Ports of Entry: Activision

Unknown lead platform:

Return to Zork

Released for PC and Mac in 1993.

Released for FM-Towns and PC-98 in 1994.

 

I would guess that PC is the original version because it is the most content-complete version. The Mac version has full FMV when characters speak, whereas the PC version has a mixture of FMV and basic lip-flapping animations. However, the Mac version also has cut-down dialog, and all of the music is in MIDI format. I'm curious about the development process - it seems to me that the FMV produced by the initial shoot went mostly unused as it wouldn't fit onto a disc, and for whatever reason they decided to include the full FMV for the Mac port at the cost of removed content.

There are also MPEG versions for both Mac and PC, with higher quality video than the standard Mac version. These versions require MPEG-decoding hardware, which is not emulated. I do not know if the content of these versions differ from the standard Mac version, or from each other.

Spycraft: The Great Game

Released for DOS, Windows, and Mac in 1996.

 

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries

Released for DOS and Windows in September 1996.

 

It's always tricky to tell whether a DOS/Windows game was coded for DOS or Windows first, especially when both versions came on the same disc. For what it's worth, MechWarrior 2: 21st Century Combat and Ghost Bear's Legacy seem to have been DOS first, with Windows versions coming out later, but Mercenaries also runs on a later and more advanced engine. But then, Interstate '76, also based on this engine, was Windows-only.

Select chronology: 

 

Atari 2600 era:

Title	Date	Contemporary ports
Boxing	1980
Dragster	1980
Fishing Derby	1980
Laser Blast	1981
Freeway	1981
Stampede	1981	1982 port to Intellivision
Kaboom!	1981
Barnstorming	1982
Chopper Command	1982-6
Megamania	1982-9	1983 port to Atari 5200
Pitfall!	1982-9	1982 port to Intellivision 1983 port to MSX
River Raid	1982-12	1983 ports to Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, and Intellivision
Enduro	1983-5	1984 port to ZX Spectrum by James Software
Keystone Kapers	1983-5	1984 ports to various computers and consoles
The Activision Decathlon	1983-8	1984 ports to various computers and consoles
Frostbite	1983-10
Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space	1983-11	1984 ports to Atari 5200 and various computers
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns	1984-3	1984 ports to various computers and consoles 1985 ports to MSX and TRS-80 CoCo
H.E.R.O.	1984-3	1984 ports to various computers and consoles 1985 port to SG-1000 by Sega

 

8-bit era:

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Zenji	Atari 800	1984-10	1984 ports to various computers and consoles
Ghostbusters	Commodore 64	1984-10	1984 port to Apple II 1985 ports to Atari 2600 and various computers
Hacker	Commodore 64	1985-8	1985 ports to various computers 1986 ports to Amstrad CPC and PC
Little Computer People	Commodore 64	1985-10	1985 port to Apple II 1986 ports to Amiga and Atari ST
Alter Ego	Commodore 64	1986-2	1986 ports to Apple II and PC
Shanghai	Macintosh	1986-7	1986-1987 ports to various consoles and computers
Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers	Commodore 64	1986-8	1986 ports to various computers 1987 ports to Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum
Aliens: The Computer Game	Commodore 64	1986-12	1987 ports to Amstrad CPC, Apple II, and ZX Spectrum

16-bit era:

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye	DOS	1990	1991 ports to various computers
Return to Zork	???	1993	Same-year releases on PC and Mac 1994 ports to FM Towns and PC-98
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure	Genesis	1994	1994 ports to Sega CD and SNES
MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat	DOS	7/24/1995	1995 port to Windows 1996 port to Mac
MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy	DOS	1995-11	1996 port to Windows
Spycraft: The Great Game	???	1996	Simultaneous releases on DOS, Windows, and Mac
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries	???	1996-9	Simultaneous releases on DOS and Windows

Windows era:

Title	Date	Contemporary ports
Interstate '76	1997-3
Zork: Grand Inquisitor	1997-10
Battlezone	2/28/1998
Civilization: Call to Power	1999-4	1999 port to Linux by Loki Entertainment 2000 ports to BeOS and Mac
Heavy Gear II	6/23/1999	1999 port to Linux by Loki Entertainment
Call to Power II	10/20/2000