Pioneers of the industry: Electronic Arts

Welcome to PART THREE of our celebration of Electronic Arts (EA) 40th anniversary. In this series, we post screenshots of some of the most beloved titles from EA's vast catalogue of video games. This time we are presenting some of the greatest EA titles from the years 1993–1995.

During the 1990s, Electronic Arts continued to thrive. During the first five years alone, EA would launch the FIFA, NHL, PGA Tour Golf, and The Need for Speed series, which are all still going on strong to this day. EA also published major works from Peter Molyneux's Bullfrog Productions, e.g. Syndicate and Will Wright's Sim series.

The 8-bit era was a thing of the past, and 16-bit computers and consoles were the new standard. EA betted heavily on 16-bit console gaming and won big after Sega Genesis (Megadrive) and Nintendo SNES (Super Famicom) became the favourites among players. In 1995, Electronic won the European award for best software publisher of the year.

The massive success translated to massive funds, which EA swiftly invested in the growth of the company. During the first four years of the decade, EA had already opened up international offices in Japan, Germany, France and Spain.

The company also begin aggressive acquisition of game developers; first was Don Mattrick's Distinctive Software, which became EA Canada. In 1992, EA bought Origin Systems (known for Wing Commander and Ultima games), then Bullfrog Productions in 1995. Maxis and Westwood Interactive would enter the EA fold a few years later.