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Alvin and the Chipmunks MIA

zxbrunozxbruno
edited March 2008 in MIA/STP/SDP
I searched the forums before starting this thread.

So, we all know why this game is MIA. But my question is: Has anyone tried to contact the company to ask if it's available?

These are some of the sites that I visited yesterday. An ex-employee guarantees the game was finished. I would try to contact them, but it seems the only way to do it is via phone or mail.

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=19774
http://www.alternativesoftware.com/
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/directory.php?comp=alternative_software
http://www.mobygames.com/company/alternative-software-ltd
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,95528/
Post edited by zxbruno on

Comments

  • andrew_rollingsandrew_rollings
    edited March 2008
    Alvin and the Chipmunks?

    Maybe some things should stay missing!

    ;)

    Andrew
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited March 2008
    I think it's worth looking for.
    I'm pretty sure I replied 6 hours ago, but my post seems to have disappeared. Oh well...
  • ghbearmanghbearman
    edited March 2008
    These issues would be best posted in the Preservation section... :o

    Request a move by the mods?
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited March 2008
    You're right. :|
    Can this thread be moved to the appropriate section, please?

    edit: Wow. That was fast! :grin:
  • laddermanladderman
    edited March 2008
    hello

    just clicked on the link to "alternative software",i am amazed they are still going after all these years.i did not think that they would survive(after all they only re-released games that had been published before),but there you go.did this company really survive or did it go bust and somebody bought the company and traded on the name?.thank you

    colin
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited March 2008
    It seems to be the same company. If we go to their online shop and click the 'about' link, we read:
    Established in 1986, through the years Alternative Software has been one of the major players in the UK computer industry with over 200 titles to our name. Producing classic titles on many early platforms, games like Skool Daze, Trapdoor and BMX Ninja were household names through the mid to late 80’s including 20 consecutive weeks at no1 in the budget games chart. One of the most successful titles was Tracksuit Manager, which created the formula used by all current football management games. In addition we had great success with Children’s Character Licenses such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Popeye, Sooty and Postman Pat.

    I finally found their e-mail. :)
  • de Vandemar Croupde Vandemar Croup
    edited March 2008
    zxbruno wrote: »
    Has anyone tried to contact the company to ask if it's available?
    I would try to contact them, but it seems the only way to do it is via phone or mail.

    erhm... these guys are pros, do not try to do that at home or all by yourself!!! :-o
    remember what happened when the one_who_mustn't_be_named contacted activision?!?!?!?!?!?
    :cry:

    hey, I'm o.k. with you :smile: just kidding,
    but perhaps you could appeal to martijn before proceeding such an act of selfsacrifice,
    the brand of wos could help it
    G! - That makes sense in BASIC 0:1
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited March 2008
    I hear you.
    Martjin, your input would be appreciated.
  • mheidemheide
    edited March 2008
    A tricky one, this.

    I tried contacting them on various occasions (always by e-mail, including the address you find in their shop), and could never extract any reply whatsoever.
    They are aware of WoS, not just because I mailed them several times, but also because their domain was found in the web logs more than once.

    Now, 2 people did in fact get a reply over the years: he_who_must_not_be_named, and (IIRC) the guys behind Jasper, the Java Speccy emulator.
    The first was a plain "no", the Jasper case a C&D letter to remove the games.

    Generally, when asking permission, politely asking works better than demanding, as a_certain_someone found out.
    In our case, though, even that did not yield any result yet. :-(

    Perhaps the road ahead is to venture for the phone, in which case a native English speaker has the best chances for a polite conversation.

    Phone inquiries put them right on the spot, though, more or less forcing an immediate answer. This is somewhat "dangerous", as the recipient will not know you, and a swift "are you mad?" answer is easy to give. In that case, it is very difficult (perhaps even considered rude) to verify if that is the official company statement rather than a quick getaway action...
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited March 2008
    I have no idea who 'he_who_must_not_be_named' is, so I won't ask. :)

    Well, if a phone call can be dangerous, and e-mails were never answered, could you consider the possibility of sending a formal letter by mail?
  • de Vandemar Croupde Vandemar Croup
    edited March 2008
    zxbruno wrote: »
    I have no idea who 'he_who_must_not_be_named' is, so I won't ask. :)

    no! this can't be! :o
    what a blasphemy!

    you don't know the only pure evil and deadly all-thumbs eager-beaver enemy of WoS??? :lol:

    never heard of .....uh, what was his name anyway?!

    go and read Activision has joined the DENIENCES session,
    you've missed a lotta funny reading... and not to mention - the history.

