Software on Demand Ltd,
Unit 1, Rosevale Business Park,
Newcastle-Under-Lyme,
Staffordshire ST5 7QT,
United Kingdom



Electronic Distribution of Software (EDOS) was a label from Software on Demand Ltd, based in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, UK.

The company allowed retailers to sell games on demand without keeping stock in-store. Encrypted master copies were kept on CD and a special PC with tape and various disk drives allowed games to be copied to generic tapes or disks. The inlays were unique to each game, but listed all the available formats.

The system supported a wide range of formats: Amiga, Atari, PC (3.5" and 5 1/4" disks), Amstrad CPC (Cassette and 3" disk), Spectrum, Commodore 64 (Cassette and 5 1/4" disk) and MSX.

The company had the rights to re-distribute the titles from a wide range of publishers. The original publishers were then paid a royalty for each game sold.

The company ran from 1991 to 1994.



EDOS was a form of legal electronic software distribution introduced in the UK in 1991. The basic premise was to enable games retailers to reap greater profits by stocking a wider range of games without taking up precious shelf space.

Original master copies of games were supplied to retailers on encrypted CDs, and copied to blank disks or tapes on demand for buyers (like PD) using a custom 386SX PC in-store. Games were available for a wide range of 8- and 16-bit formats : Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Amstrad CPC (tape/disk), Spectrum (tape), C64/128 (tape/disk), MSX, and supplied to customers on generic media in multi-format labelled game boxes.

EDOS closed down its operation in mid-1994 after major UK computer chain retailer John Menzies withdrew its support and the number of independent stores involved had significantly dropped.