Strategic Simulations
Publisher of wargames and official Dungeons & Dragons adaptations.
SSI published over 100 games during its existence.[1] From its creation in 1979 until its closure in 1994, Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) created and distributed more than 100 video games, and the brand name remained active until roughly 2002.[1]
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 1979
- Defunct
- 1994
- Founder
- Joel Billings
- Fate
- Merged into Mindscape
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California, US
- Industry
- Video games
- Products
- Wargames; Role-playing games
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Billings hired programmer John Lyons, who wrote Computer Bismarck, later claimed to be the first "serious wargame" published for a microcomputer.[2] Apple executive Trip Hawkins persuaded Billings to develop Computer Bismarck on the Apple II instead of a North Star computer, and the game appeared for the Apple in January 1980.[3] By late 1980, SSI advertised that its games could "take you from Waterloo to the Super Bowl (By way of the North Atlantic)"[4] By 1985, Antic magazine wrote that "serious computer wargamers consider a company in a class by itself"[5]
A line called RapidFire, which served as a label for games developed by outside authors, was introduced by SSI in 1982.[4][6] Cytron Masters, The Cosmic Balance, and Galactic Gladiators were the first three titles released under the RapidFire brand.[6] Mindscape purchased SSI in 1994; the company later became part of Mattel, and then in March 2001 it was absorbed by Ubisoft, which discontinued the SSI brand a few years afterward.[1]
What the cited sources add
The GOG.com account of Panzer General 2 notes that its maps are much smaller than the original, giving a feeling of a tactical rather than a strategic game.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Strategic Simulations" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Strategic Simulations, Inc.'s MobyGames bio", MobyGames (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strategic Simulations" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilson, Johnny L., "A History of Computer Games", November 1991, p. 10; "Titans of the Computer Gaming World", Computer Gaming World, March 1988, p.36. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strategic Simulations" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilson, Johnny L., "A History of Computer Games", November 1991, p. 10 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strategic Simulations" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Advertisement, "We can take you from Waterloo to the Super Bowl. (By way of the North Atlantic.)", November 1980, p. 375 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strategic Simulations" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Powell, "War Games: The story of S.S.I.", July 1985, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Strategic Simulations" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smith, "SSI's RapidFire Line: Featured Review", The Space Gamer, January 1983, p. 14–15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Panzer General 2", GOG.com. facts only, no text reused. gog.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Strategic Simulations (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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