10 Times EA Screwed The Pooch

In many ways, EA's dealings with Origin Systems was the catalyst for every other sketchy thing that happened afterwards - a proverbial opening of the flood gates of questionable, and sometimes downright illegal antics.

Origin Systems isn't a famous name now, but in their time they created some genuinely enjoyable games. The most recognisable of which being the Ultima series, an open world RPG franchise that arguably was integral in paving the way for the likes of the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout.

EA would acquire the company in 1992, and have them pump out more and more entries to the Ultima series. This wouldn't have been a bad thing if it weren't for how the company seemed increasingly rushed, leading to Ultima IX which was largely criticised by the fanbase.

Would EA see that this was a result of making Origin Systems make the game "more accessible" by removing much of the series' nuance and rushing them to produce it? Well, it seems not, as they cancelled all upcoming games related to the franchise - which was the kiss of death for Origin, as they were mostly tasked with maintaining Ultima Online at the time.

Origin's closure was only the first of many similar moves by EA, but it's worth addressing as there was no precedent for the company doing this at this point in history - which makes it feel worse.