Firebird US History
Continued...
When Paula Byrne took charge of Telecomsoft in the UK in 1987, she started looking at the US operation and concluded that whilst the current operation had done a good job in securing a foothold in the US market, it really wasn't focused enough on US sensibilities - the types of game chosen for release, the overall packaging style, even down to the US sense of humour compared to the British - all these reasons contributed to the decision to close down the New Jersey office in 1988 and start again with a smaller, more US specific team which included Cynthia Bruschi, who had previously worked for US publisher The Learning Company.
Distribution for the new US operation was narrowed down to a choice between two firms - Electronic Arts and Mediagenic (formerly Activision). In the end, Mediagenic got the nod and a small Firebird/Rainbird presence was setup within Mediagenic's offices at 3885 Bohannan Drive, Menlo Park, California. Packaging more suitable for the US games market was introduced, using slimmer and glossier boxes with a more abstract approach being employed for some of the layout and artwork.
Titles released in the US with the new-style packaging included the ST and Amiga versions of Elite, Virus, Carrier Command, Starglider 2, Enlightenment: Druid 2, Corruption, Fish, Space Cutter (aka Wirligig) and Black Lamp.