Overview
In 1985,
Brett W. Sperry and
Louis Castle set to work in a garage in Las Vegas. Thus was born Westwood Studios. Among the early creations are
Mars Saga,
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception,
DragonStrike and
Eye of the Beholder, which garnered the young company its first taste of recognition at home and abroad.
In 1992, the company merged with
Virgin Interactive Entertainment, which enabled Westwood Studios to
become a software publisher in its own right and to enjoy Virgin's superior worldwide distribution network. It was also the year Westwood released
The Legend of Kyrandia and
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty.
Soon after came
Command & Conquer and
Command & Conquer: Red Alert, which set sales records and were followed by
Monopoly CD-ROM, which was the first commercial game with Internet support. Monopoly and titles in the
Command & Conquer series continue to make best seller charts. The Command & Conquer series has topped the 10 million-unit sales mark.
The company's last adventure game was
Blade Runner (1997). In August 1998, Westwood was acquired by
Electronic Arts (EA) for $122.5 million in cash following Virgin Interactive's financial problems, and was joined by another studio previously owned by Virgin, which was then renamed to
Westwood Pacific.
After the game
Earth & Beyond failed to meet
EA's expectations, and having stretched themselves in multiple, mostly concept-stage projects, Electronic Arts liquidated Westwood Studios in March 2003. Those employees that were willing to do so moved to
EA Los Angeles' RTS division.
Also Known As
- Westwood Associates (from 1985 to 1992)
Games
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Trivia
Location and contact information in January 1996:
Westwood Studios
5333 South Arville, Suite 104
Las Vegas, NV 89118-2226
BBS Support: 702-368-2319
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