At 16 we were selling games from a tiny magazine ad. We were earning so much our Dad quit his job to join us

During the Game Genie case, Nintendo flew Miyamoto to a courtroom in San Francisco. Their argument was that making Mario jump higher created a new work.

When we outgrew the Banbury unit, Dad found an old riding school near Southam. We turned the stables into the Codemasters offices.

Our NES racer started life as California Beach Buggies. Then Galoob’s toys arrived and it became Micro Machines.

Two teenagers walked into Lynne Franks’ office. She got us into the papers and kids’ TV.

Dad used to take me into his work when I was 5 years old. He introduced me to everyone. That’s how I learned I could be an entrepreneur.

We wrote our own quotes on the boxes. One said “Absolutely Brilliant!!!” It became my catchphrase.

We each saved £5 lunch money a week. Seven weeks later we had £70 for our first ad in Popular Computing Weekly.

At 16 my brother Richard and I started Galactic Software. Before that, Richard and Mike had started Darbert Computers.

At 16 we bought a machine code monitor cartridge for the VIC-20. That is when we could write games fast enough to sell.

Our first office was an industrial unit in Banbury. Next door was a coffee factory.

Abigail was on the front desk at Banbury. She was our sister.

First time I played Asteroids was on a ferry. Vancouver to Vancouver Island. About 1981.

A friendly janitor let us into the school computer room at night. One keyboard. Thirty kids in the day.

Grandad designed early colour TVs in Australia. He taught us to build radios.

We started in a stables at Lower Farm, Southam. When we ran out of room we got portacabins. Cold in winter.

Dad asked if computer games were a fad, like Hula Hoops. I said they would be around forever.

In a taxi to Buckingham Palace they told me not to ask the Queen anything. I asked if she liked computer games. She said she was too old. Her grandchildren loved them.

We had no office. Games went out in the post.

We called it the J-Cart. JoyPad Cart. Micro Machines 2. Four pads on the cart. Share them and eight of you could play at once.

At 14 Dad lent me his work Commodore PET. I took it home and made a D&D game.