"Why is EA the most trashy gaming company in the country?" Because Ubisoft is in France. This sentence came to ridicule potatoes, but now with the "Assassin's Creed" and "Tom Clancy series" in recent years, Ubisoft's reputation has gradually warmed up. But our familiar EA is still the same as in the past, and while several of Rebirth Studio's titles have impressed people, the recent performance of Battlefield 2042 can't help but sweat for the future of DICE. Now perhaps this sentence should be changed to "Even though Ubisoft is in the United States, EA is still the most garbage game company in the country." Perhaps Blizzard in recent years has also been a strong contender for the nation's most junk game company, but the man just hugged the "big hard" thigh a few days ago.
Best wishes for a wonderful EA!
From 1982 to the present, EA has used extremely advanced sales ideas to become the hegemon of European and American games. As an unquestionable publisher overlord, EA in order to strengthen its own research and development strength, along the way to acquire countless studios, its own has countless popular IP "Battlefield", "Need for Speed", "Medal of Honor", "Command and Conquer", "The Sims", "Theme Hospital", "Mass Effect", etc., but the game studios that created these immortal monuments in the history of games, many of them have long been empty, for different reasons, this article will lead everyone to mourn and review, the legendary studio that died under EA.
I feel that there have been no works since I was soft recently... Not as good as...
The founding father of RTS, Westwood Studio (1985-2003).
The rise and fall of Westwood Studios was inseparable from its own corporate organizational structure and the external game environment at that time. The two founders of Westwood: Brett and Louis. The two founded the studio in 1985, and at first the two of them just took on some game porting work, after the contractors had amassed some money. Finally, in 1988, the first game, Legends of Mars, was released with the help of EA. The game had a mediocre response in the market, but it gained valuable game development experience for the two of them. In 1992, their company was acquired by Virgin and officially renamed Westwood.
It just so happened that At this time, Virgin had the copyright of a super big IP "Dune", and gave this copyright to the Westwood Studio that had just been incorporated. After a non-stop development, finally on the last day of 1992, Virgin released dune 2, a game that is remembered in the history of games. Recognized as the first RTS game, this work established a series of specification templates for the future RTS, integrating economy, construction, exploration and combat systems, opening the chapter of RTS in the history of the game.
In 1995, "Command and Conquer" was published. Building on Dune II gameplay and interface ideas, Command & Conquer adds early 3D graphics and live-action films, as well as alternative pop and rock soundtracks and technical elements as well as more advanced gameplay. During this period, in order to cooperate with the work of Westwood, Virgin also set up a special working group, Virgin North America, to assist Westwood's work.
In 1998, EA took a fancy to Virgin and bought it directly, of course, Westwood is an important reason for EA to spend thousands of dollars. At that time, Westwood accounted for 6% of the U.S. game market, and EA had 20%, joining forces and looking bright in the future. EA also promised to give Westwood enough freedom. At the same time, the previous support team handed over virgin North America to Westwood and renamed it "Westwood Pacific Studios". Therefore, the Westwood we know is not only one, but also has a branch.
However, just five years later, in January 2003, EA announced that Westwood Studios had been disbanded, and the remaining staff had joined EA's Los Angeles studio, and the Pacific division had become EA's Pacific Studios. Westwood became history.
The dissolution and demise of the Nishiki headquarters was manifold. The most important reason is that they do not have good enough works. The well-known Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Command & Conquer: General, and even Nox were developed by the Pacific Distribution. The game has been poorly sold, and during these five years, the only two major titles in the game, Dune: Clash of Kings, and FPS Command & Conquer: Apostates, both suffered disastrous commercial failures. Not because the quality of the game is too bad, but because the opponents of the same period are too strong. RTS has its own "Red Alert" in front of it, and then there is "Warcraft" and "StarCraft" in Blizzard next door. The FPS collided with EA's own DICE's "Battlefield: 1942", and in the face of such a monster-level opponent, Westwood's financial statements were really ugly, and finally let EA kill the killer.
