Fruit Machine Simulator
A home-computer interpretation of a fruit machine, developed as part of the Twins' growing range of Codemasters simulators.
Image credits and source
Original cover / promotional artwork
Credit: Codemasters — artwork belongs to its respective rights holders
Source: The Oliver Twins archive
Game at a glance
- Status
- Classic
- Released
- 1988
- Platforms
- ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga
- Genres
- Simulation
- Developer
- The Oliver Twins (original development)
- Publisher
- Codemasters
Development and publication
Development: The Oliver Twins (original development). Publication: Codemasters.
The named development credit refers to the original or specifically identified version. Other ports and later re-releases may have different development teams.
Making the game
We converted Fruit Machine Simulator to the Amstrad CPC from the Spectrum version (by Mark Baldock) and the original design by James Wilson. We created this over Christmas ‘87 period in a little over a week, after we heard the sad and shocking news that James died in a tragic accident.
We were surprised and disappointed at getting a 0% from Amstrad Action who said “The single most pointless games in computing history.”. I think they completely missed the point that we were creating entertainment and selling it at just £1.99. A lot of players bought the game and it became a bestseller as we thought it would. Those customers knew full well they wouldn’t be gambling with real money, but that it was still a good value, fun experience.