Hey readers! This article has a sibling, an episode of the Retro Gaming Bygones Podcast titled “Before They Were Monoliths: Activision”. Check it out at https://www.anchor.fm/retrogamingbygones or wherever you gather your podcasts (Apple, Google, Spotify, etc.).
With revenue of 5.54 billion dollars in 2020, Electronic Arts has cemented themselves as the number two gaming company in the world. And though they publish some of the world’s most popular franchises, such as Madden, NHL, FIFA, Sims, Mass Effect, Star Wars, Need for Speed and Battlefield, they are well renown for being one of most heartless and least loved companies in the video gaming community.
They have a tendency of buying more independent and smaller gaming companies and running them out of existence. Closing long-time classic developers such as Origin Systems (Creators of the Ultima, Crusader and Wing Commander), Maxis (Creator of the Sim series of games), Westwood Studios (Creators of Dune and the Command & Conquer), amongst numerous others.
They are also known for unethical business practices such signing antitrust law breaking exclusivity contracts with the NFLPA and NCAA, enforcing extreme overtime requirements referred to as “crunch time” or “crunch culture” and most egregious in the gaming community, excessive micro-transactions and hiding normally common features behind pay-to-play walls.
Electronic Arts (known at that time as Amazin’ Software) and I were born in the same year, 1982. And back in those early days, EA was one of the most well-respected and creative video game developers, becoming pioneers in their industry. The ethos of the Electronic Arts and their founder, Trip Hawkins, was to treat their programmers as artists, like musicians or movie stars. Rather than focus on the present nightmare EA is today, let’s look back on the company when they were universally adored starting in 1983…
1983
M.U.L.E. – A vast departure from the arcade themes that dominated the market, M.U.L.E. is an interesting turn-based strategy title where the player(s) find themselves in a heated economic struggle on a distant planet amongst four competitors bidding on the planet’s limited resources. Originally released on the Atari 8-bit system, because of its four controller port, but eventually released for the Commodore 64, IBM PC and NES, amongst others. The opening theme will rep
One-on-One (feat. Julius Erving and Larry Bird) – One of the first games to license the persona of a specific sports star, One-on-One became EA’s most important titles. Not only to establish them in the video game market, but also funding the growth of the company. It may seem quaint today, but One-on-One brought a bunch of reality to a fairly unexplored world of basketball, featuring such elements as simply turning your back to your opponent to protect the ball, fall-away jumpshot, putbacks and fouls. Even though it doesn’t stand up to today’s game, it’s a strangely satisfying historical trip into the world of basketball games.
Archon: The Light and the Dark – A radically unique take on a chess-type game in an D&D environment, Archon is one of the most unique titles of its time. The goal of the game isn’t to merely defeat all your enemies, but occupy the boards five power points. The board features alternating light, dark and neutral areas that play into the strengths and weaknesses of each team. Each character has radically different abilities… And honestly, a small paragraph like this can’t possibly describe the wonders this game delivers, go check it out now!
1985
Mail Order Monsters – Ever thought the Godzilla Vs. movies should have a video game with strategy elements, then I would suggest Mail Order Monsters. Brought to us by the same group responsible for Archon, Mail Order Monsters shares much of its elements, but expands upon the formula with character growth. Another game worth spending hours on. Who doesn’t want their dinosaur to toss grenades?
Racing Destruction Set – If you love RC Pro Am, Ivan “Ironman” Stewart’s Off Road and Rock N’ Roll Racing, you should check out their grandfather, Racing Destruction Set. It comes stock with 50 tracks, but you can craft of your own courses. Not only do you get to craft your own courses, you get the choice of multiple vehicles including: a Jeep, Dirt Bike, Sting Ray, Stock Car, Street Bike and Grand Prix Car. Plus, you can play two-player, split-screen on a Commodore 64!
Tales of the Unknown: Volume I – The Bard’s Tale – A classic dungeon crawler with a brilliant story-line. The country town of Skara Brae is terrorized by Mangar the Dark, an evil wizard who casts a spell that results in endless winter that closes off the town to the outside world. The Bard’s Tale has all of the classic RPG character classes like; hunter, monk, paladin, rogue, warrior, magician, conjurer and most unique, the bard. Whose songs were much like that of the magicians, but often lasted much longer. Also, some puzzles required a bard’s song as it’s solution. The Bard’s Tale inspired two sequels, a construction kit and eight novels. It may not be the modern RPG of today, but the Bard’s Tale inspired many of them.
1986
Starflight – The name of this game is ambition. Is it a trading game? An adventure game? A role-playing game? It’s a little of all of the above, or what’s known as a sandbox game. Starflight sets you into a diverse culture of races that has just discovered its space-fairing heritage of their ancestors. You have been given eight tasks, but no real order in which to perform them. Regardless, you’ll have endless hours of empire building fun ahead of you!
1987
Skate or Die – An homage the venerable Epyx Games series as a multi-event sporting title, Skate or Die is one of Electronic Arts most recognizable early titles. Though maybe not good for more than 30-60 minutes of daily gameplay, it is of such great quality that it’s always a blast. And the tunes will get stuck in your head thanks to the efforts of Rob Hubbard on the original Commodore 64 version or Kouji Murata on the NES version. Personally, it’s one of my most favorite games of all-time.
Earl Weaver Baseball – Though not the most historically remember baseball title, what Earl Weaver Baseball brought to the table was simulation. It was the first computer sports game to offer season play. Other features included manager mode (where players managed their teams, but weren’t responsible for the movements or actions of the team), single pitch mode for quick simulated games, voice synthesis on the Amiga version. Earl Weaver Baseball is a solid game, but it’s influence is what brought about EA’s most popular game series the next year…
1988
John Madden Football – 1988’s John Madden Football might not be what today’s Madden fan remembers, but it was the foundation for what was to come. Having John Madden input was crucial, as he brought his playbook and insisted on real 11 vs. 11 official play. Within the company, this game was referred to as “Trip’s Folly”. The develop team was quite certain that this project would be canceled by management. Luckily for Trip and the Electronic Arts crew, it became the biggest IP for them.
Honestly, this list could go on for some time as Electronic Arts was mostly prolific throughout the mid-2000s. And though Electronic Arts might not be programmer-focused pioneer of old, those of us near our 40s and beyond can look back and remember them for their storybook past.
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to catch the sibling episode of the Retro Gaming Bygones podcast titled “Before They Were Monoliths: Activision” at www.anchor.fm/retrogamingbygones or wherever you collect your podcasts.
