Compton’s MultiMedia Encyclopedia

Entitled Compton’s MultiMedia Encyclopedia, this first true multimedia encyclopaedia contained lavish graphics, animation, and sound. Compton’s MultiMedia Publishing Group was acquired by the Tribune Company, a Chicago-based media firm, in 1993 and merged into SoftKey International Inc. in 1996. Later in the decade the content from…

, introduced Compton’s MultiMedia Encyclopedia, the first multimedia CD-ROM encyclopaedia; it contained all the information of the printed set as well as sound and animation.

…equivalent to such competitors as Compton’s MultiMedia Encyclopedia. Following slow sales, later that year the CD was given away with the Windows software suite that was included with the purchase of many computers, and the stand-alone price was dropped to $99. The price reduction effectively catalyzed sales that outstripped competitors.…