Origin Systems
 | |
|---|---|
| Company Type | Developer |
| Founded | March 4, 1983 |
| Status | Closed - February 2004 |
| Head Quarters | Austin Texas, USA |
| Website | www.origin.ea.com |
3DO Games
| Game | Region | Code | Type | Developer | Publisher | Release Date | Local Title | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Wing Commander |  |
R988DCXD | Space combat simulation | Origin Systems | Origin Systems | 1994 | 1 | |
| Super Wing Commander |  |
Space combat simulation | Origin Systems | Origin Systems | 1994 | 1 | ||
| Super Wing Commander |  |
FZ-SJ1653 | Space combat simulation | Origin Systems | Origin Systems | 9th July 1994 | スーパー・ウイング・コマンダー | 1 |
| Super Wing Commander |  |
GDT-GA151 | Space combat simulation | Origin Systems | Origin Systems | 1994 | 슈퍼 윙 커맨더 | 1 |
| Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger | |
Space combat simulation | Origin Systems | Origin Systems | 1995 | 1 | ||
| Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger | |
Space combat simulation | Origin Systems | Origin Systems | 1995 | 1 |
Unreleased 3DO Games
| Game | Region | Type | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| BioForge | |
Action | Origin Systems |
| Pacific Strike | |
??? | Origin Systems, Electronic Arts |
| Shadow Caster 3DO | |
RPG | Origin Systems, Electronic Arts Jan 02 95 |
| Storm Trooper | |
Shooter | Origin Systems Was its working title |
| Ultima 8 | |
??? | Origin Systems, Electronic Arts |
| Wing Commander Academy | |
Rail Shooter | Origin Systems, Electronic Arts |
| Wing Commander 4 | |
Strategy | Origin Systems Electronic Arts |
Unreleased Regional 3DO Games
| Game | Released Region | Planned Region | Type | Developer/Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger | |
|
Space combat simulation | Electronic Arts Victor Origin Systems |
Unreleased M2 Games
| Game | Region | Type | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wing Commander 4 | |
Strategy | Origin Systems Electronic Arts |
3DO Overview
Origin Systems appeared on the original Developer list in 1993.
Overview
Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games, such as the Ultima and Wing Commander series. The company was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1992.
History
Brothers Richard and Robert Garriott, their astronaut-engineer father Owen, and programmer Chuck Bueche founded Origin Systems in 1983 because of the trouble they had collecting money owed to Richard for his games released by other companies. Origin was initially based in the Garriotts' garage in Houston, Texas. The company's first game was Ultima III: Exodus; because of Ultima's established reputation and the fact that the company's games were released on computers and not consoles, Origin survived the video-game crash of 1983 which affected console game developers in North America. It published many non-Ultima games, and Richard Garriott claimed that he received the same royalty rate as other developers.
By 1988, Origin had 15 developers in Austin, Texas, and another 35 employees in New Hampshire. By 1989 they had 50 employees between their New Hampshire and Texas offices. By 1992, Origin Systems had sold more than 1.5 million software units worldwide.
In September 1992, Electronic Arts acquired the company for $35 million in stock, despite a dispute between the two companies over EA's 1987 game Deathlord. Origin, with about $13 million in annual revenue, stated that it had considered an IPO before agreeing to the deal.
By 1996, Origin had expanded to more than 300 employees, most of whom were divided among small, largely autonomous development teams. In 1997, Origin released one of the earliest graphical MMORPGs, Ultima Online. After this title, Electronic Arts decided that Origin would become an online-only company after the completion of Ultima IX: Ascension in 1999. However, within a year's time, in part due to Ultima IX's poor reception, EA canceled all of Origin's new development projects, including Ultima Online 2, Privateer Online, and Harry Potter Online. Richard Garriott left Origin shortly after and founded Destination Games in 2000.
In later years, Origin mainly existed to support and expand Ultima Online and to develop further online games based on the Ultima franchise such as Ultima X: Odyssey, originally to be released in 2004 but later canceled. In February 2004, the studio was disbanded by Electronic Arts. The Longbow series of simulation games was developed at Origin and published under the Jane's Combat Simulations brand of Electronic Arts. A follow-on project, Jane's A-10, was under development when the project was canceled in late 1998 and the team moved to other projects.