Shareware: a business model

Shareware is a type of software distribution model that allows users to try a program before purchasing it. It's a marketing strategy and distribution method that was particularly popular in the early days of personal computing, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.
Shareware games were released for free with limited functionality (for example: no saving, missing levels, time limit), often via a BBS (Bulletin Board System), a floppy disc or a CD included in a printed magazine or by direct download (when internet was in its infancy). If the user liked the shareware product, they could pay to obtain an upgrade and unlock the full game. When digital distribution started to become popular, shareware games slowly faded into oblivion.

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Round 42

DOS1986

Sango Fighter

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1993freeware Panda Entertainment Technology Co.

Scorched Earth

DOS1991protected

Secret Agent

DOS1992protected Apogee Software

Secret Agent: The Escape

DOS1996 PhreAk Software

Seek and Destroy

DOS1996 Safari Software

Seek and Destroy was a shoot'em up published by the well known Epic Megagames in 1996 that tried to change the usual shoot'em up gameplay for the better. Instead of wave after wave of enemies to shoot down, you are given short missions to accomplish with your helicopter or your tank (yes, you can choose). At first, missions could seem a bit repetit...

Shadow Warrior

DOS1997protected 3d Realms

Sherlock: The Game of Logic

DOS1991protected Everett Kaser Software

Shooting Gallery

DOS1990 Arcanum Computing

Skyglobe 3.5

DOS1992

SkyGlobe is an astronomy software that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a DOS-based planetarium program that allowed users to explore the night sky in real-time or by adjusting dates and times. Some of its key features included: a rendering of stars, constellations, and planets, the ability to simulate past and future astr...

Skyroads

DOS1993freeware Bluemoon Interactive

Skyroads: Xmas Special

DOS1994freeware Bluemoon Interactive

Slicks 'n' Slide

DOS1993

Snood

DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1996freeware

Softporn Adventure

DOS1981freewareNSFW Sierra On-Line

Solar Winds 2: Galaxy

DOS1993 Stone Interactive Media

Solar Winds: The Escape

DOS1993 Stone Interactive Media

Space Miner

DOS1983

Spacewar

DOS1985

Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer games and is often considered the first interactive video game. It was created in 1962 by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen at the MIT. The game was developed on the PDP-1 minicomputer; this is a DOS port, released in 1985.Spacewar! features two spaceships, controlled by players, that ...