TheToasterIsLaughingAtMe
90093
1352
60
Westwood was known for making the game Command & Conquer.
Maxis was the brainchild behind the iconic city building game SimCity. EAs spin on that franchise is my $69 coaster.
Canadian based game developer behind the critically acclaimed franchises: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights.
The masterminds behind destruction-racing series Burnout.
The Saboteur. A fantastic game that is little more than a cult classic because EA shut them down before they really got going.
The survival horror game Dead Space and Dead Space 2 and 3 before being destroyed by EA.
Yet another Canadian company shut down by EA. BlackBox was behind the game Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2. Morning Edit: most viral, that was unexpected.
qtRaven
Anyone else remember Nox? I loved it more than Diablo.
confirmsthings
Critereon did it to themselves. Hot Pursuit was alright, but Most Wanted was a blatant reskin of Burnout Paradise.
iRunman
Omg, Westwood..*sniff*. Red Alert was the first game my brother taught me how to play. Ah, the joy i felt when i saw the intro play.
qtRaven
Did you find the secret Ant levels?
godo
Don't forget Bullfrog, they gave us Dungeon Keeper
Lambdafish1
Didn't the majority of their staff go on to form lionhead though? (Who then went on to be acquired by Microsoft)
zophyel
And Theme Hospital!
swefur
And Populus!
Catalytic
Yeeeeeess!!! Such an amazing game
timedexpired
And Theme Park!
HosWidamos
ME2, ME3, and Dragon Age were all made under EA though.
Sauroctonus
Don't forget they bought a studio called Origin, and now all that remains is their digital store of the same name.
DontLookBackInAnger
EA is like King Midas, only everything they touch turns to shit.
NextineX
And? Bethesda purposefully hires and bankrupts studios to buy, yet you'll all keep buying from them. Wake the fuck up.
ColdKylm
Lord of Ultima....
FerrousBuehler
How can you blame EA and not those companies for selling out? I mean, you guys go on and on about integrity but it seems they had none.
Kangarou
Developers != Shareholders. Shareholders saw money. Devs saw a new boss. I can blame the dev company, but 90% of the company didn't decide.
Swordrager
Well, Westwood was doing poorly before they got bought out.
Randomman96
Also, not only was Visceral always an EA studio, but really their only good games they've made ever was just the Dead Space games.
DamianWinters
But Dead space 1 and 2 were so great, then they or higher ups wanted more money and ruined DS3
DamianWinters
Well its the heads of those companies, the developers probably weren't happy which is why most people leave when EA gets a studio.
RetirementNoirATaleOfPruneJuiceAndMurder
EA makes a habit of buying out studios that are struggling or just coming off a bad investment. Fear of bankruptcy is powerful motivation.
FerrousBuehler
So that would put a dent in the claim EA ruins different companies
RetirementNoirATaleOfPruneJuiceAndMurder
I mean after they take them over they convert the business plans to EAs maximum greed and force them to pump out games ASAP not when done.
Mehhhhh69
vexitus
GatoGigante
I loved adventure games, and Kyrandia was amongst the best series made. Good shit.
WolfWings
BattleTech: Crescent Hawk. Circuit's Edge. Dragonstrike. They made some incredibly under-rated and awesome games throughout their history.
randombullshitguy
Lands of lore 3. The first open world action rpg I played
Lisossoma
Didn’t westwood made Dune 2? The first game I remember of that type, that gave us C&C, Starcraft, Warcraft and so on...
Theverant
Uhhh.. Warcraft was Blizzard
Lisossoma
Yep, but that type of game, mining resources, developing outposts, producing military, etc, first one I remember of that kind was Dune II
governmentgavemeagun
Yes and it was SOOO good :(
12rt2345g342563
Herzog Zwei came a little earlier and had some similar RTS elements.
