Electronic Arts
Trip Hawkins left Apple Inc. in February 1982 to launch a new venture called Amazin' Software. He met with Don Valentine of Sequoia Capital just months before the company would change its name to Electronic Arts. The first business plan for this new entity was written on an Apple II computer inside Sequoia's office during August 1982. Hawkins recruited Rich Melmon, Dave Evans, and Pat Marriott from his former colleagues at Apple to help build the team. By November 1982, the employee count had grown to eleven people including Tim Mott and Bing Gordon. The company moved into a San Mateo office that overlooked the landing path of the San Francisco Airport. Hawkins decided to call the developers software artists rather than mere programmers or coders. This philosophy led to square game packages modeled after album covers like those used for 1983's M.U.L.E. EA placed full-page magazine ads featuring photos of the actual designers behind the games. Their first such ad carried the slogan We see farther and marked the first video game advertisement to feature software designers. Hawkins shared lavish profits with these external developers to maintain industry appeal.
Electronic Arts launched Origin in June 2011 as an online service to sell downloadable games directly to consumers. This move came after Valve announced changes to Steam policy disallowing games with certain in-game purchases. EA removed several titles including Crysis 2 Dragon Age II and Alice: Madness Returns from Steam in 2012. The company did not publish any additional games on Steam until 2019 when Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order arrived. EA rebranded both EA Access and Origin to EA Play on the 18th of August 2020 without changing subscription prices or services offered. Since 2022 desktop titles appear on the self-developed EA App which serves as a direct competitor to Valve's Steam and Epic Games Store. The shift toward digital distribution included acquiring PopCap Games in July 2011 for its mobile-focused division. EA also purchased Glu Mobile in April 2021 to strengthen its mobile gaming portfolio. The company folded its mobile-focused EA Interactive division into other organizations led by Frank Gibeau Peter Moore and Rajat Taneja. These strategic moves allowed EA to control more of the consumer experience while bypassing traditional retail
channels.
The original approach to microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront II sparked an industry-wide debate starting in early October 2017. Loot boxes were used for pay-to-win gameplay elements while various Star Wars characters remained locked behind expensive paywalls. Gaming journalists and players complained about these mechanics leading Disney to disable all microtransactions until a fairer scheme emerged. By March 2018 EA developed a system that eliminated pay-to-win elements and drastically reduced costs for unlocking characters. This controversy caused an 8.5% drop in stock value within one month representing approximately $3.1 billion lost. The visibility of this issue triggered government debates worldwide regarding whether loot boxes constituted gambling requiring regulation. Stock value hit another low on the 6th of February 2019 with a decline of 13.3% following marketing issues around Battlefield V. The game sold one million fewer copies than the expected figure of 7.3 million due to missing popular battle royale modes. Stocks surged 9.6% later after Apex Legends released gaining 25 million players in just one week surpassing Fortnite's record.
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Common questions
When did Trip Hawkins leave Apple Inc. to start Electronic Arts?
Trip Hawkins left Apple Inc. in February 1982 to launch a new venture called Amazin' Software before it became Electronic Arts.
Where was the first business plan for Electronic Arts written and when?
The first business plan for this new entity was written on an Apple II computer inside Sequoia's office during August 1982.
What date did EA rebrand Origin and EA Access to EA Play?
EA rebranded both EA Access and Origin to EA Play on the 18th of August 2020 without changing subscription prices or services offered.
How much money did Electronic Arts lose due to Star Wars Battlefront II microtransactions controversy?
This controversy caused an 8.5% drop in stock value within one month representing approximately $3.1 billion lost.
Which game helped Electronic Arts stocks surge after falling following Battlefield V issues?
Stocks surged 9.6% later after Apex Legends released gaining 25 million players in just one week surpassing Fortnite's record.