Wednesday, November 01, 2006

EA Used to be Cool

I was thinking recently about all the great games I used to play on my Commodore 64. And then I realized that a lot of the most innovative ones had been published by EA!


I remember they came in a slick, thin, bookshelf type packaging. It opened up like a record album, with screenshots and blurbs on the inside. One flap held the 5 1/4" floppies while the other side held the game manual and any other documentation.

Not only was the packaging accesible and minimal, but the games themselves were fountains of creativity. M.U.L.E, Seven Cities of Gold, Archon and Archon II, The Bard's Tale, Mail Order Monsters, Adventure Construction Set... just to name a few.

Now what does EA give us? The same sports titles year after year, and expansion after expansion for their Sims titles. They buy up smaller companies in an attempt to harness and leech off of their creativity. But, ultimately, their overbearing corporate-ness seems to drive off the more creative types, leaving EA holding the shattered remains of once great gaming companies.

2 comments:

Scott said...

Yup, couldnt agree more. Didnt they also release Wasteland?

Anyway, I played all of the games you listed.

Tholal said...

Ah yes, I had forgotten Wasteland!