|
PC Booter
|
Developer
|
Various
|
Publisher
|
Various
|
Platforms
|
x86
|
Released
|
1981-present
|
Added to Museum
|
See PC Booter category
|
PC Booter is the common term for video games for IBM PC compatible computers that run on self-booting disks with custom operating systems rather than on the DOS variants by IBM, Digital Research, or Microsoft that were common on this platform.
These were typically used as a type of copy protection, and were available commercially from 1981 to 1991, after which the format became obsolete as games became larger.
Freeware games were released after the commercial use of the format, and developers of freeware continue to release PC Booter games to this day.
Use of the term
The term PC Booter refers specifically to games on IBM PC compatible computers, however other systems had games on self-booting disks as well.
PC Booter video games
Title
|
Developer
|
Released
|
Notes
|
Microsoft Adventure
|
Softwin Associates
|
1981
|
|
Deadline
|
Infocom
|
1982
|
|
Demon Attack
|
Imagic
|
1982
|
|
Donkey Kong
|
Nintendo R&D1, Ikegami Tsushinki, Atarisoft
|
1982
|
|
Dig Dug
|
Namco, Atarisoft
|
1982
|
|
Starcross
|
Infocom
|
1982
|
|
Ulysses and the Golden Fleece
|
On-Line Systems
|
1982
|
|
Wizard and the Princess
|
On-Line Systems
|
1982
|
|
Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
|
Infocom
|
1982
|
|
Battlezone
|
Atari, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
BurgerTime
|
Data East
|
1984
|
|
Centipede
|
Atari, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Defender
|
Williams Electronics, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Frogger
|
Konami, Sierra On-Line
|
1983
|
|
Galaxian
|
Namco, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Infidel
|
Infocom
|
1983
|
|
Joust
|
Williams Electronics, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Jungle Hunt
|
Taito, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Microsurgeon
|
Imagic
|
1984
|
|
Miner 2049er
|
Big Five Software
|
1983
|
|
Marble Madness
|
Atari Games
|
1983
|
|
Montezuma's Revenge
|
Utopia Software, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Moon Patrol
|
Irem, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Ms. Pac-Man
|
GCC, Namco, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
M.U.L.E.
|
Ozark Softscape, K-Byte
|
1983
|
|
Night Stalker
|
M Network, Mattel Electronics
|
1986
|
|
Pac-Man
|
Namco, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Planetfall
|
Infocom
|
1983
|
|
Robotron: 2084
|
Vid Kidz, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Stargate
|
Vid Kidz, Atarisoft
|
1983
|
|
Suspended
|
Infocom
|
1983
|
|
Tapper
|
Marvin Glass and Associates
|
1983
|
|
The Witness
|
Infocom
|
1983
|
|
Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz
|
Infocom
|
1983
|
|
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein
|
Muse Software
|
1984
|
|
Boulder Dash
|
Data East
|
1984
|
|
Bruce Lee
|
Datasoft
|
1984
|
|
Cutthroats
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
Jumpman
|
Epyx
|
1984
|
|
King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown
|
Sierra On-Line
|
1984
|
|
River Raid
|
Activision
|
1984
|
|
Seastalker
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
Sorcerer
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
Spy Hunter
|
Bally/Midway, Sega
|
1984
|
|
Super Xaxxon
|
Sega
|
1984
|
|
Suspect
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
The Witness
|
Infocom
|
1983
|
|
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
Zaxxon
|
Sega
|
1984
|
|
Zork III: The Dungeon Master
|
Infocom
|
1984
|
|
King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne
|
Sierra On-Line
|
1985
|
|
Donald Duck's Playground
|
Sierra On-Line
|
1986
|
|
Enchanter
|
Infocom
|
1986
|
|
Summer Games II
|
Epyx
|
1986
|
|
Winter Games
|
Epyx
|
1986
|
|
Climber 5
|
COMPUTE! Publications
|
1987
|
|
Commando
|
Capcom, Quicksilver
|
1987
|
|
Guerrilla War
|
SNK, Quicksilver
|
1987
|
|
Ikari Warriors
|
SNK, Quicksilver
|
1987
|
|
The Seven Cities of Gold
|
Ozark Softscape
|
1987
|
|
Sid Meier's Pirates!
|
MicroProse
|
1987
|
|
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
|
SNK, Quicksilver
|
1988
|
|
Solomon's Key
|
Tecmo, Probe Software
|
1988
|
|
Karnov
|
Data East, Quicksilver
|
1989
|
|
BooTris
|
Roger Espel Llima
|
1993
|
|
BootGame
|
Kolma Kornél
|
1994
|
|