Chronicles Revisited Podcast 15 — What Was Bruce Davis Thinking?


In August 1987, Apple announced HyperCard, a new type of middleware for the Macintosh that made it possible for anyone to create a polished application combining text, graphics, and hyperlinks. One of the first companies to embrace HyperCard was Activision, the well-known game publisher, which released Focal Point and Business Class, two business productivity tools created by Danny Goodman, who also authored the first definitive book on HyperCard.

But why would a company known for games like Pitfall! on the Atari VCS and Ghostbusters on the Commodore 64 get into business software for the Macintosh? The answer to that question requires looking back at the early history of Activision and the company’s struggles to stay afloat after the collapse of its original home video game cartridge business.

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