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Chart Information

ComputerHits is a comprehensive reference guide for every UK 8-bit software chart published during the golden age of computer games, 1982 to 1993.

All Formats (ALL) charts are the most common and combine the sales of a title across all every format into a single chart position. The other type of chart that covers multiple formats is the Multi-Format (M/F) chart where a titles are separate by their format, so a single title could have several entries in the same chart. These differences resulted in two different Christmas number one's in 1985 and 1988 with the ZX Spectrum versions of Rambo and RoboCop taking the Multi-Format number one positions while Commando and Operation Wolf topped the charts with all formats combined. The data also includes machine specific charts for the Acorn Electron (ELK), BBC Micro (BBC), BBC and Electron combined (B/E), Amstrad (CPC), Atari 8-BIt (A8), Dragon(DR), Commodore (C16,C64 and VIC) and Sinclair Spectrum (ZX) and ZX81 (81). The least coverage is for the MSX which is for only two months in 1986.
Only charts based on sales are included, reader voted charts are excluded.

While site is focused on 8-bit titles, many 16-bit titles are included where they appear in All Format and Multi-Format charts. Console games, which make very few appearances, are excluded completely. In the early 1980's there were so many Chess programs published that chart compilers combined all their sales together into a single 'Chess' entry; these generic entries are also excluded from the database, along with some very obscure utilities that have been impossible to correctly identify. The Fun School series was released for different age groups but this was not always specified in the chart listings so thoses releases are combined.

ComputerHits uses the charts printed in these magazines:

▶A&B Computing - April 1985
▶Acorn User - January 1984 - March 1987
▶Amstrad Computer User - June 1985 - May 1992
▶Atari User - May 1987 - October 1988
▶Big K - April 1984, June 1984 - August 1984, October - December 1984, February - March 1985
▶Bang Weekly - seven issues from September 1986 to November 1986
▶Commodore Force - January 1993 - February 1994
▶Commodore Format - December 1990 - May 1993
▶Commodore User - April 1985 - January 1990
▶Computer Gamesweek - August 1988 - January 1989
▶Computer & Video Games - April 1984 - December 1984, October 1985 - January 1988, July 1988 - March 1992
(some charts were printed in earlier issues of CVG but they are not included here as the source is not listed. From May 1984 to March 1985, CVG published the bi-weekly NOP/Daily Mirror chart (also published in other EMAP magazines, Sinclair User and Commodore User). Although only the first chart provides a date, the provision of 'last week' and 'weeks in chart' statistics (which are really 'fortnights' rather than 'weeks') allows all of the NOP charts to be accurately dated)
▶Computer Gamer - April 1985 - October 1985
▶CPC Attack - June 1992 - September 1992
▶Electron User - October 1987 - July 1990
▶Games-X - March 1991 - March 1992
(issue 119 to 124 of CVG feature the same weekly charts as Games-X, although CVG still refers to them as 'monthly charts')
▶Home Computing Weekly - December 1984 - August 1985
▶New Computer Express - November 1988 - August 1989, September 1990, July 1991 - October 1991
(the charts printed in 1991 are identical to those printed in Games-X magazine)
▶Personal Computer Games - December 1983 - February 1985
▶Personal Computer News - June 1983 - February 1985
▶Personal Computer World - March 1984 - January 1985
▶Popular Computing Weekly - December 1982 - January 1985, August 1985 - December 1987, March 1988
▶Sinclair User - December 1984 - April 1991, September 1991 - January 1992, November 1992 - April 1993
▶Your Commodore - March - October 1985
▶Your Computer - February 1986 - April 1987
▶Your Sinclair - January 1986 - December 1991, August 1992 - June 1993
(the earliest charts printed by YS are actually weekly charts and match those printed in Popular Computing Weekly)

▶Zzap64! - August 1992 - November 1992
The chart history lists display links to archived copies of these magazine pages where possible.
Many charts were published without giving the exact date, particularly in the later years. Where this happens an estimated date is shown, indicated on the chart history with c. prefix ahead of the date in italics. In some cases, the 'last week' or 'last month' placing is also listed, these are displayed inside brackets. For example, this is an extract from the chart history of Paperboy:

Chart history:

2WEEK to c.87-01-10Popular Computing Weekly p16 (87-01-29)
2WEEK to c.87-01-17( Popular Computing Weekly p19 (87-02-12) )
3WEEK to c.87-01-24Popular Computing Weekly p19 (87-02-12)
4WEEK to c.87-01-31Popular Computing Weekly p17 (87-02-19)

Here, the issue of Popular Computing Weekly for February 5th is missing, but the chart place for that week is taken from the 'last week' position in the February 12th issue.

In addition, data has been included from these sources:
▶the MIcroscope/Prism Distribution chart compiled by RAM/C for the two weeks to 1st Nov 1984 (image)
▶the Computer Software Retailing/Gallup chart for the week ending 12th Nov 1984 (image 1) (image 2)
▶the Computer Software Retailing/Gallup chart for the week ending 30th Nov 1984 (image 1)
▶the legible entries in the Computer Software Retailing/Gallup chart for the week ending 5th Dec 1984 (partially printed in Big K No 12)
▶the Computer Trade Weekly/Gallup charts for the week ending 25th March 1989 (image)
▶Computer Trade Weekly issues 338 and 343 featuring Gallup charts for the weeks ending 18th May 1991 and 22nd June 1991. These issues are archived at SegaRetro.
▶GFK's data on Christmas number ones on Gallup's All Format chart (image)
▶GFK's data on Christmas number ones on Gallup's Multi-Format chart (image)