Editing Solar Jetman (section)

==Development and release==
{{Quote box|quote=We wanted to make our own games. We already designed and developed ''[[Ironsword]]'', and didn't really want to do any more of that kind of work. But if we were going to do a sequel to anything, it may have well been something we liked, and I think we liked the original ''[[Jetpac]]''.|source=Ste Pickford in a retrospective interview with ''[[Retro Gamer]]''<ref name=history/> |width=30em |quoted=1}}

''Solar Jetman'' was developed in-joint by Mancunian developer Zippo Games and Leicestershire-based Rare. Founded by brothers Ste and John Pickford, Zippo Games was known for developing ''[[Ironsword]]'', a sequel to Rare's 1987 game ''[[Wizards & Warriors]]''. Impressed by the success of ''Ironsword'', Rare purchased Zippo Games and commissioned them more development projects, a decision which was viewed unfavourably by Ste Pickford, as he wanted to focus on developing games independently.<ref name=history/> After the buy-out, the Pickford brothers started development of ''Iota'' on 1 June 1989,<ref name=pickford>{{cite web|last1=Pickford|first1=Ste|title=Solar Jetman overview and details|url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/softography/index.php?game=37|website=Zee-3|publisher=Pickford Brothers|access-date=26 September 2015|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607131556/http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/softography/index.php?game=37|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=iota>{{cite web|last1=Whitehead|first1=Dan|title=Rare Replay review|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-04-rare-replay-review|publisher=Eurogamer|access-date=23 August 2015|date=4 August 2015}}</ref> a game which was conceived by programmer Steve Hughes to be an [[shooter game|arcade-shooter]] inspired by the [[Atari ST]] game ''[[Oids]]''. Despite having initial creative control over ''Iota'', Rare ordered Zippo Games to change the game into a ''Jetman'' title halfway through development.<ref name=history/>

During the late 1980s, the Stamper brothers sold the rights of Ultimate Play the Game to [[U.S. Gold]] and shifted their focus from the British home computing market to broader home console games.<ref name=history>{{cite journal|title=1983: A Spaceman's Odyssey - The History of Jetman|journal=Retro Gamer|date=November 2011|issue=96|page=50|url=http://scans.bytemaniacos.com/en/retro_gamer/Retro_Gamer_Issue_096.pdf|access-date=22 August 2015|publisher=Imagine|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927142453/http://scans.bytemaniacos.com/en/retro_gamer/Retro_Gamer_Issue_096.pdf|archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=best>{{cite web|title=The Best of British - Ultimate|url=http://www.crashonline.org.uk/51/ultimate.htm|publisher=Crash|access-date=13 August 2015}}</ref>  The company became one of the first western developers to be granted a licence by Nintendo to produce games for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], during which Rare began employing more staff and expanding their operations in order to develop more games for home consoles.<ref name=history/>

After development switched to ''Solar Jetman'', the Pickford brothers received little input from Rare, with Ste Pickford later speculating that the Stamper brothers had confidence in their abilities, despite being entrusted with their most "revered" series.<ref name=history/> In a retrospective interview, Ste Pickford stated that he drew inspiration for the mechanics of ''Solar Jetman'' from a ZX Spectrum game, ''Scuba Diving'', admitting that the gravitational pulls of Jetman's pod were reminiscent of the way a scuba diver manoeuvred. Development of ''Solar Jetman'' lasted around a year and started from a standard two-man team to a workforce of several people as the game eventually grew larger in scale.<ref name=history/>

Shortly after release, [[SCi Games|Sales Curve Interactive]] announced ports of ''Solar Jetman'' for the [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Atari ST]], and [[Amiga]], all developed by [[Acclaim Studios Manchester|Software Creations]] and published by Storm.<ref name=theone>{{cite magazine|title = Rare Sighting|date = February 1991|url = https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-29/page/n11|magazine = The One|publisher = emap Images|issue = 29|page = 12}}</ref> The Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST versions were complete and the ZX Spectrum reached a playable demo state,<ref name=preview/> before the project was cancelled due to poor sales of the NES original and perceived unsuitability for the home computer markets. The Commodore 64 version has subsequently been discovered and made available for download.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/solar-jetman/ | title=Review - Solar Jetman | work=Games That Weren't | year=1991 | access-date=21 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Fisher | first= Andrew | date = December 2013 | title = The Commodore 64 Games that Time Forgot | work = [[Retro Gamer]] | issue = 122 | page = 56 | publisher = [[Imagine Publishing]]}}</ref> Despite the cancellations, ''Solar Jetman'' was later re-released by [[Nintendo]] for their NES-based [[PlayChoice-10]] arcade system in 1990.<ref name=pickford/> The game was later included in Rare's 2015 [[Xbox One]] retrospective compilation, ''[[Rare Replay]]''.<ref name="Polygon: Replay"/>