Casady & Greene
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development and publishing |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Robin Casady |
| Defunct | July 3, 2003 |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Macintosh platform, Windows, Apple Newton |
| Products | Software including Crystal Quest, SoundJam MP, Conflict Catcher, Spell Catcher, various games and utilities |
Casady & Greene (C&G) operated as a software developer and publisher from 1988 until 2003, focusing mainly on the Macintosh platform, with select releases for Windows and Apple Newton. The company originated in 1988 when Greene, Inc. acquired CasadyWare, a firm founded by Robin Casady, with a primary emphasis on serving the Macintosh user base.
Robin Casady established Casady Company in 1984 to publish Macintosh bitmap font products, partnering with Richard Ware. Initially, Casady Company shared trade show space and merchant accounts with Greene Johnson, Inc., the vendor behind the spelling checker Spellswell; however, both companies remained independent. By 1986, Casady Co broadened its scope to include Postscript font publishing and adopted the name CasadyWare.
Following the dissolution of Greene Johnson in 1987, Michael Greene launched Greene, Inc. At Robin Casady’s suggestion, Greene developed QuickDEX, a Desk Accessory that functioned as a card catalog and enabled multitasking on Macintosh systems. Later that year, Greene, Inc. began publishing Patrick Buckland’s shareware title Crystal Quest, optimized for the color-capable Macintosh II. As the first color game designed for the Mac II, Crystal Quest achieved strong sales alongside the hardware launch, significantly enhancing Greene, Inc.’s financial performance.
In 1988, confronted with declining font sales, Casady sought to sell CasadyWare. Greene, Inc. acquired it to maintain access to its credit card merchant account due to stringent banking policies affecting software companies. To preserve this banking relationship, Greene, Inc. was dissolved while retaining CasadyWare, Inc., which was subsequently renamed Casady & Greene, Inc.
The company expanded its offerings to include a Crystal Quest level editor; security software AME; Crash Barrier, a utility for crash recovery; InfoGenie/iData spreadsheet applications (Let's KISS); InstaFiles!; and numerous games such as Sky Shadow, Mission Starlight, Glider, Pararena, Mission Thunderbolt, Spaceway 2000, Silicon Casino, Glider PRO, AmoebArena, Step On It!, and both Zone Warrior I and II along with Crystal Crazy. Between 1987 and 1990, gaming titles constituted the primary source of revenue. Toward the end of 1990, C&G consolidated its Postscript Font products into a unified package marketed on both PC and Macintosh platforms, which achieved robust sales.
Significantly, C&G was the original distributor of SoundJam MP, which later served as the basis for Apple Inc’s iTunes. Additionally, they distributed well-known classic Mac OS utilities including Conflict Catcher and Spell Catcher.
Unlike contemporaries such as Pangea Software and Ambrosia Software, Casady & Greene was unable to successfully adapt from classic Mac OS to the Unix-based Mac OS X, ultimately leading to its closure on July 3, 2003. Some of their software was later redeveloped for OS X and a limited number for Intel-based Macs; only a handful were released on Windows.
External links
- Defunct software companies of the United States
- Macintosh software companies
- American companies established in 1984
- Software companies established in 1984
- Software companies disestablished in 2003
- Defunct video game companies of the United States
- 1984 establishments in the United States
- 2003 disestablishments in the United States