Editing Telecomsoft (section)

=== Firebird ===
[[File:Telecomsoft-firebird-software-fair-use-220px.png|thumb|right|220px]]

British Telecom brought in Tony Rainbird, owner of budget software publisher Micro-Gold, to help set up the first Telecomsoft label, Firebird.<ref name='onlykidding'>{{cite magazine |title=Only Kidding|magazine=Your Sinclair |issue=31 |publisher=Dennis |date=July 1988|page=105|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=252&page=105|author=Graeme Kidd|access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref>
Originally named Firefly Software, the label had to be renamed when it was discovered that the name had already been registered by another company.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdsanctuary.co.uk/fb/fb_hist.php |title=The Bird Sanctuary - Firebird History |access-date=2009-10-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419140304/http://www.birdsanctuary.co.uk/fb/fb_hist.php |archive-date=2009-04-19 }}</ref>

The first titles to be published on the Firebird Silver label in November 1984 were ''[[The Wild Bunch (video game)|The Wild Bunch]]'' for the [[ZX Spectrum]], ''[[Booty (video game)|Booty]]'' for the [[Commodore 64]] and ''Bird Strike'' for the [[BBC Micro]].<ref name='pcw181084'>{{cite magazine |title=BT games|magazine=Popular Computing Weekly |volume=3|issue=42 |publisher=Sunshine Publications |date=18 October 1984|page=5|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2828&page=5|access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> 

Although there were doubts as to whether or not the market could afford to sustain a range of budget titles, the Firebird Silver releases were successful. In February 1985, ''Booty'' was the third best selling video game in the UK, behind only [[Ghostbusters (1984 video game)|''Ghostbusters'']] and ''[[Daley Thompson's Decathlon]]''.<ref name='hcw19285'>{{cite magazine |title=Top 20 Software Compiled By Gallup|magazine=Home Computing Weekly |issue=100 |publisher=Argus Specialist Publications |date=19 February 1985|page=4|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2666&page=4|access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> 

While Firebird Silver would release budget titles priced at £2.50, Firebird Gold would release more prestigious titles at a higher price.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdsanctuary.co.uk/fb/fb_hist2.php |title=The Bird Sanctuary - Firebird History2 |access-date=2009-10-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419140031/http://www.birdsanctuary.co.uk/fb/fb_hist2.php |archive-date=2009-04-19 }}</ref> Firebird Gold established itself just as well as its budget counterpart. The label became synonymous with many classic 8-bit titles such as ''[[Elite (video game)|Elite]]'', ''[[Revs_(video_game)|Revs]]'',  and ''[[The Sentinel (computer game)|The Sentinel]]''. 

In October 1985, the budget range was relaunched as the lower priced Firebird Silver 199 Range<ref name='pcw19985'>{{cite magazine |title=Hot hits from BT|magazine=Popular Computing Weekly |volume=4|issue=38 |publisher=Sunshine Publications |date=19 September 1985|page=4|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2875&page=4|access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> and a full price label, Firebird Hot, was created to publish titles such as ''Costa Capers'', the sequel to ''[[Technician Ted]]''.<ref name=pcw19985 /> A further label called Firebird Super Silver was a short-lived mid-price range which published titles such as ''[[Chimera (video game)|Chimera]]'' and the [[Amstrad CPC]] version of ''Booty'' at £3.99.

Firebird's success allowed them to acquire a number of third party developers, see ''Telecomsoft acquisitions'' below, and they also established a deal with [[Ultimate Play the Game]], whereby they would convert and publish a number of their successful [[ZX Spectrum]] games to the Commodore 64.

As the Rainbird label became the home of Telecomsoft's premium products, the Gold and Hot labels slowly merged into a single full price range which went on to publish [[Mike Singleton|Mike Singleton's]] [[Dark Sceptre]] and the home conversions of ''[[Bubble Bobble]]''.

A final overhaul of the Firebird brand was conducted in early 1988 as the budget titles became rebranded as Silverbird.