Collector’s Guide: Sinclair Research
Complete your Sinclair collection with this incredibly useful guide
OUR LATEST COLLECTOR’S GUIDE FOCUSES ON THE SINCLAIR-BRANDED SOFTWARE FOR THE ZX81, SPECTRUM AND QL. MARTYN CARROLL SHEDS LIGHT ON THE BRAND AND REVEALS THE MOST EXPENSIVE TITLES
Sinclair Research was a computer manufacturer, placed firmly in the hardware business, but that didn’t mean it was entirely ignorant of the software market. Sir Clive and his Cambridge team knew that computer owners wanted software and they’d happily spend money to buy it on prerecorded tapes. What the business didn’t want, however, was the costs associated with an in-house development studio. The solution was to create its own software label, which it would use to publish titles from existing, and eager, third-party developers.
The label was launched in 1981, following the release of the ZX81 computer, and it carried an eclectic mix of entertainment, educational, business and hobbyist software. Some were original titles, others were rereleases, and all featured colour inlays sporting the familiar Sinclair logo. It was a professional-looking brand in the days when hand-drawn inlays were still common, and the Sinclair association no doubt established trust in buyers’ minds. This is ironic now, as we know that many of the titles, particularly the early games, were pretty poor efforts that can’t have been vetted too closely. Quality aside, the range has always attracted collectors due to the Sinclair name and the uniform branding.
Sinclair published 41 titles for the ZX81 and followed this up with 103 releases for its next computer, the Spectrum (which saw the introduction of the familiar ‘Spectrum stripe’ to the packaging). Some titles were released for both machines (such as Arctic’s Adventure series and Psion’s Flight Simulation and Space Raiders titles), and sometimes artwork from a ZX81 release would be reappropriated for a different Spectrum title. In 1984 the label was expanded to support the Sinclair QL and 23 titles (including several games) were released for the business machine. In total, 167 titles were published by Sinclair in the UK across the three formats (not
including titles that were only ever bundled with hardware, such as the free Horizons tape and the QL business suite).
To aid (and indeed entice) collectors, Sinclair established a simple alphanumerical code system that appeared on inlay spines. The letter denoted the type of software (G was for Game, B was for Business, E was for Education and so on), and then the releases were numbered sequentially. When the Spectrum range was launched, ‘S’ was added to the code to differentiate the titles. So for example, Vu-calc was B3, the third business title for the ZX81, and Hungry Horace was G13/S, the 13th game for the Spectrum.
Following the launch of the ZX Interface II in 1983, which added twin joystick ports and a cartridge slot, Sinclair released ten games on ROM cartridge. The titles were available on tape too so ‘S’ was replaced with ‘R’, thus the cart version of Hungry Horace was G13/R. As you might expect some printing errors crept in, such as both the tape and cart version of Jetpac sharing the code G27/R. There’s also the wellknown Horace Goes Skiing variant which has ‘Hungry Horace’ misprinted on the inlay spine.
Sinclair made several changes to the range over time. The vast majority of ZX81 and early Spectrum titles came in single jewel cases, but later on larger cardboard packaging was used, mainly for non-gaming titles. On the Spectrum the cassette labels changed too, with the standard white labels being replaced with silver ones. When a new run of older titles was
produced silver labels were used, meaning that many titles are available with both white and silver variants; great fun for completionists. Sinclair was clearly fond of silver and many of the later titles – from Bubble Buster (G32/S) onwards – sported silver inlays which are now coveted by collectors. Finally, in 1984, Sinclair decided to drop the usual spine codes and replace them with its internal stock number system. This is why releases starting with Match Point have a four-digit spine code (4XXX) instead.
There are a couple of curious anomalies in the line-up. Tranz Am was released on ROM cartridge but, unlike the other three Ultimate titles (Jetpac, Pssst and Cookie) there is seemingly no corresponding tape release, despite it being assigned a code (G29/S). Similarly, there is no title assigned to code 4037, which sits in a vacant slot between 4036 (Match Point) and 4038 (Panama Joe). Both are mysteries that will surely endure.
So what can collectors expect to pay for Sinclair software? Well the value of ZX81 software is particularly fluid. On ebay the same title may go for £2 one week and £20 the next. There are, however, several semi-rare titles:
Music 1, Spelling 1 and History 1, as well as the Super Programs series and the games Mothership and Thro’ The Wall. For these you’d typically expect to pay £20-£25. On the Spectrum there’s slightly more certainty, and most of the titles can be picked up pretty cheaply. At the extreme low end you have the ‘Spectrum Six Pack’ titles that were bundled with the computer – stuff like Horace Goes Skiing, Chequered Flag, Computer Scrabble, Survival and everyone’s favourite Make-a-chip. These are plentiful and can be grabbed for pennies.
Most of the other Spectrum titles hover around the £5 mark, with the silver inlay releases going for maybe double that. Much more desirable are the ten ROM cartridge releases which typically go
for £50-80 (Sinclair seemed to produce the carts in equal quantities so none stand out as being ‘rare’, although the Ultimate titles unsurprisingly attract the most attention). The price is generally determined by condition – if the case is not battered and the cartridge has its all-important red skirt then its value will increase.
Where the craziness occurs is with the silver-boxed educational titles that were published in conjunction with Macmillan Software. These were hardly desirable and didn’t sell well, so now they’re supremely scarce. You’ll be looking to pay at least three figures for most of them, and in particular the quartet of Macman titles are sure to break the bank. Be warned – when it comes to those releases you can expect bidding madness.
Special thanks to Jake Warren, Richard Burton, and Rich Mellor of RWAP Software.