First Star Software

United States Founded 1982 Website

First Star Software, Inc. was a Chappaqua, New York based video game development, publishing and licensing company, founded by Richard Spitalny (who remains the company's president), Billy Blake, Peter Jablon, and Fernando Herrera in 1982. It is best known for the series Boulder Dash, which began on the Atari 8-bit family, and Spy vs. Spy, which first appeared on the Commodore 64. Games were ported to or written for home computers, consoles, and later for Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and portable devices. Millions of units have been sold in both the Boulder Dash and Spy vs. Spy series of games. As of January 1, 2018 the First Star Software name and website are owned by BBG Entertainment GmbH which also purchased all intellectual property rights pertaining to Astro Chase, BOiNG!, Boulder Dash, Bristles, Flip & Flop, Millennium Warriors, Omnicron Conspiracy, Panic Button, Rent Wars and Security Alert.

First Star Software at a Glance

First Star Software was a United States company founded in 1982 by Richard Spitalny, Billy Blake, Peter Jablon, and Fernando Herrera. The firm operated until 1994 with its headquarters in Chappaqua, New York. Their catalog on PlayPile includes fifteen titles where they acted as either publisher or developer. The vast majority of their work appeared during the 1980s when they released fourteen games. They only produced one title in the 1990s. This sharp decline in output suggests the company stopped active development after a little over a decade. The company focused heavily on arcade and platform games. Their library shows ten arcade titles and five platformers. They also made four puzzle games and three strategy titles. Most of their releases targeted home computers from the 8-bit era. Ten games ran on Commodore systems like the C64 or C128. Nine games were for Atari 8-bit machines. Six versions existed for the ZX Spectrum. Smaller numbers appeared for Amstrad CPC, Amiga, and Atari ST systems. Quality varies across their portfolio. They have five titles with ratings on IGDB. The average score sits at 60.6 out of 100. No games reached the great tier above 80 points. Four titles fall into the good range between 60 and 79. One game rates as poor. Their most successful entry is Boulderdash from 1984 with a score of 78.2. The sequel Boulder Dash II: Rockford's Revenge follows with 66.4. Spy vs Spy earned 62.6 points. Superman: The Game from 1986 stands out negatively with a score of just 20.1. This low rating for the Superman title drags down their overall average. First Star Software is best known for the Boulder Dash series and the Spy vs. Spy franchise. These franchises sold millions of units according to their bio. The company also created Astro Chase 3D in March 1994. Omnicron Conspiracy appeared in June 1989. BBG Entertainment GmbH purchased all rights to their intellectual property including Boulderdash and Astro Chase in January 2018. Today the brand remains owned by that German entity while Richard Spitalny continues as president of the original corporate structure.

Total Games

60.6

Avg Rating

1982

First Release

1994

Latest Release