Lisossoma
Don’t know that game but Will check it out. I have very fond memories of Dune2
Makinananon
Nox was dope
lurkymclurkerson
Honey, you want bacon? YOU KNOW I DO!
norrinradical
DaMummy
While everyone was playing Diablo2, I lost nights to NOX.
Duskbringer751
I'm not the only one to have played Nox? I mean, my bros and I all did but... wow. Fucking love that game!
labyrinthconvention
EA gave it away for free on their game client a while ago. Part of their 'games on the house' give-away series. haven't played it though.
Duskbringer751
Really recommend it, dude! There is a different ending for each class you play, btw! ;)
BurrKat
THANK YOU!! Freaking loved Nox.
Digibear
No one remembers lands of lore. My first game.
justadude41123
Couple important details left out: maxis was mostly intact until spore. Bioware made kotor before ea killed them. You don't want kotor3
justadude41123
Maxis was behind the sims franchise, which is why they were left alone mostly until they weren't and bad things happened
Vermifuge
Westwood Studios: Lets not forget Dune II or The Legend of Kyrandia series
qtRaven
Dune 2000. Bi-lal Kaifa!
phil1d
LoK worth a replay...
FK86
Westwood Studios made NoX; awesome game.
swefur
Where's bullfrog?
IAmGodot
You're going to mention Pandemic Studios and not mention Destroy All Humans! or Star Wars: Battlefront (I and II)?
OriginaIPoster
Has anyone played Full Spectrum Warrior?!
FuriousDawg11
WATCH THOSE WRIST ROCKETS!
SupremeChancelIorPalpatine
You worms are no match for the dark side!
Mechwarrior719
What about mentioning BioWare and saying nothing of KOTOR and KOTOR 2?
BeesechurgerProductions
Kotor 2 was Obsidian, not Bioware
thegarlicawakens
They still developed KotOR. Everyone is shitting on EA as a publisher and directing game development, so stick to sports, EA.
ThesocialgamerUK
Some amazing games here....fuck EA....seriously I have never boycotted a developer until now
thegarlicawakens
EA is not a developer. They are a publisher with a portfolio of developers.
Kangarou
Or Mercenaries?
Buck39
And didn't mention KotOR with Bioware either. I think #OP doesn't like Star Wars games.
NSPike
I knew I recognised the logo but had never played or head of The Saboteur. Thanks for clearing up the confusion!
LuluTheLucario
Didn't they do almost all Star Wars games before Disney bought Star Wars?
LittleLordThudleroy
'I've got standards... they're not high, but they're there.'
josepClickMagnet
Pathetic Humans!
hufwungpu
The Mercenaries series as well
SURPRISEscience
Or even Mercs Playground of Destruction? Tsk tsk.
Sparrrow5102
I didn't realize that was Pandemic too :(
SURPRISEscience
Yeah it was before Battlefront I think. I remember my PS2 book of BF1 came with an ad on it for Mercedes.
ManannanMacLir
That’s the first one that came to mind. One of my all time favorites
SovietRusalka
Dude, that game was the bees knees
RotlausViking
I was (and am) a huge fan of the C&C series,but "Tiberium Twilight" was such trash I've never learned the end of the story, just can't do it
FortressCraft
Worked at Criterion for many years. EA were nothing but helpful and awesome. There's probably an adage about speaking when you know nothing.
12rt2345g342563
So you're a shill. Got it.
FortressCraft
Shill : "an accomplice of a confidence trickster or swindler who poses as a genuine customer to entice or encourage others." - eh?
gunnexx
Haters gonna hate, EA is a popular brand to hate on so you're not allowed to defend it. Dont stress too much about it
FortressCraft
I never could stand to see misinformation repeated tho.
gunnexx
I know, I dislike EA for a lot of things and I think they did some bad to the industry but I also believe in facts
gunnexx
So someone saying something positive about EA = shill? This is why gamers arent taken seriously
Riskofrain
well tbh, all those companies were probably on the verge of collapse. All ea wanted was the Titles not the companies.
