored 84.4, and Prince of Persia from 1989 at 82. Wings of Fury (1987) and Lode Runner (1983) also performed well with scores in the high 70s. Eight other games fell into the good range between 60 and 79, while three titles received mixed ratings. No poor titles appear in the data. The later years of the company show a shift away from core gaming toward educational or licensed content. Recent releases include Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 15 in June 2004 and Strawberry Shortcake: Amazing Cookie Party in December 2003. The final entries listed are based on the Rugrats franchise, including Downhill Challenge and The Rugrats Movie: Activity Challenge from late 1998. While the bio notes that Myst became the highest grossing home computer game, that specific title does not appear in the current PlayPile data set.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution