Summer 1983: When the King of the Apes Had to Change His Name
The June 1983 issue of Dragon User was only the magazine's second, and it cost 60p at the newsagent. So what did a young Dragon owner find inside back then? News of hardware add-ons, a joystick test, type-in games and letters packed with tips and tricks. Here are a few of the highlights.
One in Three Dragons Sold at the Chemist's
An interview with Boots revealed a surprising figure: by the chain's own estimate, around a third of all Dragons had been sold over its counters. By the end of February, an estimated 55,000 Dragon computers had been sold. The top ten software chart, compiled by Boots itself, was headed by Microdeal's Donkey King, with Katerpillar Attack in second place.
The King Who Lost His Donkey
And here's the issue's most amusing story: Microdeal pulled Donkey King from the shelves after claims that the name infringed the rights to Donkey Kong. Managing director John Symes took it in his stride, saying they had been planning to change it anyway:
"Now we will call it The King."
Upgrading to 64K
The news pages reported that Dragon 32 owners would be able to upgrade to 64K with a board swap, at a cost of £75. They also said the next machine would be 6809-based with improved graphics, expected in September at under £400. For a child who'd been given a computer as a present, these were very serious sums in those days.
The Joystick Wars
The cover feature tested joysticks priced between £15 and £19.95 a pair. The reviewer's favourites were those from Cascom, Dragon Dungeon and Talon Electronics. With a pair from Dragon Dungeon, he set his personal best on Racer Ball: 48,700 points. And on one pair from Midwich, the directions were simply reversed: push down, and the character on screen goes up.
A Club in the Dungeon
The clubs page paid a visit to the "Dungeon" in Ashbourne, the largest Dragon owners' club in Britain. It had around 3,400 members, with 30 new ones joining every day, some from the Persian Gulf and Zambia. A six-month trial membership cost £3.25. The organiser, Peter Woods, had come to the field from a fishing tackle business.
A Reader's Trick
A reader from Wolverhampton sent in a clever method for hiding a copyright notice in line 65535 of a program, a line that can't be edited or deleted. Another reader warned that POKEing zero into address 55495 could "damage the health of the processor".
Dragon User, issue 2, June 1983, Sunshine Publications. Scan courtesy of archive.org.
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