The Story of Ocean Software: "The Biggest Games Company in the World" - Kim Justice 

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RIP David Ward. Thank you for Ocean & bringing us great games to our home computers in the 80s & 90s.

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The controls could get finnicky, but Batman on Amiga was visually astounding...especially the driving scenes...wonderful memories.

I am from the United States and I agree that the history of games is lopsided, not properly covering other territories and the unsung geniuses of gaming from them. I was guilty of this ignorance when I was in my teens (young and dumb, I suppose). The thing that changed that for me was the UK based magazine Retro Gamer. The first issue I bought was the issue that explored the history of Durell the software publisher. The CD that came with it had a ZX Spectrum emulator and some games. I had never heard t\of the platform before and was intrigued as a result. Because of that gem of a Magazine I had the pleasure of playing Seboteur!, Saboteur 2: Avenging Angel, Manic Miner, Sigma 7, Critical Mass and Jet Set Willy. I had a good friend over and we played those games to death and back. We were so pissed that we never had the Speccy, that scrappy home computer that was so loved by those in the UK. The likes of Mathew Smith (Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy) and Clive Townsend (Seboteur!, Saboteur 2: Avenging Angel) are game developer legends, as far as I'm concerned. The Saboteur series is my favorite out of the bunch. Great job on the video and God bless Sir Clive Sinclair!

The greatest contribution Ocean made to me was the thought "I could do better than that!" Not quite true but it certainly provided a low enough bar to be achievable.

This one was a real eye opener. Being an American, I was only ever exposed to Ocean's crappier stuff back in the day. It wasn't until a year or so back, that I was exposed to the excellence that are their Spectrum titles. So yeah, us Yanks really missed out on something good.

Wow! Brilliant work, Kim. These documentaries have really evolved into a product that brilliantly represents a classic era of gaming that many of us experienced. Really, really great work. Whenever I think Ocean, I think Robocop - this video has shed some light as to why that is, ha ha.

As an Australian kid with an Amiga reading UK computer magazines, Ocean certainly were one of the most visible names. I had wondered how big games companies disappeared, being bought by a bigger company seems to be the usual story. Seems like Ocean built their empire on a particular niche which disappeared. I still find it weird though that a dozen guys cannot make a computer or console game anymore due to the number of man hours required for a 3D game with 4K resolution and CD quality sound.

Kim, this is a masterwork of video game history. Thank you so much for the dozens of hours you must have spent on this.

This is bloody awesome! Good work.

I agree 100% to what you said in the intro. Retro computer games and the european market is basically dismissed in the mainstream perception of what the history of gaming is. In my youth the NES was secondary to the C64 and Amiga (in the number of systems owned by friends etc). Thank you for going against the grain :)

I'd love to see on of these about Psygnosis and Team 17.

cheers kim, another entertaining & informative vid.. you're being very productive of late! always look forward to your posts.

Good license games to an Amercian viewer is a nearly mind-boggling concept. I do remember playing a lot of Jurassic Park on the SNES.

Kim, you need to play Lethal Weapon on Amiga (developed by Ocean, of course). A tight side-scroller, with freaking amazing music. Seriously. One of the best soundtracks on the platform.

Another top notch video here! My only (extremely minor) gripe is that most of the footage was from Speccy versions of the games. Would've been nice to see more c64/Amstrad/Amiga/Atari St in the mix, as well as later licenses such as Pushover and the official Comic Relief video game "Sleepwalker" (also released as Eek! The Cat on SNES). Aside from that? 10/10 yet again!

Another excellent documentary styled video. These are your best videos so far. I also absolutely LOVE how your channel is more European/UK centered. There are many good channels that make quality content like this but almost everything is from the American point of view, you know, "video game crash" and "Genesis" all that stuff. So your content feels so fresh to me. Everytime i hear you say "Mewga Drive", it makes me smile :P Keep it up :)

Ocean.... oh boy, my childhood nemesis. I remember I got Flintstones and Hook for my birthday. After I played both for two minutes, I wanted to cry. They were AWFUL. I took them up to my uncle and asked him to take them back. He played them himself and couldn’t have agreed more.

put your feet up and grab a pizza, 45-minute kim episode is about!

