Du rôle des sociétés de distribution et des boutiques de micro-informatique dans la naissance de l'industrie vidéoludique française

Colin Sidre's article in the Kinephanos special issue on the cultural history of video games (June 2015) examines how distributors and microcomputer shops shaped the birth of the French video game industry, focusing on 1983 and the period from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The author draws on archives of Bertrand Brocard (Micros et Robots, Chalon-sur-Saône), specialist press such as L'ordinateur individuel, Tilt and Hebdogiciel, advertising, interviews and packaging study. The article describes France as primarily a market of imports until around 1983, when many shops and distributors began publishing games. Several distributor-publishers emerged in 1983, including Innelec, R.U.N. Informatique, Cobra Soft, Video Telemat Report and Vismo. Video Telemat Report is presented as the most spectacular case, releasing games largely consisting of clones of existing titles. The author notes that Ellix's Oric-focused community later produced members of Loriciels, and that Loriciels was founded in autumn 1983 by Laurant Weill, who separated publishing from retail.