Difference between revisions of "Distinctive Software"

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| headquarters=[[wikipedia:Burnaby|Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada]]
 
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{{sub-stub}}'''Distinctive Software Inc.''' was a video game developer active during the late 1980s and early 1990s founded by future [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Microsoft]] executive, Don Mattrick.. Its porting division, established in 1988, was '''Unlimited Software Inc.'''. It produced the DOS versions of several [[Sega]] arcade games for [[Activision]]. It became '''Electronic Arts Canada''' in 1991 after being bought by EA. Some of its staff would later become part of [[Extended Play Productions]], another EA subsidiary.
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{{sub-stub}}'''Distinctive Software Inc.''' was a Canadian video game developer active during the late 1980s and early 1990s, founded by future [[Electronic Arts]] and [[Microsoft]] executive [[wikipedia:Don Mattrick|Don Mattrick]]. Known for their ''[[wikipedia:Test Drive (series)|Test Drive]]'' series of racing games, the company also ran a successful [[wikipedia:Porting#Porting of video games|game porting]] sub-label named '''Unlimited Software Inc.''', which produced the [[wikipedia:MS-DOS|MS-DOS]] versions of several [[Activision]]-published [[Sega]] arcade games.
  
==Softography==
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In 1991, the company was acquired by American video game developer [[Electronic Arts]] in a deal worth $10 million and became '''Electronic Arts Canada'''.{{ref|https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/18/business/company-news-electronic-arts-to-buy-distinctive.html}} Two years later, an internal development team dedicated to the production of [[Electronic Arts]] sports games was founded under the name [[Extended Play Productions]].
[[Category:Use CompanyHistoryAll template]]
 
===DOS===
 
*''[[After Burner (home computers)|After Burner]]'' (as Unlimited Software; 1989)
 
*''[[OutRun]]'' (as Unlimited Software; 1989)
 
*''[[Altered Beast]]'' (as Unlimited Software; 1990)
 
  
===[[Mega Drive]]===
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==History==
*''[[The Duel: Test Drive II]]'' (1992)
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According to programmer [[Mark Lesser]], [[Electronic Arts]] had assigned EA Canada to take on the production and development responsibilities for [[Sega]]'s popular ''Madden'' franchise sometime in the early 1990s. Whether this came to fruition to any degree is currently unknown.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20240827201255/https://www.marklesser.online/}}
*''[[Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' (1992)
 
*''[[Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' (as Electronic Arts Canada; 1992)
 
*''[[FIFA International Soccer]]'' (as EA Canada; 1993)
 
  
===[[Saturn]]===
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==Softography==
*''[[FIFA Soccer 96 (Saturn)|FIFA Soccer 96]]'' (as Electronic Arts Canada; 1995)
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{{CompanyHistoryAll|Distinctive Software|Unlimited Software|Electronic Arts Canada|EA Canada|DSI}}
*''[[Road & Track Presents The Need for Speed]]'' (as Electronic Arts Canada; 1996)
 
*''[[Nissan Presents Over Drivin' GT-R]]'' (as Electronic Arts Canada; 1996)
 
*''[[FIFA Road to World Cup 98 (Saturn)|FIFA Road to World Cup 98]]'' (as EA Canada; 1997)
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==

Latest revision as of 03:17, 9 November 2024

https://retrocdn.net/images/3/30/DistinctiveSoftware_logo.png

DistinctiveSoftware logo.png
Distinctive Software
Founded: 1982
Merged into: Electronic Arts (1991)
Headquarters:
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

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Distinctive Software Inc. was a Canadian video game developer active during the late 1980s and early 1990s, founded by future Electronic Arts and Microsoft executive Don Mattrick. Known for their Test Drive series of racing games, the company also ran a successful game porting sub-label named Unlimited Software Inc., which produced the MS-DOS versions of several Activision-published Sega arcade games.

In 1991, the company was acquired by American video game developer Electronic Arts in a deal worth $10 million and became Electronic Arts Canada.[1] Two years later, an internal development team dedicated to the production of Electronic Arts sports games was founded under the name Extended Play Productions.

History

According to programmer Mark Lesser, Electronic Arts had assigned EA Canada to take on the production and development responsibilities for Sega's popular Madden franchise sometime in the early 1990s. Whether this came to fruition to any degree is currently unknown.[2]

Softography

Mega Drive

Game Gear

IBM PC

Saturn

Dreamcast

  • SSX (unreleased) (as EA Canada)

References