Daley Thompson's Decathlon and Match Day were two of the best games ever released on the Speccy. I was a HUGE fan of Ocean back in the day! Great memories!

absolutely fantastic sir... well done. being a 36 year old englishman this is exactly how my earlier gaming years were spent. from the zx to the c64 to the 500+, ocean games were in abundance in my household and now i finally know their tale. respect

These videos are very very well made i have to say

An excellent video of the history of Ocean on the Speccy.

Amazing work, brought back some amazing memories. Cheers Kim, keep up the superb work.

Hi Kim, this is great work, really enjoyed this. Thanks for making.

Great stuff. Growing up in this era, I am a big fan of your work. You make the videos I always thought of making but never had the chance too! BTW I´m a collector of C64 Ocean cartridges (some are quite rare now) so really appreciate your hard work in bringing back these stories of bits, drugs and rock n roll!!) :)

So glad I found this hidden gem of a channel. You know so much about this stuff, and present it in such a way that makes it really entertaining to watch. Subbed.

Great video that. Was watching while coding on C64. Great to see some familiar faces. I was at Ocean/Infogrames from 1992 to 2000.

Thank you Kim, all of those went on when I was a child and I had idea about any of it. Really it's a treat to get a behind the scenes look at a company which played a big part in my childhood.

This is probably one of the documentaries about the video game industry that I have ever seen! Absolutely fantastic work! :D

Fantastic Documentary, Growing up with the Amiga in Australia and revisiting all these tiles through your videos are amazing, the detail and flow of your vids are amazing keep up the great work

Another informative, well researched, thought provoking and professional production. Thanks Kim, for all your hard work!

I played so many of these games as I was growing up. Thanks for making these, some of the better documentaries on the innards of the gaming industry I've seen, and I've seen a plenty.

Great documentary! Thanks for making these.

This video is absolutely amazing and I definitely appreciate the work you put into making this!

Kim, these documentaries of yours, they are marvelous! I just love them! Please keep them coming :-)

I've spent a very happy evening watching your documentaries, loved this !

Just coming back to watch this again after playing Robocop 3 on Genesis, and just want to mention how much I love your show. Thanks.

Thanks for the effort you put into this. I had / still have so many of those spectrum releases. Some I had forgotten all about until now. Good times.

Hats off Kim. You're extremely talented and should be commended for producing a video of such incredible quality. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

fantastic! watching those clips & the ocean loader music has left me with a nice soft & warm feeling of nostalgia 😊

Basically what killed Ocean was the speculative nature of their business; they relied pretty much entirely on getting film, tv and early on arcade licenses in the cheap and as a result almost totally abandoned any notion of being a self sustaining company once the production companies upped their prices significantly. It's a shame, because they were a defining publisher of the 8 and to a lesser extent 16 bit era. Of course they were for the most part still successful and the publishing of the early worms games was a good shout; but man cannot live on worms alone (unless you're Team 17).

Great video! Thanks for posting this.

Wow short circuit! I had completely forgotten about that game! Thanks great video

Fabulous documentary on one of the most iconic software houses. You production levels are exceptional, I am sure your subscriber base will continue to rise with output like this. I liked the use of the World at War documentary music during the Imagine Software section :)

that was great! I have so many memories of ocean games on the c64. you did a great job with this!

Great documentary, brought back some memories! very informative. One touch of (constructive criticism) - i found the text parts not 'up there' long enough to read them.

Great documentary - you have really brought back my childhood memories concerning computer gaming! I am looking forward to watching your other videos also - you are a wealth of knowledge.

Gosh, I’d forgotten I visited these with my brother guys in about 1990. Great weekend.

Bravo sir! Loved your video! Ocean games on the C64 were my childhood!

Thoroughly enjoyed this documentary and very well put together, you got another subscriber 10/10

I find these documentaries of Kim's rivetting.Excellent work, sir!

Excellent documentary here! Congrats on the great work!! I have so many great childhood memories of Robocop on the spectrum

My god! I didn't know anyone else knew the Acorn Electron existed. My first computer was an Electron with no tape drive, so any time I wanted to use it I had to write my own stuff. .... Those were the days.

Love this, thanks for putting it together.

Great video, thanks :) Lots and lots of information. Renegade and Target Renegade were both great fun and my favourite Ocean games.

Excellent work as usual! Informative and educative as always.

Another great video. So good to learn more about a wonderful period from earlier years. Ocean, imagine - companies that gave us so much fun.

