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Released: 1984

Publisher: Ocean Software

Platforms: Sinclair Spectrum 48k, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro

Spectrum Programming, Art & SFX: Jon Ritman

Spectrum Front End Programming: Chris Clarke

Music: Guy Stevens

History: At a show with Chris Clarke we talked to distributors about what style of game they wished to see on the Spectrum, it was pretty unanimous; they wanted the Spectrum version of the C64’s International Soccer seen in all good Dixons windows at the time. I started writing it, well to tell the truth I had drawn a few frames of animation, converting the Bear from Bear Bovver to a human player, when I was at another show looking at Artic’s football game (I can’t remember its title – it was later re-released as World Cup Carnival) side by side with Ocean’s David Ward – I made a wild claim that my football game would be a thousand times better than Artic’s. He must have made a note but I just forgot it at the time. 9 months later as I was in the final weeks of finishing he rang me and asked me if I had ever made ‘that football game’, I told him it was nearly finished and on the spot he offered me more money than I had ever heard of (well at least in terms of coming my direction) – The rest is history. Although the game started life as a clone of International Soccer I hadn’t ever played it – so when Match Day was finished I made a point of playing IS and was very pleased to find they were very different games. Match Day sold very well indeed with over 50000 sales at full price and as many again on budget label (The Hit Squad – They Sold a Million II). Match Day was my first game to get lots of superb reviews.

The versions for the BBC, C64 & Amstrad CPC were programmed by others who didn’t even talk to me about it – I thought the versions were dire.

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