Building a Gaming Empire In 1984

If you asked who did the most damage to the western gaming industry, the answer would be painfully obvious.

Atari.

Of course, Atari destroyed the past of western gaming. But there was another company, arguably even more infamous, that nearly destroyed its future:

Electronic Arts.

....

Westwood, PopCap, Origin Systems. If those company names don't immediately ring a bell, their games certainly will.

Westwood created the legendary Command & Conquer and Red Alert series, PopCap gave the world Plants vs. Zombies, and Origin Systems produced one of the best western CRPGs, Ultima.

Countless talented studios were acquired by EA, only to be shut down later under the excuse of "strategic restructuring."

The company would eventually earn a reputation as one of the most hated publishers in gaming history, practically crippling the future of western game development through acquisition after acquisition.

At this moment, however, EA was still just a two year old startup. Though it already possessed several successful titles and the money-printing machine known as EA Sports, it was still a long way from becoming the industry giant of the future.

….

Austin, Texas

The moment Ethan met Richard Garriott, he knew this man was the real deal. Perhaps even more so than Jon.

At only twenty six years old, Richard already had a forehead shiny enough to reflect light, and his hairline had retreated so far that it was nearly invisible from the front.

As for his stats? Aside from lacking Jon's absurd medical expertise, he was just as close to being a perfect all-rounder.

"Lord British!"

Ethan greeted him with a smile, using Garriott's famous industry nickname.

"It's nice to meet you. Looks like I've finally met one of my favorite game developers."

"Hard to say."

Richard laughed heartily.

"I think I'm the one who just met a celebrity."

The two immediately hit it off.

"Ethan, you're interested in bringing Ultima IV to the NovaBox?"

The request itself wasn't unreasonable. The Ultima series had always embraced multi-platform releases. Even the very first Ultima, released back in 1980, had versions for the Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX, and numerous other major PC platforms.

So, adding one more platform wasn't a burden at all. If anything, it meant selling more copies. In fact, even if Ethan hadn't come today, Richard had already been planning a trip to GAMENOVA himself to discuss third-party licensing.

With the combined install bases of the NES and NovaBox, Ultima's sales could easily surpass anything the series had achieved before.

Wait… Richard suddenly paused. Something about this felt off. Ethan hadn't flown all the way here just for a simple porting agreement, so there had to be something more.

"Ethan..."

Richard narrowed his eyes.

"You want Ultima to become a NovaBox exclusive, don't you?"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

That was the only explanation he could think of. Everyone could see the growing rivalry between the NES and NovaBox.

Naturally, GAMENOVA would want to weaken Nintendo as quickly as possible. That would explain why Ethan had personally come knocking.

Yet after arriving at that conclusion, Richard became conflicted. An exclusivity deal would mean abandoning both the NES market and the enormous PC audience. Even if he admired GAMENOVA, the sacrifice would be difficult to justify.

"Exclusive?" Ethan blinked. "No, no, Richard, I simply want to invite Origin Systems to become one of our third-party partners."

"...Huh?" Richard looked genuinely surprised. "You're not worried about Nintendo?"

"Why would I be worried about a machine that can only display thirteen colors on screen and runs at 1.8 MHz?"

Ethan spread his hands casually.

"The only platform capable of truly showcasing Ultima's world is the NovaBox."

NES owners weren't necessarily interested in traditional hardcore RPGs. Nor were they guaranteed to appreciate Ultima's more serious visual style.

NovaBox players, however, were exactly that audience. They were hardcore gamers and dedicated enthusiasts. The kind of people who wanted deeper experiences.

If given a choice, those players would naturally prefer the full-powered version of Ultima. Perhaps even one that surpassed the PC edition, rather than a heavily compromised NES port.

Without much effort, two of the three legendary western RPG giants officially joined GAMENOVA as third-party developers.

But when Ethan thought about the final member of that trio, a headache began forming. This studio had created one of the earliest dungeon-crawling RPGs in history.

A true fossil of the CRPG genre. Even future JRPG titans like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy would draw inspiration from it. Its name was:

Wizardry.

The problem wasn't licensing fees. The problem was the company itself, Sir-Tech.

A uniquely rebellious studio. Fiercely independent and obsessed with quality. They were completely unwilling to be acquired by larger corporations.

Honestly, Ethan admired them tremendously, but unfortunately, idealists rarely received happy endings.

By the late 1990s, Sir-Tech would find itself trapped in financial difficulties brought on by the rapidly changing technology landscape, ultimately collapsing at the dawn of the new millennium.

In theory, their philosophy aligned perfectly with his own. They should have had plenty of common ground. The problem was that he was arriving as a representative of GAMENOVA.

Who knew if they'd mistake him for another predatory corporate giant looking to swallow them whole?

There was another issue, a troublesome one. Sir-Tech's headquarters were located in New York.

New York bordered New Jersey, the home territory of Nintendo of America's headquarters.

Enemy territory, in other words.

"Get out!"

"Take your stupid machine and get the hell out of here!"

Before Ethan even reached the conference room, angry shouting erupted from inside. Then another voice answered. It was calmer and older. Speaking with a faint accent while arguing his case.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. The receptionist looked visibly embarrassed as she asked him to wait nearby. Several minutes later, the conference room door burst open.

A man stormed out, he had Japanese features and was wearing a pinstriped suit. Ethan narrowed his eyes.

Minoru Arakawa.

Although Arakawa still wore his professional smile, the tension in his face was impossible to hide, he was furious.

Ethan instantly realized something, his timing couldn't have been better.

Without Tetris, without Zelda, Nintendo was clearly scrambling to find games capable of carrying the NES. Apparently, they had turned their attention towards RPGs and started looking for American developers.

Judging from the situation, negotiations hadn't gone particularly well. This was perfect for him.

Nintendo had just stepped on every landmine for him. They had already handled the difficult part. All Ethan had to do now was present the exact same partnership contract he had shown the previous two studios.

Smiling innocently, he stepped forward and offered his hand.

"Mr. Arakawa?"

"Thank you very much."

"Really, thank you."

"...Hm?"

Still simmering with anger, Arakawa shook his hand out of pure courtesy. He didn't even bother looking closely at the young man in front of him.

A few moments later, after leaving the building, Arakawa suddenly stopped. A strange feeling washed over him. Turning around, he looked back towards the entrance.

The young man who had approached him moments earlier was now carrying a briefcase into Sir-Tech's conference room.

Arakawa frowned, now something felt wrong. He had assumed the guy was just another Sir-Tech employee responsible for receiving guests.

But now, why did it seem like that wasn't the case at all?

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