Really enjoying your content, you have clearly put a lot of effort in. Watching your videos is like a time capsule into my early childhood, the games & spectrum magazines,I remember only 4 channels to choose from & the BBC closed at midnight, TV & radio stations. Definitely simpler times, for choice & colour.

This is a brilliant documentary mate. Very well done.

really awesome video! thank you for all the effort you put into this!

Just read the sad news of co-founder David Ward's death. Rest in peace, what an awesome legacy ❤️😔

Great video as always. These are great for research and I remember living through it.

I like that way that "Road Frog" was clearly intended to be called "Hopper" but presumably had a late change enforced on it that didn't extend as far as the truck sprites.

just found you by accident on RU-vid recommended videos, excellent work

In my head it is Barry Kripke's cousin narrating this. Love it.

the side-scrolling Short Circuit game was "rock" hard...veterans of the game will get the pun! I spent days trying to complete that game...! Another great video...thank you for sharing :)

Love your channel!! I could marathon your vids hell, that's what I'm doing right now hahaha. Keep up the awesome!!!

Another superb video. Loved Ocean games back in the late 80s. Rainbow Islands was always a favorite of mine.

Thank you for making these "story of" documentaries! :)

Great video. At 34 I had so many of these hit squad games on my. 128k collection and this is nice to know more of the origins of them. Not to mention so many speccy games I missed, I lived on budget games and compilations (4 in 1 code masters etc) so it was sweet to see some really high quality speccy games. So much I just bought a 128k off ebay. Thank you Kimble Justice. You have motivated me to restart my collection from 25 plus years ago.

Brilliant video, I love these videos that tell the history of various game companies and the like.

Excellent and really informative. Brought back so many childhood memories of playing the Spectrum. great job!!! 👍👏

Great video. So much effort has gone into it. Good work!

Yet another fantastic video mate, I had most of these games on my c64. I'd totally forgot about midnight resistance.

Good work KJ - watched it from start to finish with my undivided attention! The C64 Ocean Loader medley brought back a lot of memories ! I'm guessing there's 2 versions of Hook - the one I remember playing was an adventure point and click game that seemed like a really melancholy version of Monkey Island!

A couple of seconds in and the Ocean Loader is playing, you just know this is going to be one great video!

amazing work kim, well worth the wait!

Very good documentary and well researched, really enjoyed this and some other you have produced

1:58 AM. Early Monday morning. Time for a Kim Justice video marathon.

Wow this is a great channel, being Scottish and born in the 80s theres so much great nostalgia here. Definitely subscribing and watching some of your other documentaries.

aaand "Where Were You?" by The Mekons ;) - what a nice pick btw! Excellent video as always!

Excellent work! An interesting retrospective on one of the Great Old Ones.

Great documentary. Excellent high quality work. Love it.

so much work has gone into this. Fantastic

Another top-notch documentary, I really enjoy these, thank you!

Brilliant video as always Kim, and one that I have watched a few times before. There is one more piece you could add to your musical credits: 'Where Were You?' by The Mekons (1979).

I absolutely love your channel. Great content.

I doff my hat to you sir. Another well polished watch. Keep 'em coming kido!

Ah, Robocop. Anyone else remember being attacked by falling sausages?

Tremendous video. After reading the excellent 'Ocean:The History' book, this is the perfect accompaniment.

Brilliant - loved every nostalgic minute of it :)

Amazing. Fantastic work Kim!

I had so many Ocean games on the C64. I never before knew what happened to Ocean, I just remember that they kinda disappeared by the mid-90s, when I had moved to PC games.

Great video bud. Retro Gaming Roundup has a great part in their monthly podcast called Dinosaur Pie were Simon Butler gives his views of what working for Ocean and other companies was like and he doesn't hold back. Highly recommended

Never heard programming described so perfectly like that. I'll have to use it next time I get given a task and expected to do it in an hour. As well though there's not a programmer in the world who hasn't blagged their way in to a job saying that they can do something when they have no idea about it.

man that first minute was really telling stuff, i'm glad you're out there putting out our *us uk and euro gamers* point of view, sterling work

Stunning stuff as always, our Kim

Awesome job on this video, I learned a lot about the giant publisher from the games of my childhood and always wondered what happened to them in the end.