Regarding Origin Systems, Inc. WCNews.com posted this announcement a few days ago:
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For twenty two years Origin Systems set the tone for the computer gaming. Ultima, Wing Commander and dozens of others set the gold standard for which the rest of the industry could only hope to catch up. This era has finally come to an end as Electronic Arts readies an announcement that it will shut down the Austin-based Origin studio.
This is not the end for Ultima or Wing Commander. Ultima Online will now be run from California, and development of Ultima X will continue on the west coast. Hopes that another Wing Commander game would be developed in Austin were dashed long ago; the longtime belief that a California-based EA team would develop the next Wing Commander title may, ironically, be bolstered by this news.
What it is, however, is a tremendous moral loss on all fronts. Origin Systems will always be the ultimate symbol of gaming's greatest days, and its dissolution to a faceless corporate entity is, sadly, equally symbolic of the world today. Origin entertained, challenged and inspired our generation in a way that seems impossible today. Though the individuals who developed our games long ago moved on to greater careers, the very existence of the company itself continued to stand for something special; something amazing.
The CIC will continue to dedicate itself to Origin's legacy - we will redouble our efforts to archive anything and everything related to the company. We will strike to make the world remember what Origin meant. I wanted to end with a quote - something plithy and literary to express the meaning of such an ending. I came up with only this:
With your carrier destroyed, you drift endlessly through the void.
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Let me repeat the most important line:
This is not the end for Ultima or Wing Commander.
Though the name Origin may be gone, Wing Commander is not dead. Electronic Arts still owns the rights to Wing Commander, and most of the Origin staff will be retained. More importantly, we, the fans are still here. And we are arguably the most important part of the equation.
For ten years we stuck loyally to the series, through good times and bad, triumphs and travesties. Through the rise and fall and rise again of the space game market. Through full-motion video and Pentium processors and 3D accelerator cards. Through Privateer, Wing Commander IV, Prophecy and even the Wing Commander Movie. Through all of these Wing Commander's fans stayed loyal to the mythos. Will we allow a mere name change to end all that?
Moreover, Wing Commander is not dead. Last year Unknown Enemy, a fan game using the Wing Commander Secret Ops engine, was released, and two others, Standoff and Wing Commander Saga, are near completion. Also last year, Raylight Studios completed a port of Wing Commander Prophecy to Game Boy Advance, proving that the series is far from dead. And recently EA brought back Andy Hollis, a veteran game designer and one of PC Gamer magazine's "Game Gods" along with Chris Roberts, putting him to work on an unknown project. A new Wing Commander game? Why not?
Regardless of what the future holds (and I am quite confident that brighter days lie in store), Wing Commander's fans will still be around. After all, it is we that made it what it is, elevated it from obscurity into one of the top game series of all time. It is through our love and devotion to the series that, game or no game, will allow it to survive and, yes, prosper. Wing Commander will not die, so long as fans believe in Wing Commander.
Let me finish with a parable. In 1966, Desilu Studios produced a science-fiction televisions series. Though it attracted many devoted fans from all walks of life, the series was axed after three years due to the vagarities of network television. Its creator and the staff moved on, and Desilu Studios collapsed, selling the series rights to Gulf & Western. But the series would not die. Its fans kept it alive through conventions and fan magazines. Eventually Gulf & Western, now Paramount, realized what a hot little property it had on its hands and brought back the series creator. Today it is one of the biggest franchises ever, spawning five television serieses, ten movies, a theme park, innumerable books and assorted products. It is called Star Trek. Perhaps you may have heard of it.
Origin is dead. Long live Wing Commander.
