Sierra Games

Hi-Res Soccer

Last updated: October 23, 2026

Overview

Hi-Res Soccer is a real-time soccer game for the Apple II, published in 1981 by On-Line Systems of Coarsegold, California, the company that later became Sierra On-Line12. Softalk announced it in April 1981: “Ken Williams and Jay Sullivan have jumped from the football gridiron to the soccer field with Soccer from On-Line Systems,” following the pair’s Hi-Res Football2. On-Line’s “Available now” advertisements followed from May 198134, and called it “the only real-time action Soccer game available for your computer!”354

Two teams of eight players each are controlled with the Apple’s game paddles, and the game can be played by two people or by one player against the computer13. It sold for $29.95 on disk and needed a 48K Apple II or II Plus with DOS 3.2 or 3.3364.

Story Summary

Hi-Res Soccer has no story. It is a single-match sports game: a green team plays a purple team, and players can type in their own team names before kick-off1.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The game is viewed from above and controlled with game paddles1. Each player controls all eight men on one team: the paddle dial sets the direction a player runs, and where the ball sits in relation to a player’s feet decides the direction of a kick37. Players can dribble, pass, and shoot, and the other side can steal the ball13. Softalk’s reviewer found that “Paddle control is tricky and subtle and very hard to get used to,” but said that patience paid off with realistic play3.

On a color display the teams wear green and purple; on a black-and-white screen they show as gray against black-and-white stripes7.

Structure and Progression

Before a match the players choose the length of each half, from one to 45 minutes1. A real-time clock and a hi-res scoreboard track the game3. Creative Computing’s reviewer noted one drawback: there is no time-out, so a match cannot be stopped to answer the telephone7.

Two players get three levels of play, which differ in how the boundaries work37:

LevelBoundaries
BeginnerThe ball bounces off all four sides, as in indoor soccer37
IntermediateThe ball goes out of play only at the ends of the field17
AdvancedOutdoor rules: the ball can go out of bounds on any side13

Against the computer, only the beginner level is available37.

Puzzles and Mechanics

Hi-Res Soccer has no puzzles. Its rules include throw-ins, corner kicks and goal kicks. Creative Computing described the corner kick: when a team kicks the ball out on its own goal side, the other team gets a kick from the corner after a two-second delay7. In the beginner game, players can also bank the ball into the goal off the sidelines7.

A later player described the computer side’s tactics as “bees chasing a soccer ball”: the whole computer team, goalie included, runs at the ball and can end up stuck in a corner8.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Softalk reviewed the game in May 1981. The reviewer opened doubtfully: “Team sports as arcade games have been tried a thousand times and have died a thousand deaths.” The review left open whether this game would succeed. It found the paddle control hard to learn, but said players who kept at it would see some lifelike plays39.

Dale Archibald reviewed it for Creative Computing in October 1981, under the headline “Just for kicks.” He summed it up as “Man meets machine and learns humility.” He opened: “I never expected to see a computer game this good—at least not so soon.” He added: “I’ve been beaten by scores of 42 to 14, 24 to 6, etc. It took me several days of practice before I finally beat the game 5 to 3.”7

In the United Kingdom, Windfall reviewed Hi-Res Soccer in its September 1981 issue, alongside Star Mines and Creature Venture, as later listed in the magazine’s back-issue index10.

Creative Computing’s September 1981 buyer’s guide to game software, “Spending Bucks for Bits,” also listed it among arcade games: “On-Line Systems has Hi-Res Soccer for the Apple ($29.95).”11

Modern Assessment

Modern coverage is sparse. Neither MobyGames nor VideoGameGeek has any user ratings for the game112. One player-written wiki entry calls it “a very very early sports game” whose computer opponent shows almost no AI. The same entry says it is hard to see which way the ball is going after a kick8.

Development

Origins

Hi-Res Soccer followed Hi-Res Football, which Jay Sullivan and Ken Williams had written for On-Line Systems27. Softalk’s announcement linked the game to soccer’s growing popularity in the United States. It listed a real-time clock, a hi-res scoreboard, three skill levels and a choice of indoor or outdoor rules2.