Dune: Clash of Kings and StarCraft
Command & Conquer: Apostates and Battlefield: 1942
Leaving aside this main reason, the philosophical differences between the two partners also led to Nishiki's short life. After a five-year contract expired, Brett wanted to get out of EA, but Lewis did the opposite. Brett then ran away and founded the Rock Mural Studio, mainly as RTS, while Louis later took charge of EA's Los Angeles studio. The studio that ushered in an era died out, and RTS gradually declined.
Life goes on, ideas go on – Bullfrog Productions (1987~2001).
Bullfrog is really a beloved studio, and on all forums, you can only see players praising the studio. Of course, this great studio deserves praise, and its many works will still not feel outdated and boring even decades later: "God Is Crazy", "Theme Park", "Dungeon Keeper", "Theme Hospital". If you've ever played these pieces, it's bound to have a profound impact.
The ultimate in black humor, "Theme Hospital", and "Double Point Hospital" many years later is its spiritual sequel
Bullfrog works, one sentence can summarize "bullfrog production, must be a fine product." The bullfrog, which has gone out of business, fits this phrase better than the current Blizzard. In 1993, Bullfrog's first work, "God Is Crazy", had extremely advanced graphics at the time, and at the same time creatively integrated the two elements of "magic" and "map", while also having bullfrog's signature humor (this style has been continued by bullfrogs, and the most familiar nature for domestic players is the sentence in "Theme Hospital" in 1997: Please patients do not die in the corridor). The game sold millions of copies, and EA's credit as a publisher was also indispensable. This is also the first collaboration between Bullfrog and EA.
God Is Crazy Game Screen
In the next two years, Bullfrog launched "Syndicate" and "Theme Park", and the same highly creative game design and high-tech graphics made these two works a big hit. After helping Bullfrogs release, EA saw bullfrog's excellent performance and made up its mind to buy bullfrogs for $40 million in 1995. He promised bullfrogs enough creative freedom and funds. Bullfrog also promised that he would launch a blockbuster game in the short term, Dungeon Keeper, which was under development at the time. (Danger!) ）
It should be noted that Bullfrog is not a large company, and when It was developed to make God Crazy, it was just a small workshop of twenty or thirty people, led by the company's founder and talented game designer Pete Morinius. As a creative company, the internal atmosphere of the company is lively, the communication is very flat, and every time in their leisure time, the members of the company will shoot each other with BB guns. Morinus also admired this management style, and he himself enjoyed it. Such a guiding philosophy doomed Morinius to lead a large team of several hundred people or to work well with performanceists like EA.
Sure enough, Dungeon Keeper was a work that Morinius wanted to craft, which resulted in bullfrog never producing. Under pressure from EA, Morinius spent six weeks launching a shoddy racing game that performed so poorly that it became the first stain on bullfrog's signboard. After that, the management chaos caused by the studio's size made other game projects unsuccessful, and the only project that went on for two years was Dungeon Keeper, which had been under development.
Founder of Bullfrog, Morinius
Two years after the game's development, Morrinus decided to overturn the game. You know, bullfrogs have only one garbage racing game in EA in the past two years, which is EA I will not do it. Morinius, the older brother, was even fiercer, and simply submitted his resignation directly to EA, and EA agreed, but only if Morinius could run away with a bucket after completing Dungeon Guardians. The talented game designer pulled the core team of 20 bullfrogs straight into his own home and developed 80% of what we now see in Dungeon Keepers in the remaining six months. (The big guy is really strong)
Morinius left EA after this, taking his core team of 20 people with him and founding Lionhead. He also produced such excellent works as "Black and White". After the core personnel left, Bullfrog lost his soul, although he made a game like "Theme Hospital", but at that time it did not sell well, coupled with EA's increasing intervention in the studio, Bullfrog survived in name only, and was eventually disbanded by EA and merged into other studios. The Legendary Studio vanished, leaving only the praises of future generations of players.
Creating Everything – Maxis 1987~2015
To be clear, Maxis, who created the SimCity, The Sims and Spore series, didn't die, and in 2015 EA closed its headquarters studio, the San Francisco-based Imolyville Studios, where genius game designer Will Wright started. But with his departure, it also lost its dominance as maxis Studios and was eventually shut down by EA.
