THE SALES CURVE
Jane Cavanagh worked at Firebird Software in the mid-Eighties as a business development manager, getting its games into overseas territories and signing several arcade titles for home conversions, including Bubble Bobble and Flying Shark from Taito. Jane then got the opportunity to set up on her own in late 1987, as she explains.
“The original plan was to represent companies who didn’t have any presence in the UK. Our first client was France Image Logiciel (FIL). They wanted me to acquire some arcade licences and develop products based upon those licences, which they would then distribute around Europe.”
Among the titles The Sales Curve signed were Silkworm and Gemini Wing from Tecmo, Continental Circus and The Ninja Warriors from Taito, and Shinobi from Sega. She needed to find someone to run the development side, and news that Jane was looking for a development director reached Darren Melbourne, who had only recently left defunct games publisher Nexus.
“Obviously I thought I could do it,” laughs Darren. “To get the job I basically told her a pack of lies! I said I knew everyone in the industry, that I could easily do it standing on my head, and thankfully she gave me a chance.”
50 Lombard Road in Battersea became The Sales Curve’s office, and at