AntiCircleJerker
Maybe you could blame the company founders who sold out to EA? No, no. That doesn't fit the narrative, right?
gunnexx
Blame the gamers for putting up with crap from all publishers, Ubi/Activision etc are just as bad
Paramike
Can you blame them for cashing out after years and years of hard work for little pay? I would have done the same.
besn
Also Origin Systems (Ultima and Wing Commander) and Bullfrog Productions (Populous, Dungeon Keeper)
rogueJ
I was just going to comment about bullfrog, their games were amazing! Didn't know about origin systems though, fuck EA
SelfPleasureRobot
Theme Hospital! How dare you forget that.
CrownFox
Or Sim Theme Park, even with- No, ESPECIALLY with the strange clippy-esque narrator/tutorial... thing.
Daeyelle
Oh dungeon keeper :'(
agentmcgee
I still have it and can still play it! if you have or can get hold of a disk (pc only sorry) there's a youtube video which shows you 1/2
agentmcgee
how to get it and dungeon keeper 2 working again. My laptop is windows 10 and it plays it.
Dragondraikk
But hey, at least they gave us another dungeon keeper for mobile right? right???
ThesocialgamerUK
Fucking thundercunts for developing that. Pretty much the same issue with Battlefront...execpt smaller....more mobile right ;)
Reeroy
Rip Ultima
Dinomite89
Populous the Beginning was fun
ThesocialgamerUK
Bullfrog....WTF ...Dungeon Keeper was such a classic
xaerise
Syndicate !!!!
Bimmie
Magic Carpet
Pipetri
I've heard tales about a franchise called " Dungeon " that seems to be the spiritual successor.
lilplaguerat
Dungeon 3 has the same feel! Have tried every "dungeon keeper" esque game i can get my hands on, and its the only one that makes me feel-1/2
lilplaguerat
The same as dungeon keeper 2 used to. Highly recommend for anyone else chasing that feeling.
agentmcgee
I still have it and can still play it! if you have or can get hold of a disk (pc only sorry) there's a youtube video which shows you 1/2
agentmcgee
how to get it and dungeon keeper 2 working again. My laptop is windows 10 and it plays it.
upp3
Or you could just buy it: https://www.gog.com/game/dungeon_keeper three bucks for 1 and 2
agentmcgee
And give EA money??? Have you been under a rock the past week?
Pootisborn
At least we have a few new Dungeon Keeper like games from other people.
tumppu
Legend of Grimrock is a good offspring of DM.
dimethyltrip
Oo like what? I love those kind of games
Pootisborn
Well, we have War for the Overworld if you want something very much like a modern Dungeon Keeper, Dungeons 2 and 3 are also good.
Pootisborn
Oh, and Keeper RL if you want something a little like a Dungeon Keeper / Dwarf Fortress hybrid.
thdudedude
Game companies could also stop selling out to them. They obviously felt money was more important than your opinion about the game. Sure,
Dalumbr
The problem isn't just that they bought the studious (which were struggling) its that they turned their games away from themselves into crap
TheDogEnd
I would sell you to Satan for a cornchip. I would also do it for $122,500,000
thdudedude
Thats fine. People like to bitch at EA, but a company had to sell out to them. But no one bitches at the sellout.
previoustopcomment
One of the founders of Bioware went on to spend years opening a brewery in edmonton, sometimes you just want out to do your own thing.
Theverant
Some as he's still trying to open it to this day...
previoustopcomment
They just opened, Blind Enthusiasm Brewing in Edmonton.
boethius
Quality goes to shit when small companies get acquired; e.g., food companies that get bought out by conglomerates (Nestle, Unilever).
thdudedude
Yep, it all becomes about making a profit at that point.
SirReginaldDukeOfChutney
Unfortunately that was the end goal the whole time... for every company listed.
JHawke
Wrong, some of us care about our industries. As long as I make enough profit to live off I'm fine. And of course I have my price, but >
JHawke
> no chance in hell that is ever going to be given to me.
