Hewson Consultants was formed in 1980 by Andrew Hewson - a former chemical physicist who learned to program computers while working at the British Museum - in order to publish a book offering programming tips for the ZX80, a precursor to the ZX Spectrum. After the book's publishing, readers started sending him the games they made on tape, and a publisher was born.
Hewson Consultants was something of a pioneer in media relations in those early days of computer gaming, crafting relationships and deals with prominent magazines in order to land prime marketing opportunities like cover articles and serialised development diaries for games like Paradroid.
In 1991, financial issues triggered by the demise of an international distributor bought about the end of Hewson Consultants. Hewson, and much of his team, would return a short time later with 21st Century Entertainment... but this isn't the end of the story. In 2013, the company re-launched to publish a crowdfunded book about Hewson's experiences at the dawn of the UK games industry, the success of which has led to the company resuming publishing duties by working with UK indies.
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