The loading screen from the now infamous ShyTalk Radio computer game, ‘Jockey Wilson’s Tiananmen Square Challenge’, released for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in 1999. The idea apparently came to Stu during an LSD-fuelled weekend spent on Jeff Minter’s farm, although Minter has always refused to comment on whether he himself had any influence in the making of the game.
Poor sales and even worse reviews (with an average rating of around 15% in games magazines) combined with being released on a platform which was 10 years out of date meant that the game was quickly demoted to the bargain bin. Most retailers simply refused to stock it and only around 1,000 copies were actually made.
It was widely considered to be completely unplayable, in terrible taste, and one of the worst ever releases on the ZX Spectrum.
There has also been a rumour circulating since the early 2000s of a bootleg Sega Game Gear version of the game. We’ve seen no evidence of this, however.
Reviews:
“Utterly unwholesome and a complete cash grab. Designed by imbeciles and coded by chimpanzees.”
Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall, Computer & Video Games Magazine, 1999
“It gave me a headache and made me see colours all wrong for an hour after playing.”
Violet Berlin, Gamespot, 1999
“You’ll be hearing from my solicitor.”
Jockey Wilson, 1999
