EA Lost Its Origin... Yet Again!

If you are like me, one of the old timers in gaming who had the chance to enjoy Commodore 64 games back in 80s or who was able to catch the golden era of gaming in the 90s, there is a chance that you are getting pissed off at things that you see in today’s gaming business cycle.

The last 20 years had many sour memories left in our minds. The downfall of Sierra, EA’s acquiring of Maxis, Origin, Bullfrog and Westwood, Interplay’s dark fortune that lead to the demise of Black Isle Studios,  Ion Storm’s bad luck… I can add many more to this list.

It is sad to see such successful companies going down the drain because of monetary issues. The passion in their work was highly influential for today’s new developers for sure. Today, it seems to be all about money, rather than being about earning money from something you have created with passion.

As you might know, I ranted about the DRM (digital rights management) and how the gaming business turned into another capitalist monster in my previous article. Well, we all know about today’s demonstrations against banks and governments regarding the “milking” behavior of economic systems. I feel that we will have a similar response towards the big gaming companies soon.

Well, how did I end up talking about this again?

Simple: I got angry. I got angry with the fact that EA turned one of the best gaming companies of 90s into a social media platform where they hard-sell games. Yes, I am talking about Origin. Origin was a gaming company, for those who don’t remember it, that was acquired by EA back in early 90s. Surprisingly, EA managed to hold back its passion for disbanding and ruining companies and left Origin to produce great games for a while. In that duration, Origin gave us such masterpieces like the Wing Commander series and the Ultima games.

Ultima Online is still the best MMORPG in my book to this date. I am not talking about the most financially successful game. If you are of my generation, who had the chance to play Ultima Online, you probably remember the community, the collaborative fun, the user created stories and all the engagement going on. Today’s MMO games are all based on its success and legacy.

Origin Systems was an important company. Many of the legendary developers had a history with the company. Chris Roberts, John Romero, Richard Garriott, Tom Chilton, Warren Spector and more all worked as a part of this team.

Now, I accepted the fact that EA decided to discontinue their Origin wing at the time. It was hard to accept as a gamer, but it was their financial decision and by that time, almost all the gamers knew the attitude of EA regarding the monetary side of gaming. After all, in a generation’s opinion, they are the doom of any company they show interest upon. After what has happened to the companies they’ve acquired, it was quite understandable for gaming lovers to scream in terror when EA decided to lay a hand on BioWare.

What I cannot accept as a gamer is to see the name “Origin” turned into some social marketplace. That is disrespectful to say the least. EA’s hunger for money is one thing; approaching this form of art like the mindless owner of an art collection without even realizing what one owns is another thing.  EA had many chances to do things right; instead, they burnt down the brands they have acquired.

If you would like to do some research, you can find complaints and criticism about EA’s management capabilities all over the net. The company closed down most of the companies they have acquired after poor performance. It may seem right to you but you should ask yourself the question “How come companies that are successful suddenly become unsuccessful, the moment they start working for EA?” The answer lies within the question.

I will be truthful - I don’t have any high hopes for the future of BioWare. Dragon Age’s disastrous “in-game DLC barters” was the first sign of trouble ahead. The dumbing of the second game is another big neon sign that’s pointing to danger. The hands-on experience we had with The Old Republic was far from being convincing. The only hope I have is for Mass Effect 3; if they can finish the story without ruining something, I will be content. I never expected another Baldur’s Gate from BioWare anyway; the team no longer possesses that passion.

Actually, if you had a chance to watch the Blizzard video that they have made for the developer’s 20th anniversary, you can observe the transformation of a passionate company into a giant capital-oriented one. It is that transformation that disturbs me all the time. Oh, what about EA? Well, that company had its transformation long before anyone else...

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