Talk:Beam Software

Xenon
Pretty sure they were also involved in Xenon by the Bitmap Brothers. The Atari ST title screen mentioned Melbourne House, and CPC Zone suggests they were involved in at least a couple of the ports.

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Claims w/o references
This article claims that the software publisher wasn't named Melbourne House until 2000, however they published under the Melbourne House name throughout the 1980s, so clearly this article is highly suspect in its accuracy. For example, here is a link to a very popular game they published in the mid 80s under the Melbourne House brand:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Explodingfist.jpg&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Exploding_Fist&h=388&w=244&tbnid=8Ub7QEcbP0dzWM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=116&usg=__y6KZJZWHnqlPyWcpp24vLY4gNv8%3D&vet=10ahUKEwiRm83d1YfaAhVtoFkKHZi3BNAQ_B0IvAEwDA..i&docid=JvtYYeeSnXIFeM&itg=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiRm83d1YfaAhVtoFkKHZi3BNAQ_B0IvAEwDA

removed, until reliable sources are found: ''Beam Software is one of the longest surviving game development companies in the world and for most of its existence has been the largest game development studio in Australia. '' -- Make (talk) 01:31, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
 * sentence had been reintroduced to the article. Without a proper reference this is suitable for an advertisement or some PR-speak, but not a Wikipedia article, sorry. Please note that removing unreferenced claims is backed by Wikipedia policies and repeatedly adding such claims is a degradation of the article's quality. -- Make (talk) 18:36, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

First sentence
We have this:

Krome Studios Melbourne, formerly Beam Software''', is a video game development studio founded in 1980 and based in Melbourne, Australia. The studio operated independently until 1999, when it was acquired by Infogrames, who changed the name to Melbourne House. In 2006 the studio was sold to Krome Studios.

The name Beam was a contraction of the initials of the founders: Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen.

And this: Krome Studios Melbourne, is an Australian developer based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded 1980 as Beam Software before 1999 when it was acquired by Infogrames, who changed the name to Melbourne House. In 2006 the studio was sold to Krome Studios and again renamed. The name Beam was a contraction of the initials of the founders: Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen.

My issues with the second one:

"It was founded 1980" - needs the word "in".

" as Beam Software before 1999 when it was acquired by Infogrames" - what is "before" 1999? This just doesn't make sense. You are correct, 1980 is before 1999, but I'm sure that doesn't have to be stated.

The first version is much better worded. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sequal1 (talk • contribs) 01:47, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

section names
The history part of the article had sections "Home computer era", "Shift to consoles and PCs" and "Infogrames and Krome". These titles corresponded to specific stages in the studio's history. I don't see any advantage in using a generic structure by decades. Honestly, I don't really care for what happend to the studio after the acquisition by Infogrames, so it's OK with me to name that section "2000's". However making a split in 1987 and naming the sections after the platforms Beam developed for, is backed by : ''... As a result, Beam Software started developing for Nintendo platforms. The propriety nature of NES and console games radically changed the global gaming industry. This in conjunction with the sale of Melbourne House to Mastertronic in 1987 was the catalyst for major changes at Beam Software. ...'' -- Make (talk) 23:06, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

Infobox
I consider removing the logo and the weblink from the infobox. Both are not specific for the studio. Any objections? -- Make (talk) 23:06, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * None it seems. 10 days notice should be enough. Sequal1 (talk) 10:17, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

I went ahead. -- –Make (talk) 10:19, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

dual nature of the article
as is, the article covers this is slightly confusing - but so is reality ;-) What I would like to do is focus on the historical entity. As a division of other companies - "Infogrames Melbourne House, a studio of Infogrames" and "Krome Studios Melbourne, a studio of Krome Studios" I can't see independent notability. Sure, the fate should be mentioned in the article, but as it is now, this has a smell of "rewriting history" (crediting Krome Studios with titles that were created at a time when Krome didn't exist.)
 * a company, Beam Software, that ceased existence in 1999
 * a development studio, that operated as an independent company, than was part of Infogrames and Krome

I'm aware, these changes might face opposition, so I am in no hurry and prepared to discuss things beforehand and open to reasonable suggestions. -- Make (talk) 10:19, 17 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I totally understand where you are coming from with these changes, but I don't like the way you've done it. I 100% agree that we should explain what happened, but I think that you've gone about it the wrong way. I'm not sure how we should do it though. Sequal1 (talk) 10:30, 17 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I've just re-read the article and you're right, the only mention of Krome is the takeover, which is the last thing mentioned. I think we should expand this article to include things Krome Melbourne have done and then format it something like Psygnosis. Sequal1 (talk) 10:37, 17 August 2010 (UTC)


 * It's interesting that you bring up Psygnosis - that article shows some similarities: In both cases the current titles are somehow ignorant to legacy and heritage. What is the connection between Shadow of the Beast and SCE Studio Liverpool or Way of the Exploding Fist and Krome Studios Melbourne? -- I have to think this over. Maybe in both cases it would help to split the articles: One each for the historical entity that ceased existence and one each for the current operation as a division of a big corporation. -- For me, there is no need to hurry.  And ma time for Wikipedia is limited, unfortunately. - For the time being, I will leave this article's structure and title as is. -- A new article Melbourne House (publisher) for Beam's UK-based publisher might be a good idea. I think I'll tackle that first and see how things develop. Make (talk) 11:12, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Interesting non-mention of the woman
Employee 2 or 3, but not important important to mention, eh? Shenme (talk) 04:44, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Revert article to 'Beam Software'
Given that Krome Studios Melbourne no longer exists, and Beam Software and all of its child companies are no longer operating, should this article be reverted to 'Beam Software' (being the most historically notable period of the company's existance)? JustinH (talk) 04:53, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

Name change
"The studio operated independently from 1988 until 2000, when it was acquired by Infogrames, who changed the name to Melbourne House". But they were called Melbourne House long before that, e.g. when producing ZX Spectrum programs throughout the 1980s. 109.154.114.252 (talk) 12:18, 25 April 2016 (UTC)

Definitely true, with Melbourne House being behind Asterix for the C64 (Commodore 64).

Anyone who has read Hyper magazine articles (gaming magazine from 1993 onwards) know Melbourne House also made Shadowrun for SNES and Sega Mega Drive. Tallaussiebloke (talk) 05:19, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

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