    oh, and btw - it's an example of how NOT to write formal mails, letters and not to act ;)
    G! - That makes sense in BASIC 0:1
  • VertigoVertigo
    edited March 2008
    mheide wrote: »
    Phone inquiries put them right on the spot, though, more or less forcing an immediate answer. This is somewhat "dangerous", as the recipient will not know you, and a swift "are you mad?" answer is easy to give.
    And when calling someone like this it's very difficult to not put on a call centre smiley voice to ask questions, which is a pretty big turn-off to anyone on the other end.
  • Andrew BarkerAndrew Barker
    edited March 2008
    Yer, writing a letter with Martijn's usual beg message was a consideration.
    I've had no responses from HiSoft, Kosmos, and many other Educational Software houses that are still trading. I'm a little scared to phone or write a letter though ;-). Maybe someone is braver on here than I ?
    Strangely I've spoken to a few people in HiSoft over the years even some guys who remembered the Spectrum software when they came to train us on Cinema 4D. I could never get any kind of response/permission, they tell me to contact David Link, but I just can't get him to respond :-o.

    Maybe if we can get an ambassador to send these letters we can get something sorted.

    Of course I have tact like a sledgehammer so best ask someone else to do it :-o. Gerard Sweeny had some very good luck gaining a permit after I dug for info and found a contact.

    As per Activision of course, whatever the outcome we have to adhear to it.
    So how many will buy the games on Wii VC for 500 points a pop ?
  • richlrichl
    edited March 2008
    Hello! I'm not exactly a forum regular but I read the first couple of posts in this thread last weekend and seeing as how I wasn't too busy at the time I had a quick poke around their website, found their email address and sent them a mail... and then the thread got longer and people started saying things about how it's probably not a good idea to contact them direct so I thought I'd better keep quiet! :wink:

    However, I actually got a reply last night so here it is, in all its glory:

    "Hi Richard,

    Many thanks for your interest in our company.

    Alvin was never finished for the Spectrum, so we can not help you with this one, but several of our spectrum titles are available on Spectrum Allstars volume 2 ( for the PC it includes an emulator) released through Altern8 . Please visit www.altern8.com for details.

    Kind Regards
    Dave"

    I've tried the Alten8.com address and it seems bust but maybe it's just taking Good Friday off like me?

    Anyway, it could be that the game was never completed 100% or was done but never "mastered" properly (or whatever they do) so there isn't just a copy lying around that could be released. Oh well...
  • mheidemheide
    edited March 2008
    Thanks for the attempt and for sharing the answer, richl.
    I just noticed the entry missed various details apart from the notion that it was never released - tie-in licence, Wikipedia reference and C64 mention (which, sadly, suffered the same fate).
  • zxbrunozxbruno
    edited March 2008
    I just learned a little bit about history, after visiting the links posted above. It infuriates me and makes me ashamed of being from the same country as one_who_mustn't_be_named. *takes deep breath*

    A thought:

    I've been living in the U.S. for 12 years. After a few years of being here I started noticing how my some of my fellow Portuguese sounded rude when posting in English (here and everywhere else). I think it's a culture thing. What sounds rude to some doesn't sound rude to them. In their opinion, they're being polite!
    I changed a lot, mainly because I listened to those around me. The last time I lost my temper was when talking about translating russian games, but I recognize my mistake.

    About permits:

    I was successful in obtaining a permit to scan and distribute Sync from Mr David Ahl and a permit to scan and distribute the robots book (can't remember the name of the author now), but I think it's better if I leave the communication with big companies to Martjin and others who know the proper way to do it.

    on-topic: I guess the game in question isn't a MIA anymore. Oh well... Maybe one day we'll see the graphics. :(
  • mheidemheide
    edited March 2008
    de Vandemar Croup wrote: »
    no! this can't be! :o
    what a blasphemy!

    you don't know the only pure evil and deadly all-thumbs eager-beaver enemy of WoS??? :lol:

    never heard of .....uh, what was his name anyway?!

    go and read Activision has joined the DENIENCES session,
    you've missed a lotta funny reading... and not to mention - the history.

    oh, and btw - it's an example of how NOT to write formal mails, letters and not to act ;)

    And to top it off, after complete silence since October 2006, this fruitcake just retroactively added a news item to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Spectrum. On 10 April 2007. Hahahaha. :grin:
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited March 2008
    mheide wrote: »
    And to top it off, after complete silence since October 2006, this fruitcake just retroactively added a news item to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Spectrum. On 10 April 2007. Hahahaha. :grin:

    Mmm, fruitcake. You think he's edible?
  • mheidemheide
    edited March 2008
    ZnorXman wrote: »
    Mmm, fruitcake. You think he's edible?

    Eww! Stop putting images in my head, you nasty man, you! :p
  • ZnorXmanZnorXman
    edited March 2008
    mheide wrote: »
    Eww! Stop putting images in my head, you nasty man, you! :p

    Oh, yikes! I just got your mental picture I'm afraid!!! I b dum!
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