IBM PC

Lore & Background

The IBM PC version of Tetris was a landmark release, bringing the game from the Soviet Union to Western markets. Developed by Spectrum HoloByte, it was based on the original game created by Alexey Pajitnov in the mid-1980s. Pajitnov had initially programmed Tetris in Pascal for the Elektronika 60 in about three weeks, then spent over two months porting it to the IBM PC with help from Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov, incorporating color and a scoreboard. Floppy disk copies were distributed freely throughout Moscow before spreading to Eastern Europe. Robert Stein of Andromeda Software saw Tetris in Hungary and contacted the Dorodnitsyn Computing Center to secure a license, sublicensing it to Mirrorsoft in the UK and Spectrum HoloByte in the US. Both companies released Tetris in 1988 to commercial success. The IBM PC version's success helped establish Tetris as a global hit, leading to numerous ports and sequels.

In Their Own Story

In a dimly lit office, a programmer loads a floppy disk into an IBM PC. The screen glows as the first tetromino falls. The player, a young enthusiast, watches the blocks stack, their mind racing to fit each piece. With each completed line, the blocks vanish, and the pace quickens. This is not just a game—it's a challenge that will soon captivate the world. The IBM PC version, released in 1988 by Spectrum HoloByte, was the first commercial Tetris release in North America, adapted from the original created by Alexey Pajitnov in the mid-1980s. Pajitnov had ported the game to the IBM PC using Turbo Pascal with help from Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov, incorporating color and a scoreboard. The game's success on the IBM PC paved the way for its explosive popularity on consoles and handhelds.

Reader's Guide

The IBM PC version of Tetris was developed by Spectrum HoloByte, the US company that secured the license from Robert Stein of Andromeda Software. Stein had sublicensed Tetris to Mirrorsoft in the UK and Spectrum HoloByte in the US after contacting the Dorodnitsyn Computing Center. Both companies released Tetris in 1988 to commercial success. The IBM PC version was based on the original game created by Alexey Pajitnov, who had ported it from the Elektronika 60 to the IBM PC using Turbo Pascal with help from Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. This version retained the core mechanics of rotating and placing falling tetrominoes to complete lines, and its success helped establish Tetris as a global hit, leading to numerous ports and sequels.

Did You Know?

• The IBM PC version was adapted from the original game created by Alexey Pajitnov, who programmed it in Pascal for the Elektronika 60 in about three weeks.
• Pajitnov spent over two months porting Tetris to the IBM PC using Turbo Pascal with help from Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov.
• Floppy disk copies of the original IBM PC version were distributed freely throughout Moscow before spreading to Eastern Europe.
• Robert Stein of Andromeda Software sublicensed Tetris to Spectrum HoloByte for the US market after seeing it in Hungary.
• The IBM PC version was released in 1988, the same year as the UK release by Mirrorsoft.