EA Canada

Lore & Background

Electronic Arts (EA), based in Redwood City, California, acquired Distinctive Software in 1991 for $11 million and renamed Distinctive Software to EA Canada. At the time of the business acquisition, Distinctive Software was noted for developing a number of racing and sporting games published under the Accolade brand. Distinctive Software, Inc. was a Canadian video game developer established in Burnaby, British Columbia, by Don Mattrick and Jeff Sember after their success with the game Evolution. Mattrick (age 17) and Jeff Sember approached Sydney Development Corporation, who agreed to publish Evolution in 1982. Distinctive Software was known in the late 1980s and early 1990s for their racing and sports video games, including the Test Drive series, Stunts, 4D Boxing, and Hardball II. In 1991, Distinctive was acquired by Electronic Arts in a deal worth US$10 million and became EA Canada, which is where the most EA Sports branded games are developed.

Reader's Guide

The campus consists of a motion-capture studio, twenty-two rooms for composing, fourteen video editing suites, three production studios, a wing for audio compositions, and a quality assurance department. There are also facilities such as fitness rooms, two theatres, a cafeteria, coffee bars, a soccer field, and several arcades.

Did You Know?

• Distinctive Software won a lawsuit against Accolade in 1989 over the use of source code for the game Out Run.
• EA Seattle was closed in 2002 and half the jobs were moved to EA Vancouver.
• EA acquired Black Box Games in 2002, which became part of EA Canada under the name EA Black Box.