DinoRexChris12753
Some of them were bought out cause they were failing, Maxis for an example. Mid 90's were brutal on them.
thdudedude
the first company gets a pass. But every company after them saw the history and ignored it.
jetflight
Plus, even if they value money over customer satisfaction, it's STILL a bad option, because sooner rather than later, they're out of a job.
omh1
If its a public company the actual employees have no say whatsoever in the matter, if its private, the owners will never have to work again
nerdyvet
I would say that the first couple probably get a pass. Once may be isolated, but twice..well, suffice it to say, the 4th etc..have no excuse
mabbo
Someone says to you "never work again for the rest of your life" in return for they own your company and games. Hard to say no.
thdudedude
I get that, but maybe bitch at the sellout, EA is doing what any company with a board of directors would do.
sdfsdfsfccc
Shareholders.
WeaponizedJerk
Hostile takeover. There’s no much they can do honestly.
2graves
Don't go public
omh1
If they're public they can't stop EA from acquiring them and the private ones the owners are looking at their grandkids never having to work
omh1
That is ignoring the fact that even private companies likely have some number of investors that they are beholden to
TheXhemo
Still pissed about C&C 2013
SlightlyRelatedToThePost
I never really liked the idea behind what they were doing with that one, and the series was already downhill. C&C 4 was awful.
KraftyKev
4 wasnt Westwood
SlightlyRelatedToThePost
I didn't say it was. C&C 2013 wasn't Westwood either. I don't know what you're talking about.
Vulpix14
Same man... Same.
MatthewCarlVegeta
Same
TimWest1
Same Bastards Took a big steaming dump on my favourite childhood series!
DraconianTimes
And C&C Generals 2
Slamtastik
They canned that game over office politics, it was almost in open beta and ready to make money.
DraconianTimes
I still play the original from time to time, was one of my favourite C&C games
Gokule
C&C3 and Kane's wrath where great, 4 was not.
Nuttsy
By 2013, it was a decade-overdue mercy killing anyhow. At least we got SAGE out of it, I guess. That was kinda nice.
TheGodlySka
Sage? I tried looking it up
Nuttsy
Generals and C&C3 game engine. It's pretty popular with modders, even if I'm not that big a fan of the base games.
tofutiles2
what happened is that rts was moving to a new format, and they wanted to get in on that. i doubt thats ea's fault.
tofutiles2
bioware showed companies can have bad management.
Powerstranger
CplCarrot
Yeah,loved (almost) the whole series. Stories about generals 2 for a while,but it'll never happen.
[deleted]
[deleted]
TheRealAethrys
Say what? IIRC they were so vague I wasn't sure if they were Islamic fundamentalists or communists. Didn't they put up sickle statues?
surprisemotherfuckers
those were statues of guys wielding AK-47s iirc, they would never make another with ISIS still around
TheGriffin
Generals is my favourite, gameplay wise. It's bizarre and yet oddly straight faced. I do love it when the MiGs crash tho
CplCarrot
Generals my favourite too.Super weapons General was all conquering. I still play skirmish games sometimes.
willdbeast
My life peaked playing RA2
qtRaven
Let me introduce you to Command and Conquer: Generals comrade!
BluishCat
Yuris revenge expansion is where it was at. Best expansion ever!
Catmancer9000
I would just build tesla coils around the enemies base so they could build or leave
Whatyatalkingabeet
100% agree my favourite game of all time.
butreallywhogivesasingleshyt
mine was Tiberian Sun
BlueskydragonFX
Yuri's revenge was amazing, loved the cinematic cast. sadly don't see that in rts games anymore. Real actors were truly something C$C
Stollig
shreddedcarrot
How good was the music! Literally putting it on now to scroll imgur
JackSplater
Ra2 and yr were the best, generals and zh were a close second. Ra3 was fun with a friend but not great solo.
shreddedcarrot
True facts
RobKnob91
I just finally got around to playing ra3 (just shy of a decade late) and I am a little disappointed
Haxalotl
BioWare is the big one for me; BG2 is imo the best RPG ever made.
