Maxis

Maxis Software
Type	Absorbed into EA
Founded	1987
Headquarters	Emeryville, California, USA
Key people	Will Wright, Jeff Braun (founders)
Industry	Software & Programming
Products	Sim franchise and the upcoming Spore
Website	http://www.maxis.com

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. These three titles and their related products are the brand's most popular and successful lines. Most of the Maxis titles are simulation-based, though none are considered traditional simulations. Maxis founder Will Wright likens them as "digital playgrounds." Maxis has also released games developed by other production houses, such as A-Train.

History

Beginnings & Early Acclaims

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. Maxis had an office in Orinda, California. SimCity was a smash hit, and Braun and Wright soon created other early Sim titles such as SimEarth, SimAnt, SimLife, and SimFarm. Maxis also created a few non-Sim titles such as 1991's RoboSport. In 1993, after getting much feedback from SimCity from fans and other businesses, SimCity 2000 was created. SimCity 2000 was different from the original SimCity. It had an isometric 3D view allowing much larger controls allowing players to build mountains, rivers, and build water pipes. Maxis even translated foreign-language titles such as Japan's Let's Ride the A-Train (A-Train, The Tower (SimTower), and Russia's El-Fish. Although everything sold pretty well, SimCity 2000 and SimCity (now redubbed "SimCity Classic") were the flagship titles and the big hits.

Decline

After the immense success of SimCity, Maxis attempted to go into new areas. It moved their corporate offices to Walnut Creek, California. However, their new games, did not sell nearly as well, or worse, nearly forgotten. These included SimCopter, which missed the Christmas season due to an intentional software bug inserted by a programmer, The Crystal Skull (which starred Miami Vice's Edward James Olmos), or SimGolf (not to be confused with Sid Meier's SimGolf). They also acquired Cinematronics LLC 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. And so, Maxis took on a new chapter as a subsidiary of EA. Despite it was no longer making Macintosh versions of their games in-house, Maxis released several hits, including SimCity 3000. In February 2000, Maxis released The Sims, which was the biggest hit since SimCity 2000. The Sims followed with a whopping seven expansion packs. During this time, EA used the "Sim" titles on non-Maxis games, such as SimCoaster or SimTheme Park. Although 2002's The Sims Online wasn't exactly the cash cow Maxis was expecting, 2003's SimCity 4 was a moderate hit, and was the first game to integrate with The Sims. SimCity 4: Rush Hour was released later that fall. Many fans and even Maxis anticipated more expansion packs, a la The Sims, but the expansion packs never materialized. Late 2003 saw the departure of Maxis general manager Luc Barthelet. In February 2004, Maxis was folded into EA's corporate office and left Walnut Creek forever.

End of Maxis

In February 2004, Maxis was folded into EA's corporate office and left Walnut Creek forever. Despite the creation of a new Maxis.com, the original Maxis was gone and simply a group working within EA. The Sims 2 was released Summer 2004 and did not have Maxis's logo on the box cover (although it did display the logo on the game's start). But Maxis slowly continued to be absorbed, eventually dropping off the face as the earth altogether. Will Wright left Maxis to form a studio that is currently developing Spore in Emeryville, California. The expansion pack, The Sims 2: Pets did not have the Maxis logo at start. Ultimately, they ended up converting the last of the "true" Maxis to their new "Sims" division and passing on the honors of SimCity to Tilted Mill to make the casual SimCity Societies, which has caused a rift in the fans of the series.

The Sims

Current "The Sims" Division logo, used from 2004. It was inspired by The Sims 2 logo.

Maxis' most successful series to date and the best-selling PC game of all time is The Sims (2000). Released despite concern from Electronic Arts that it would be a commercial failure, 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. Six expansion packs and six stuff packs have been released for the sequel thus far. The Sims 3 was announced in November of 2006 and is expected to be released in early 2009.^[1]

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.

Note

See also

• Computer software
• List of Sim games
• Electronic Arts

External links

• The official Maxis website
• Maxis at MobyGames
• Sim series at MobyGames
• "SIMply Divine: The story of Maxis Software", circa 2000, on GameSpot, written by Geoff Keighley