Don't Buy This
Don't Buy This (also known as Don't Buy This: Five of the Worst Games Ever) is a compilation of video games for the ZX Spectrum released on 1 April 1985. As described on the box, it contains five of the poorest games submitted to publisher Firebird. Instead of rejecting the submissions, they decided to mock the original developers by releasing them together and publicly brand it as "unoriginal" and "awful". Firebird even disowned all their copyright to the game and encouraged buyers to pirate it at will. Reviews for the game were universally negative , with critics questioning how to critique the game due to its publicity being based on it being a collection of bad games. Despite the negative reception, the game was a commercial success. Release. "Don't Buy This" was published by Telecomsoft under the Firebird label. Firebird disowned the game upon release, with Firebird's marketing manager James Leavey claiming that the game "wasn't released — it just escaped!" The publisher also encouraged copying the game, offering a chance to win a sticker or badge for people who wrote to the company about the game. It was released on 1 April  1985 under Firebird's Silver Range for £2.50. Reception. "Your Spectrum" wrote: "The games aren't that bad as do-it-yourself games but, they won't provide that much fun." "Sinclair User" said it contained "five of the most uninspired games ever to disgrace the Spectrum." A reviewer for "Computer and Video Games" noted that the game was difficult to give a score due to it being publicised as being a collection of bad games, but declared it to be "good for a laugh". In a 2011 retrospective on the compilation, television presenter, YouTuber, and author Larry Bundy  Jr admitted he had to showcase the game as a retrospective rather than a review because "you can’t exactly review or give the ol' 'angry reviewer' treatment to a game that openly admits that it's supposed to be rubbish can you?" He ridiculed a wide variety of aspects of each game, from their low resolution graphics to their difficult or even impossible gameplay. John Szczepaniak from "Hardcore Gaming 101" featured the game as part of their "Your Weekly Kusoge" column. Szczepaniak, while describing the games as "uninspired, dull and lazy", he did not consider them to be the  worst games on the ZX Spectrum. Despite the negative criticism towards the game, "Retro Gamer" in 2005 reported that it was a commercial success.