Maxis
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary of Electronic Arts |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software & Programming |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Emeryville, California, USA |
Key people | Will Wright, Jeff Braun (founders) |
| Products | Sim franchise and Spore |
| Parent | Electronic Arts |
Maxis Software is an American company that was founded as a video game developer and is now a brand name of Electronic Arts (EA). Maxis' second software title was the seminal SimCity, a city simulation and planning game. Maxis is also the creator of the best-selling computer game of all time, The Sims and its sequel The Sims 2 and have recently finished development of Spore. These titles and their related products are the brand's most popular and successful lines.
Most Maxis titles are simulation-based, though none are considered traditional simulations. Maxis founder Will Wright likens them as "digital dollhouses." Maxis has also released games developed by other production houses, such as A-Train and SimTower.
History
Origin and early acclaim
Maxis was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and "idea guy" Jeff Braun to help publish SimCity on home computers. Before then, the game was only available on a limited basis on the Commodore 64 due to few publishers showing any interest in porting it. The reason for this is because SimCity wasn't a traditional game that had definite "win" and "lose" conditions. The title went on to become, statistically, one of the most popular and successful video games of all time.[1]
The SimCity series has since been updated to include SimCity 2000 (1993), SimCity 3000 (1999), SimCity 3000: Unlimited (2000), SimCity 4 (2003). It also released some non-sim titles, such as 1991's RoboSport and the well-known 1995 3D Pinball for Windows, which has been included as one of the standard system games in many Windows releases.
After such success with the SimCity series, Maxis tried various other Sim- titles. Some of these attempts include SimAnt, SimFarm, SimEarth, SimLife, SimTower, and SimIsle. Maxis was also approached by companies to design business aids; SimRefinery is one example. The success of these franchises varies, but none matched that of the original SimCity. Maxis' hit The Sims is the only notable exception.
Origin of the name
Contrary to popular belief, the company's name was not based on the words "six AM" spelled backwards.[2] Rather, it was derived from a formula suggested by Jeff Braun's father: computer game companies should have two-syllable names and should include an 'x'. This is confirmed in an interview with a Maxis employee on a bonus disc released with The Sims: Makin' Magic. It was only later realized that the name is "six AM" backwards.
Decline
After the immense success of SimCity, Maxis experimented with different genres. However, their new games, including The Crystal Skull and SimCopter, were commercial failures. They also acquired Cinematronics to create a game called Crucible. Heavy losses and lack of direction led Maxis to begin considering acquisition offers.
Acquisition by EA
Electronic Arts (EA) completed its acquisition of Maxis on July 28, 1997. Compared to other companies acquired by EA, such as Origin Systems and Westwood Studios, the absorption of Maxis has taken a slower pace, and the company has retained some of its original staff, including Will Wright. Products were shipped under the Maxis logo for several years, but in 2004, The Sims 2 bore only the Electronic Arts logo on the box cover (although Sims 2 displays the Maxis logo at game start, and on the reverse side of the box). As of October 18 2006, and the release of The Sims 2: Pets expansion pack, the Maxis title has been omitted from the game's start. Also, up until The Sims 2: FreeTime, the logo of Maxis was used for a button in the Options panel of the game to display the credits. In FreeTime, the Maxis logo has been replaced by a symbol of the Sims plumbob. However, it appears briefly during the opening of their newest game, Spore, where the EA logo collapes into a black hole vortex which absorbs the Maxis logo and other game icons. It is uncertain if this meant as an hidden reference to EA's acquisition behavior.
For many years, Maxis was a traditional studio located in Walnut Creek, California (and before that, Orinda, California), but in February 2004 the division was folded into EA's Redwood Shores headquarters.
Will Wright's studio is located in Emeryville, California.
The Sims
Maxis' most successful series to date and the best-selling PC game of all time is The Sims (2000). It has gone on to become the most successful computer game in history. Maxis has developed seven expansion packs for the game as well as an online version (The Sims Online). Maxis released The Sims 2 in 2004, a sequel title that features a full 3D environment as opposed to the original's dimetric engine. Seven expansion packs and eight stuff packs have been released for the sequel thus far. The Sims 3 was announced in November 2006 and is expected to be released in early 2009.
Spore
Maxis' latest project, Spore, was released on September 7, 2008 (September 5 in Europe). Players create species starting at the single cell level, and evolve them into sentient life. The goal is for them to eventually gain the intelligence to create spaceships. The Spore Creature Creator allows users to create species for later use in the game.
Note
- ^ Geoff Keighley. "SIMply Divine". Retrieved 2008-06-07.
- ^ This rumor seems to have stemmed from an easter egg in SimCity 3000, in which the game's ticker bar displays the message "Do you know that Maxis spelled backwards is Six AM?" upon execution of a cheat code in the cheat entry box.
See also
External links
- Maxis at MobyGames
- Sim series at MobyGames
- "SIMply Divine: The story of Maxis Software", circa 2000, on GameSpot by Geoff Keighley
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