5 ms·

> "Takeover by EA is usually considered a death knell for game studios..." Further to this point: Maxis, makers of Sim City, were notable for a long time as be

by roc 14y ago

> "Takeover by EA is usually considered a death knell for game studios..." Further to this point: Maxis, makers of Sim City, were notable for a long time as being the glaring exception when it came to EA's habit of buying and squeezing studios to death. But the writing was on the wall when THE SIMS hit so big and was.. "exploited"[1] so heavily. And when Will left... well, it's just flat-out inconceivable that anyone remained naive about what EA was going to get up to. [1] http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/12/05 http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/12/05

MartinCron 14y ago
I remember when The Sims was first announced, where Maxis was saying "And most of the game isn't even done yet. We've got loads of new stuff we'll release for free online!" which turned into dozens of boxed expansion packs. Yuck.
- RexRollman 14y ago
  Really? Wow, what a bunch of jerks. I am surprised that anyone even wants to buy a game from them after something like that.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    Yet they do keep buying, year after year. They want the polish of AAA EA titles as compared to indie fare, and they're willing to bend over to get it. Its the whole consumer versus content producer battle in a microcosm, and it doesn't make consumers look good. It's easy to get away with being a shitty company like EA when people line up to get "Madden" versus some non-branded sports game.
sshumaker 14y ago
That's slightly revisionist history. EA bought Maxis when they weren't in great financial shape (it didn't help that basically every Friday was spent at the bar). It's true that the Sims was a huge success that EA didn't anticipate (they repeatedly tried to kill the project), but the jury is still out if Maxis would have survived long enough to release it without EA's funding and support.
- mmanfrin 14y ago
  EA bought Maxis when they weren't in great financial shape I'm not familiar with the specifics, but if Maxis was in such dire straits, why did Wright become the largest shareholder of EA as a result of the takeover? And his partner became CEO for a while.
  - ekianjo 14y ago
    > Wright become the largest shareholder of EA as a result of the takeover Sources?
    - pyre 14y ago
      From Wikipedia[1]: > The company's IPO took place in 1995. In 1997, after > setbacks on a series of secondary titles, Braun and > Wright sold Maxis to Electronic Arts for US$120 > million in stock. The deal made Braun the largest > shareholder in EA at the time. Not Wright, but a result of the purchase. Also from Wikipedia[2]: > Maxis went public in 1995 with revenue of US$38 million. > The stock reached $50 a share and then dropped as Maxis > posted a loss. EA bought Maxis in June 1997. and > It was a difficult idea to sell to EA, because > already 40% of Maxis's employees had been laid > off. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Braun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Braun [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright_(game_designer) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright_(game_designer)
- roc 14y ago
  I wasn't remotely talking about money; about why Maxis sold, whether they had to or anything along those lines. You're projecting an argument I never made. I'm talking purely about the games and the people who make them. EA buys studios and squeezes them. Why the studios subjected themselves to it is irrelevant to the fact that it happened. Repeatedly. Pretty much non-stop since Trip walked out the door. EA's long-standing treatment of their employees and the properties they owned, in the pursuit of a release schedule that burned out both in short order, is not revisionist history. It is EA's history.
LandoCalrissian 14y ago
I shed a tear for Westwood studios.
- cantankerous 14y ago
  "A Tear?" I'm still in mourning.
- theg2 14y ago
  Westwood was failing and wasn't going to survive on it's own. It's a sad fact but EA bought them up in order to save the franchises and the jobs of many developers.
sehugg 14y ago
I would like to have seen SimMars (and SimCastle). http://www.shacknews.com/article/60839/new-images-of-maxis-cancelled http://www.shacknews.com/article/60839/new-images-of-maxis-c...
vor_ 14y ago
That cartoon is about Bobby Kotick of Activision.
- roc 14y ago
  Yes and EA is openly following the same playbook and has been less-openly following it for years. One could argue Activision took it from EA.

by roc 14y ago

MartinCron 14y ago

I remember when The Sims was first announced, where Maxis was saying "And most of the game isn't even done yet. We've got loads of new stuff we'll release for free online!" which turned into dozens of boxed expansion packs. Yuck.

RexRollman 14y ago
Really? Wow, what a bunch of jerks. I am surprised that anyone even wants to buy a game from them after something like that.
- rayiner 14y ago
  Yet they do keep buying, year after year. They want the polish of AAA EA titles as compared to indie fare, and they're willing to bend over to get it. Its the whole consumer versus content producer battle in a microcosm, and it doesn't make consumers look good. It's easy to get away with being a shitty company like EA when people line up to get "Madden" versus some non-branded sports game.

sshumaker 14y ago

That's slightly revisionist history. EA bought Maxis when they weren't in great financial shape (it didn't help that basically every Friday was spent at the bar). It's true that the Sims was a huge success that EA didn't anticipate (they repeatedly tried to kill the project), but the jury is still out if Maxis would have survived long enough to release it without EA's funding and support.

mmanfrin 14y ago
EA bought Maxis when they weren't in great financial shape I'm not familiar with the specifics, but if Maxis was in such dire straits, why did Wright become the largest shareholder of EA as a result of the takeover? And his partner became CEO for a while.
- ekianjo 14y ago
  > Wright become the largest shareholder of EA as a result of the takeover Sources?
  - pyre 14y ago
    From Wikipedia[1]: > The company's IPO took place in 1995. In 1997, after > setbacks on a series of secondary titles, Braun and > Wright sold Maxis to Electronic Arts for US$120 > million in stock. The deal made Braun the largest > shareholder in EA at the time. Not Wright, but a result of the purchase. Also from Wikipedia[2]: > Maxis went public in 1995 with revenue of US$38 million. > The stock reached $50 a share and then dropped as Maxis > posted a loss. EA bought Maxis in June 1997. and > It was a difficult idea to sell to EA, because > already 40% of Maxis's employees had been laid > off. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Braun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Braun [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright_(game_designer) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright_(game_designer)
roc 14y ago
I wasn't remotely talking about money; about why Maxis sold, whether they had to or anything along those lines. You're projecting an argument I never made. I'm talking purely about the games and the people who make them. EA buys studios and squeezes them. Why the studios subjected themselves to it is irrelevant to the fact that it happened. Repeatedly. Pretty much non-stop since Trip walked out the door. EA's long-standing treatment of their employees and the properties they owned, in the pursuit of a release schedule that burned out both in short order, is not revisionist history. It is EA's history.

LandoCalrissian 14y ago

I shed a tear for Westwood studios.

cantankerous 14y ago
"A Tear?" I'm still in mourning.
theg2 14y ago
Westwood was failing and wasn't going to survive on it's own. It's a sad fact but EA bought them up in order to save the franchises and the jobs of many developers.

sehugg 14y ago

I would like to have seen SimMars (and SimCastle). http://www.shacknews.com/article/60839/new-images-of-maxis-cancelled http://www.shacknews.com/article/60839/new-images-of-maxis-c...

vor_ 14y ago

That cartoon is about Bobby Kotick of Activision.

roc 14y ago
Yes and EA is openly following the same playbook and has been less-openly following it for years. One could argue Activision took it from EA.