When it comes to simulation series and maxis, Will Wright can't be bypassed, and he has been called the "father of simulation games". "SimCity", "The Sims", "Spore", the most iconic IP of maxis are all created by him, he is the soul of maxis, and even Sid Meier is his fan
The three-dimensional pinball we are familiar with, "Space Cadet", is also a masterpiece of maxis, but unfortunately it was sold at one time and did not make much money
Will Wright's personal influence is significantly greater than that of other studios, and Maxis' most outstanding works are all his creations. When he joined EA in 1997 and SimCity 3000 was in full swing, he went to maxis to develop The Sims. After the success of this "simulation" new series, he did not participate in the development of the sequel, leaving only his own staff to add bricks and tiles to the framework he had already built, and he turned around and announced at the GDC in the 2005s that he was engaged in the development of Spore, with unlimited creativity, continuous progress, and was really a game master.
Talking about why Maxis' San Francisco headquarters was closed by EA is not as complicated as the above studio, and it needs to start from scratch. Simply put, the "SimCity" series, which is run by the headquarters, is no longer making money, and the gold-sucking madman "The Sims" is in another maxis studio. From the beginning of Spore in 2008 to the closure of 2015, maxis headquarters has been in a state of loss. "Spore" is not popular because of poor publicity, and "Dark Spore" and "SimCity 5" are also in a state of loss because of their own quality. After Will Wright left EA and Maxis in 2009, no good work was born at the headquarters. EA as a trader really has no reason not to close it.
"Spore" is truly an indisputable masterpiece
Therefore, I pay more attention to the soul of Will Wright than Maxis. After leaving EA in 2009, he also started his own "Yule Studio", and in 2018, GDC said that he was developing the mobile game "proxi". Thinking more about the reasons why Will Wright left EA, we can find the essential difference between a game producer and a businessman. His innovation in the field of game innovation and EA's aggressiveness in the expansion pack are so remarkable, with SimCity 2000 to The Sims 6 years apart and The Sims to Spore 8 years apart, which is undoubtedly too risky for EA. Although The Sims 4 has not been updated for 7 years, the banknotes come steadily every year.
Sim's DLC hell
The glory of TPS – Visceral 1998~2017
Compared to other studios, Vithero Studio is a pure-blooded EA bloodline, founded in 1998 when the studio was named EA Mahogany Shore Studios. The purpose of this studio is to help EA build a world in the field of film adaptation games. This positioning is inseparable from EA's early strategy - chasing celebrities. As far as possible, the game allows celebrities to endorse, or put on the IP of famous movies to make the unconventional game market more recognized. Vithero undoubtedly acted as a pawn in this strategy.
During this period, Vithero's games maintained a good standard, which can only be said to be useless. It wasn't until they launched the "Dead Space" series of the original IP of third-person horror shooting in 2008, which immediately received countless player praise and sold millions of copies, that the ten-year-old studio was really recognized by players. To this day, fourteen years later, Dead Space is also a classic that third-person shooters have to play. EA certainly paid enough attention to this, giving Vithero enough budget to develop the second game, and Vithero lived up to expectations, launching a sequel in 2011 and achieving the peak of the series.
Although the second game won a good reputation from players, due to the limitations of its own theme, the sales of 4 million copies were finally the same as the first generation. This made EA very dissatisfied. In 2013's Dead Space 3, the series' transformation from horror to combat caused both sales and word-of-mouth to decline, and did not meet EA's expectations. But that's not the main reason EA disbanded the studio.
From 2013 to 2017, Visero Studios released only two games in the five-year period, Battlefield: Hard Battle and Battlefield: Devil's League, both of which were released 16 years ago. Handing over the "battlefield" IP that he valued most to Visero was enough to see EA's trust in the studio at that time.
The reason VG has been dormant for so long stems from the fact that they are developing a Star Wars-themed game, code-named Ragtag. The project was developed for five years, which is unique within EA. But the game's development cycle is not a good thing, and if there is no strong project planning, this is a high probability that the project is difficult to produce.
