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| Formerly | Brelous Software (1985) Westwood Associates (1985-1992) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1985; 41 years ago (1985) |
| Founders | Brett Sperry Louis Castle |
| Defunct | March 31, 2003 (2003-03-31) |
| Fate | Merged intoEA Los Angeles |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada |
Key people | |
| Products |
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| Parent | Virgin Interactive (1992–1998) Electronic Arts (1998–2003) |
| Website | westwood.com (archived homepage on March 4, 2000) |
Westwood Studios, Inc. was an Americanvideo game developer based inLas Vegas, Nevada. It was founded byBrett Sperry andLouis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months intoWestwood Associates and was renamed to Westwood Studios whenVirgin Games (later Virgin Interactive Entertainment) bought the company in 1992. The company was bought byElectronic Arts alongside Virgin Interactive's North American operations in 1998.[1] In January 2003, it was announced that Westwood, alongside Westwood Pacific (EA Pacific), would be merged intoEA Los Angeles. The main studio location closed in March of that year.
Westwood is best known for developing video games in thereal-time strategy,adventure androle-playing genres. It was listed inGuinness World Records for selling 30 million copies ofCommand & Conquer games worldwide.[2]
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Brett Sperry andLouis Castle 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.[3] It was later renamed Westwood Associates.[4][5]
According to Louis Castle, the company was named after the "entertainment meets professional" character of theWestwood neighborhood in Los Angeles.
We really liked the "entertainment meets professional" character of Westwood CA (in L.A.) and the attraction of the area to teens and young adults felt like the perfect fit for a new company specializing in entertainment software. Even back then we recognized that it took a team of people to make great products so we appended the "Associates" to emphasize that aspect of product development. We were not really sure if we could make a go at game development so the original name "Westwood Associates" also gave us the ability to get into more traditional business software if necessary.[4]
The company's first projects consisted of contract work for companies likeEpyx[3] andStrategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), porting8-bit titles to16-bit systems likeCommodore Amiga andAtari ST. Proceeds from contract work allowed the company to expand into designing its own games in-house. Their first original title wasMars Saga, a game developed forElectronic Arts and released in 1988.[6] They laid the foundations for thereal-time strategy genre with the release ofreal-time tactics gameBattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge, one of the more literal translations of the tabletop gameBattleTech.[7]
One of the company's first great successes wasEye of the Beholder (1991), a real-timerole-playing video game based on theDungeons & Dragons license, developed for SSI. Other publishers of early Westwood games includedInfocom andDisney. Their company was eventually acquired byVirgin Games in 1992.[8]
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 [us] that a project was going to be completed on timebecause Westwood was doing it". The magazine added that it "not only has a solid reputation for getting product out on time, but a reputation forgood product", citingEye of the Beholder,The Legend of Kyrandia, andDune II as examples. By then Westwood had about 50 employees, including up to 20 artists.[5] Other Westwood titles from the early 1990s includeLands of Lore,The Lion King andYoung Merlin.[9][10][11] Westwood's greatest commercial success would start in 1995 with the real-time strategy gameCommand & Conquer. Building on the gameplay and interface ideas ofDune II, it added pre-rendered 3D graphics for gameplay sprites and video cinematics, an alternative pop/rock soundtrack with techno elements streamed from disk, andonline play.Command & Conquer,Kyrandia, andLands of Lore spawned several sequels.
In August 1998, Westwood and sister companyBurst Studios wasacquired by Electronic Arts for $122.5 million fromVirgin Interactive'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 theCommand & Conquer franchise was considered very valuable.[1] The 50,000 square foot building in Las Vegas included motion capture facilities, comfortable offices and was considered a showcase for the industry.[12] According to Westwood Studios designer and programmerJoe 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.[13]
The last gamesCommand & Conquer: Renegade andEarth & Beyond did not meet expectations of the publisher.[4][14] In January 2003, EA announced their intent to close Westwood, as well asEA Pacific, and merge them intoEA Los Angeles as part of a consolidation plan.[15] 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.[15] Most employees were let go by January 31, while some staff stayed with Westwood transitionally until it was fully closed on March 31, 2003.[15] Some formedPetroglyph Games in April 2003, while another three (Brett Sperry, Adam Isgreen and Rade Stojsavljevic) formed adevelopment studio called Jet Set Games in 2008, both based inLas Vegas, Nevada.[16]
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