In On-Line’s first newsletter, in June 1981, Ken Williams wrote: “I’m fairly convinced we shall not see a better Football or Soccer than my company markets”5.

Production

Softalk credited the game to Jay Sullivan and Ken Williams. Creative Computing said it was designed by Jay Sullivan, who had also designed Hi-Res Football237. On-Line’s own advertising was also inconsistent: its May 1981 ad in Creative Computing reads “By Jay Sullivan & Ken Williams,” while its June 1981 Softalk ad reads “by Jay Sullivan”413. The Program Store’s mail-order ad in Softalk in October 1981 likewise credited it “By Jay Sullivan from On-Line”14. MobyGames credits Sullivan alone1.

On-Line advertised the game in Softalk, Creative Computing, its own On-Line Letter and Softline, usually together with Hi-Res Football356413. Dealers sold it too: the Program Store described it as “A real-time Soccer game that offers the excitement and challenge of the real thing,” with “Three skill levels” and a price of 29.95[^ref-29]. Softalk's December 1981 product listings still showed it at 29.95: “For one or two players. Paddle controlled.”9

Technical Achievements

Creative Computing’s software profile lists the game as written in machine language for a 48K Apple II Plus with one disk drive, running under DOS 3.2 or 3.37. The game came on a 5.25” floppy disk1.

Version History

VersionPlatformYearNotes
OriginalApple II198148K, DOS 3.2/3.3, 5.25” disk, $29.9513

Legacy

Hi-Res Soccer is now rare. In 2013 the Retro-Treasures blog pointed to a sealed copy on eBay, calling it a “rare game.” The writer added that they had not known Sierra made a football game in its On-Line Systems days15. The Apple2Games wiki says the game has sold on eBay for over $5008. A disk image is preserved in the woz-a-day collection on the Internet Archive16.

Downloads

Download / Preservation

See Also

References

Footnotes

  1. MobyGames - Hi-Res Soccer – Release year, publisher, credits, specs and description ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15

  2. Softalk, Vol. 1 No. 8 (April 1981) – New-product announcement crediting Ken Williams and Jay Sullivan ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. Softalk, Vol. 1 No. 9 (May 1981) – On-Line advertisement (“Available now”) and review, p. 28 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18

  4. Creative Computing, Vol. 7 No. 5 (May 1981) – On-Line Systems advertisement for Hi-Res Soccer and Hi-Res Football (“Available now for $29.95”; “8 players per team”) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Sierra On-Line Letter, Vol. 1 No. 1 (June 1981) – Hi-Res Soccer advertisement; Ken Williams, “Making Money With Your Computer” ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Softline, September 1981 – On-Line Systems Hi-Res Soccer/Football advertisement ↩ ↩2

  7. Creative Computing, Vol. 7 No. 10 (October 1981) – Dale Archibald, “Just for kicks”, review and software profile, p. 34 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  8. Apple2Games Wiki - Hi-Res Soccer (Wayback, April 2021) – Player description of gameplay and AI; eBay sale price ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. Softalk, Vol. 2 No. 4 (December 1981) – On-Line Systems product listing; index of Softalk software reviews ↩ ↩2

  10. Windfall, Vol. 2 No. 4 (October 1982) – Back-issue index listing a September 1981 games review including Hi-res Soccer ↩

  11. Creative Computing, Vol. 7 No. 9 (September 1981) – “Spending Bucks for Bits” game-software buyer’s guide, p. 170 ↩

  12. VideoGameGeek - Hi-Res Soccer – Release date 1981, publisher’s blurb, 1–2 players ↩

  13. Softalk, Vol. 1 No. 10 (June 1981) – On-Line Systems Hi-Res Soccer advertisement, p. 81, “by Jay Sullivan” ↩ ↩2

  14. Softalk, Vol. 2 No. 2 (October 1981) – The Program Store mail-order advertisement, “By Jay Sullivan from On-Line” ↩

  15. Retro-Treasures - On-Line Systems’ Hi-Res Soccer (Apple II) – 2013 post on a sealed copy for sale ↩

  16. Internet Archive – Hi-Res Soccer (woz-a-day collection) – Preserved disk image ↩ ↩2

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