Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American
video game developer
A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that i ...
, based in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United ...
. It was founded by
Brett Sperry and
Louis Castle
Louis Castle is an American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as ...
in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to Westwood Studios when
Virgin Games (later Virgin Interactive Entertainment) bought the company in 1992. The company was bought by
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. ...
alongside Virgin Interactive's North American operations in 1998.
In January 2003, it was announced that Westwood, alongside Westwood Pacific (EA Pacific), would be merged into
EA Los Angeles. The main studio location closed in March of that year.
Westwood is best known for developing video games in the
real-time strategy,
adventure and
role-playing genres. It was listed in ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' for selling more than 10 million copies of ''
Command & Conquer'' worldwide.
History
Early history and company name
Brett Sperry and
Louis Castle
Louis Castle is an American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as ...
met in late 1983 in Las Vegas. Sperry had a background in architecture and psychology and was already working in the gaming industry. Both Sperry and Castle worked as contract programmers. The two eventually became friends and decided to form a company together and named it Brelous Software.
[https://web.stanford.edu/group/htgg/sts145papers/adevkar_2003_1.pdf ]
Sperry and Castle founded Westwood Studios in 1985.
According to Louis Castle, the company was named after the "entertainment meets professional" character of the
Westwood neighborhood in Los Angeles.
The company's first projects consisted of contract work for companies like
Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gene ...
and
Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), porting
8-bit
In computer architecture
In computer engineering, computer architecture is a description of the structure of a computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( comp ...
titles to
16-bit
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...
systems like
Commodore Amiga and
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer
A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequ ...
. Proceeds from contract work allowed the company to expand into designing its own games in-house. Their first original title was ''
Mars Saga'', a game developed for
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. ...
and released in 1988. They laid the foundations for the
real-time strategy genre with the release of
real-time tactics game ''
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge'', one of the more literal translations of the tabletop game ''
BattleTech
''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication ...
''.
Later success and acquisition by Virgin Games
One of the company's first great successes was ''
Eye of the Beholder'' (1991), a real-time
role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immer ...
based on the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy
Fantasy is a genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon c ...
'' license, developed for SSI. Other publishers of early Westwood games included
Infocom
Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. cen ...
and
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver info ...
. Their company was eventually acquired by
Virgin Games in 1992.
The company in the late 1980s was known for shipping products late, but by 1993 it had so improved that, ''
Computer Gaming World'' reported, "many publishers would assure
sthat a project was going to be completed on time ''because'' Westwood was doing it". The magazine added that it "not only has a solid reputation for getting product out on time, but a reputation for ''good'' product", citing ''Eye of the Beholder'', ''
The Legend of Kyrandia'', and ''
Dune II'' as examples. By then Westwood had about 50 employees, including up to 20 artists. Other Westwood titles from the early 1990s include ''
Lands of Lore'' and Westwood's greatest commercial success, the 1995 real-time strategy game ''
Command & Conquer''. Building on the gameplay and interface ideas of ''Dune II'', it added pre-rendered 3D graphics for gameplay sprites and video cinematics, an alternative pop/rock soundtrack with techno elements streamed from disk, and
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" ...
play. ''Command & Conquer'', ''Kyrandia'', and ''Lands of Lore'' spawned several sequels.
Acquisition by EA and liquidation
In August 1998, Westwood and sister company
Burst Studios was
acquired by Electronic Arts for $122.5 million from
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westw ...
's North American operations, which EA also acquired. At the time, Westwood games had a 5% to 6% share of the PC game market, especially the ''
Command & Conquer'' franchise was considered very valuable.
The 50,000 square foot building in Las Vegas included motion capture facilities, comfortable offices and was considered a showcase for the industry. According to Westwood Studios designer and programmer
Joe Bostic, Electronic Arts did not interfere with Westwood's operations primarily due to Westwood co-founder Brett Sperry's efforts in keeping the corporate cultures of the two companies separate, but eventually Westwood succumbed to wishes that every game had to be a hit.
The last games ''
Command & Conquer: Renegade'' and ''
Earth & Beyond'' did not meet expectations of the publisher.
In January 2003, EA announced their intent to close Westwood, as well as
EA Pacific, and merge them into
EA Los Angeles as part of a consolidation plan.
This move included "significant layoffs" for Westwood, which at the time employed 100 people, while the remaining people were given the option to transfer to the Los Angeles studio or EA's headquarters.
Most employees were let go by January 31, while some staff stayed with Westwood transitionally until it was fully closed on March 31, 2003.
Some formed
Petroglyph Games in April 2003, while another three (Brett Sperry, Adam Isgreen and Rade Stojsavljevic) formed a
development studio called Jet Set Games in 2008, both based in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United ...
.
Games
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Defunct video game companies of the United States
Video game development companies
Companies based in Las Vegas
Defunct companies based in Nevada
American companies established in 1985
Video game companies established in 1985
Video game companies disestablished in 2003
Video game companies of the United States
1985 establishments in Nevada
2003 disestablishments in Nevada
Electronic Arts
1998 mergers and acquisitions