Ragtag is a linear narrative game with a Star Wars theme, but unfortunately we may not see it
In fact, in the early stages of development, Ragtag faced the dilemma of insufficient staff, and related reports pointed out that it only had 30 developers in the early stages of development, which was far from enough for an AAA game. The expansion of Vitherrow's own is facing practical difficulties. Its land price, staffing costs, and taxes in Sequoia City, San Francisco Bay Area, are much higher than EA's studios in other regions. In July 2015, EA established the EA Motive branch in Montreal, Canada, where costs are low compared to San Francisco and tax incentives, to fully assist in the development of the game.
But the good times did not last long, and the newly established studio failed to "help people to the end". After the success of Star Wars: Battlefront, released in November 2015 (the game had sold 13 million copies by the end of March 2016), EA apparently lost interest in the slow-moving Ragtag and deployed EA Motive to support the development of Star Wars: Battlefront 2.
Gradually, the development of "Ragtag" became increasingly difficult as the engine materials became old and the personnel flowed, and finally EA announced in 2017 that it would disband Visero, tearing down the Star Wars IP and reinventing itself. In the end, Vishero left EA with only "Dead Space", an IP that was far away from the player.
brief summary
In fact, there are many studios that died at the hands of EA, here are four representative, in addition to The Legend Close Studio (the masterpiece "Medal of Honor"), origin Studio (the masterpiece "Genesis" series), ghost Studio (the masterpiece "Need for Speed"), Mythic Studio (the masterpiece "King Arthur's Dark Ages"), pandemic studio (the masterpiece "Star Wars: Frontline"). The name of the worst company in the United States is not a casual talk. This is the strength of people...
List of victims (some of them haven't gone out of business yet)
In the fierce commercial competition and the intertwined personnel relations, it is helpless to constantly integrate and disband the studio. As Bullfrog founder Morinius put it: "A lot of people blame EA for ruining a lot of creative game studios, and that's not right." EA is a company that has contributed a lot to the video game industry, and it's just that when it came to buying studios that were on the verge of bankruptcy, something changed. After EA bought bullfrogs, a lot of things got better, we moved to a new place of work in a good environment, although we can no longer shoot BB guns in the corridor as before, but it is more comfortable, we have a professional HR department, we no longer need to find random people to ask candidates some weird questions that they are not sure of. Changes happen after any company is acquired, sometimes the changes are benign, but more often it gets worse, and it's not the acquirer's problem. "EA is not a fool, will not spend a lot of money to buy a studio, intentionally make the studio yellow and finally disband." But I'm not here to wash the floor of the EA and say that the EA has no problems. The eyes of the masses are shining, EA's reputation is so bad, its own studio has fallen so much, it must have its own reasons.
I used to play "Plants vs. Zombies 2" with various in-app purchases that disgusted me, and I was still scolding BaoKai at the time, and later I learned who was behind the scenes
Take EA's "microtransactions" strategy of the last five years, which attempts to embed multiplayer modes and monetized marketplaces in all of its games. It is simply a typical example of drawing cards in sports games and going crazy for money. As early as the paid props in "Plants vs. Zombies 2", it was finally swept away by the majority of players in the "Star Wars Battlefront 2" in 2017. As a result, EA still did not have a long memory, bent on drilling into PVP, hard pulling soft to develop online games they were not good at, and finally "Anthem" died prematurely, two years later. After the release of "Battlefield 2042", this piece of its own golden sign is even more smelly, but it is still a piece of the sky of the rebirth studio to support EA, and the two overlords who have been in the limelight and DICE have given EA a half-dead.
In fact, there are too many classic IPs in EA's hands, and the foundation definitely belongs to the first echelon, and the above IP is all thunderous. EA has so many hole cards, it really should not just take the "microtransaction" road, but also go so unwise. Although in-game kryptonite is one of the most advanced payment methods accepted by players and manufacturers, it is the trend of the times, but not all game types are suitable for strong sound implantation. In addition, several of its own excellent games always have some plug-in and server problems, which always seem to be unable to reassure players.
We players just want to play fun games, we mourn the studios of the past, but the current EA is too disappointing for players, and we still have expectations for EA.