SpecialProjectY
I would like to thank Electronic Arts for buying Ultima Online, keeping it afloat during hard times when cancer known as WoW spawned.
tumppu
If you want to name WoW cancer, then I guess we can call UO black death. Pretty pointless to hate on another game for being more popular.
SpecialProjectY
It's popular, mainly because it's an easy 3D hack&slash grinder with a sprinkle of jRPG colorful eyerape.
Krantaz
Maxis is still kinda around. The Sims 4 is nice but every.. single... dlc being 40+ or more that a skilled modder could make, is terrible
IThinkYouGotAFineBrainJack
Yeah, they really milking The Sims franchise for all they can. If they were generous with their sales events like Steam, it's still bearable
Grandshift
Maxis is like weekend at bernies, its fucking dead but we'll keep propping it up for appearances.
Dragondraikk
If you have a machine and swap out every part for an inferior one, is it still the same machine?
Lambdafish1
The Sims 4 was subpar compared to Sims 3, the general consensus is to just buy Sims 3 and save the money
cyberpunxie
Afaik the problem with Sims 3 is that it starts getting really slow really quickly, although it is a lot of fun. Shame.
SelfPleasureRobot
Don't forget popcap. RIP Plants Vs Zombies.
gunnexx
What about Popcap? Theyre still around and released another PvZ game this and last year
FrankiesGirl
I still have the computer game version with the Michael Jackson zombie... play both on my phone (PvZ 1 & 2) but I will never give them $.
NudeMeYourPM
The funniest part about that fantastic game!
Evauk
I am legit worried about EA and Respawn being bought by them. Don't ruin Titanfall damnit! I'll be furious ☢☣????☣☢
gunnexx
EA funded Titanfall to begin with...
Evauk
Funded vs bought are totally different...
gunnexx
No shit, i said EA funded the game Titanfall which was Respawns first game. EA bankrolled the studio before buying
Evauk
No shit, I said I hope they don't fuck them over now fully owning the company.
gunnexx
With the amount of money they pumped into it in the last few years, they wont. Thats my point
Randomman96
Respawn was a purchase out of necessity rather than a want, and its likely EA won't forget that for quite a while. Prior to EA buying them-
7grims
aperently titanfall as a 4 year contract, after that, might be another dead franchise, not like its a very good one, so F them too.
Randomman96
up, Nexon Games, who is far worse than EA, attempted a bid at buying Respawn for themselves. EA moved in to protect Titanfall and a SW game
POWAAAAAAAAAAAAR
Black Box also did both Undergrounds, Most Wanted, Carbon, Undercover, and the Run.
confirmsthings
And took over World, which sadly shut down.
RacecarRoadcar
Kinda weird that they mentioned HP2, but not the ones that really made them famous.
LordIggy
Different games for different generations. Carbon was the last game I played and really loved- replayed it recently, it's aged well.
RacecarRoadcar
Any way to get Carbon on the PC?
LordIggy
Through EA's online store I think, but it has major compatibility issues with recent versions of Windows, I had to play it on an old Vista.
kstrtroi
Bioware...so sad... :(
ForlornFennec
Bioware's still at work on Anthem. It was their Andromeda B-team studio that got the eaxe.
gunnexx
What about BioWare? Theyre still up and running
kstrtroi
Oh really? Nevermind then. They're my favorite out of the group cause I'm such a fan of their work.
gunnexx
They closed one of their studios, a new one in Edmonton. They only made the Mass Effect Andromeda game so nothing of value was lost xD
kstrtroi
Aw man don't tell me that, I haven't gotten that far yet. I've only just finished ME1&2.
gunnexx
ME3 is awesome and people enjoyed andromeda as well :)