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Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including The Sims, Spore and SimCity.
SimCity, also known as Micropolis or SimCity Classic, is a city-building simulation video game developed by Will Wright, and released for several platforms from 1989 to 1991. SimCity features two-dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective. The game's objective is to create a city, develop residential and industrial areas, build infrastructure, and collect taxes for further city development. Importance is placed on increasing the population's standard of living, maintaining a balance between the different sectors, and monitoring the region's environmental situations to prevent the settlement from declining and going bankrupt.
The Sims is a social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000. The game allows players to create and control virtual people, called “Sims”, and manage their daily lives in a suburban setting. The game features an open-ended gameplay, where players can choose their own goals and objectives, and customize their Sims’ appearance, personality, skills, relationships, and environment. A series of expansion packs were also released that add new content and features to the game, such as new careers, items, locations, and scenarios.
SimCity 4 is a city-building simulation computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. The game was released in January 2003 for Microsoft Windows and in June 2003 for Mac OS X. It is the fourth major installment in the SimCity series. SimCity 4 has a single expansion pack called Rush Hour which adds features to the game. SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition contained the original game and Rush Hour combined as a single product.
SimCity 2000 is a city-building simulation video game jointly developed by Will Wright and Fred Haslam of Maxis. It is the successor to SimCity Classic and was released for Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS personal computers in 1993, after which it was released on many other platforms over the following years, such as the Sega Saturn and SNES game consoles in 1995 and the PlayStation in 1996.
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation video game released in 1999, and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by series creator Maxis. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and, through an arrangement with Loki Games, Linux.
The Sims Online, also known as EA-Land, was a massively multiplayer online variation on Maxis' video game The Sims. It was published by Electronic Arts and released in December 2002 for Microsoft Windows. The game was sold in retail stores in North America and Japan and could also be downloaded worldwide, with a regular subscription fee. Upon release, The Sims Online received mixed to average review scores, with critics praising the implementation of social and community features within the scope of The Sims, but critiquing the lack of depth compared to the original gameplay and the narrow focus of the game and player activities on money-making. Reviewers also noted that the game's emphasis on player communication led to unintended consequences, including abuse of game mechanics and an emphasis on flirting and sex. In March 2007, EA announced that the product would be re-branded as EA-Land and major enhancements would be made. EA later announced that the game would shut down all activity on August 1, 2008.
SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony is a 1991 life simulation video game by Maxis and the company's third product, focusing on ants. It was designed by Will Wright. In 1992, it was named "Best Simulation Game" at the Software Publishers Association's Codie awards. SimAnt was re-released in 1993 as part of the SimClassics Volume 1 compilation alongside SimCity Classic and SimLife for PC, Mac and Amiga. In 1996, SimAnt, alongside several of Maxis' simulation games were re-released under the Maxis Collector Series with greater compatibility with Windows 95 and differing box art, including the addition of Classics beneath the title.
Streets of SimCity is a racing and vehicular combat 3D computer game published by Maxis and Electronic Arts in November 1997. The game features the ability to visit any city created in SimCity 2000, as well as a network mode, allowing for players to play deathmatches with up to seven other players. It is the last Maxis game to be developed and released without supervision by Electronic Arts, which acquired Maxis in the two months leading up to release.
SimCopter is a 1996 flight simulator video game developed by Maxis. It puts the player into a 3D city. Like Streets of SimCity, SimCopter lets the user import SimCity 2000 maps into the game. It is also the first game to use the Sim language Simlish.
SimLife: The Genetic Playground is a video game produced by Maxis in 1992. The concept of the game is to simulate an ecosystem; players may modify the genetics of the plants and animals that inhabit the virtual world. The point of this game is to experiment and create a self-sustaining ecosystem. SimLife was re-released in 1993 as part of the SimClassics Volume 1 compilation, alongside SimCity Classic and SimAnt for PC, Mac and Amiga.
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters. Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
EA Salt Lake was an American video game developer located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was owned by video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA).
The Sims 3 is a 2009 life simulation video game developed by the Redwood Shores studio of Maxis, and published by Electronic Arts. Part of The Sims series, it is the sequel to The Sims 2. It was released on June 2, 2009, for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and smartphone versions. Console versions were released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS in October 2010 and a month later for Wii. The Windows Phone version was released on October 15, 2010. A Nintendo 3DS version, released on March 27, 2011, was one of the platform's launch titles.
SimCity is an open-ended city-building video game franchise originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, SimCity, was published by Maxis in 1989 and was followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "Sim" titles, including 2000's The Sims, which itself became a best-selling computer game and franchise. Maxis developed the series independently until 1997, and continued under the ownership of Electronic Arts until 2003. EA commissioned various spinoffs from other companies during the 2000s, focusing on console and mobile releases. A 2013 EA-Maxis reboot was subject to what has been described as "one of the most disastrous launches in history", which may have triggered the 2015 shutdown of Maxis Emeryville and the end of the franchise.
SimCity Societies is a city-building simulation video game developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, and is part of the SimCity series. The gameplay is significantly different from previous SimCity titles, with a greater focus on social development. SimCity Societies was released in 2007, and received mixed reviews, with praise for the game's improved accessibility and visuals, but criticism for being oversimplified and having poor performance.
The Sims is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the best-selling video game series of all time.
Virtual Pool is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game released by Interplay Productions in 1995. It is the first of the Virtual Pool franchise of computer simulations of pool games developed by Celeris.
Cinematronics, LLC, later known as Maxis South, was a Texas-based developer of games for the PC and Mac, founded in 1994 by David Stafford, Mike Sandige and Kevin Gliner. They developed Tritryst for Virgin Interactive, Full Tilt! Pinball for Maxis, and Jack Nicklaus 4 for Accolade. The Space Cadet pinball table from Full Tilt! was also included with Microsoft Plus 95 and several versions of Microsoft Windows.
References
- 1 2 "Maxis South Titles Canceled". GameSpot . July 30, 1997. Archived from the original on February 21, 1999. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
- ↑ Keighley, Geoff. "SIMply Divine: The Story of Maxis Software: But It's 3D!". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 4, 2005.
- ↑ "The Mindwarp [PC – Cancelled]". Unseen64. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ↑ Olafson, Peter (May 1996). "A Break in the Action - Inside Action". Computer Gaming World . No. 142. Ziff Davis. p. 143.
- 1 2 Breckon, Nick (12 October 2009). "New Images of Maxis' Cancelled SimMars, SimCastle Games Revealed". Shacknews . Gamerhub. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ↑ "SimMars". IGN . Ziff Davis. 20 July 1999. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
