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[[File:Ensemble Studios Logo.png|thumb|250px]] | |||
[[File:Age-of-empires-3.jpg|thumb|200px|A screenshot of Age Of Empires III]] | |||
'''Ensemble Studios''' was a game studio known for the [[wikipedia:Age of Empires|''Age of Empires'' series]]. The studio was disbanded in 2008, following the release of ''[[Halo Wars]]''. A majority of studio's former employees moved to [[Robot Entertainment]]. | |||
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'''Ensemble Studios''' was a game studio known for the [[wikipedia:Age of Empires|''Age of Empires'' series | |||
== History == | == History == | ||
=== Origin and acquisition by Microsoft === | === Origin and acquisition by Microsoft === | ||
The studio founded in 1995 in Dallas by Tony Goodman, his brother, Rick Goodman, Bruce Shelley, and Brian Sullivan. The studio released its first game, ''Age of Empires'', after two years of operation. The game was well received by the gaming community at the time, establishing a venerable reputation for Ensemble as a leading real-time strategy developer. | The studio founded in 1995 in Dallas by Tony Goodman, his brother, Rick Goodman, Bruce Shelley, and Brian Sullivan. The studio released its first game, ''Age of Empires'', after two years of operation. The game was well received by the gaming community at the time, establishing a venerable reputation for Ensemble as a leading real-time strategy developer. | ||
In May 2001, the studio was acquired by Microsoft.<ref name="internal">[http://asia.gamespot.com/news/microsoft-to-acquire-ensemble-studios-2715282 '''Gamespot''': ''Microsoft to acquire Ensemble Studios'']</ref> Under Microsoft till | In May 2001, the studio was acquired by Microsoft.<ref name="internal">[http://asia.gamespot.com/news/microsoft-to-acquire-ensemble-studios-2715282 '''Gamespot''': ''Microsoft to acquire Ensemble Studios'']</ref> Under Microsoft till 2007, Ensemble developed their last ''Age of Empires'' title and ''Age of Mythology'', a spin-off from the series. | ||
The company cooperated with [[Bungie]] to create one of the three new Halo game projects; ''[[Halo Wars]]''. Ensemble designed the entire game, with Bungie played a minor supporting role to ensure that the story fit in properly with the [[Halo universe]]. | |||
On September 10, 2008, Ensemble Studios announced that it would be closing a short while after ''[[Halo Wars]]'' is finished. Dave Pottinger, Lead Designer of Halo Wars, issued a response assuring that the quality of the game should not be affected. Pottinger's response can be found on the home page of [http://www.halowars.com Halo Wars]. Post-release support for the game is being provided by [[Robot Entertainment]], where roughly half of Ensemble's crew went after the close. | |||
=== Developing ''Halo Wars'' and closure === | === Developing ''Halo Wars'' and closure === | ||
In 2007, Ensemble spent | In 2007, Ensemble spent 12-18 months prototyping their ''Age of Mythology'' engine to experiment with the concept of a real-time strategy mechanics on a console. The studio concluded the experimentation with the concept of a centralized user interface system and settled for micromanagement and base-building and restricted resource gathering and management to bases. These game mechanics were presented to Microsoft shortly after. Microsoft, being risk-averse at the time, pressured Ensemble to rebrand their formerly original game as a ''Halo'' titles. Microsoft doubted that a real-time strategy game on a console could achieve adequate sales otherwise. This decision by Microsoft created a breakdown in relationship between Ensemble Studios and Bungie Studios.<ref group="note">Ensemble Studios was keen on using their novel game mechanics for an original title. This was denied by Microsoft, whom suggested that the game would sell better as a ''Halo'' title. Bungie on the other hand was discontent with Microsoft's decision of forcing the ''Halo'' intellectual property to be in a different genre. This lead to their buy-out in 2007.</ref> | ||
== List of games == | == List of games == | ||
{|width="50%" class="wikitable" | {|width="50%" class="wikitable" | ||
!Name | !Name | ||
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|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires (video game)|Age of Empires]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires (video game)|Age of Empires]]'' | ||
|1997 | |1997 | ||
|[[Real-time strategy]] | |[[Real-time strategy|RTS (Real-time strategy)]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome|Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome|Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome]]'' | ||
Line 49: | Line 34: | ||
|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings|Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings|Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings]]'' | ||
|1999 | |1999 | ||
| | |RTS | ||
|- | |- | ||
|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires II: The Conquerors|Age of Empires II: The Conquerors]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires II: The Conquerors|Age of Empires II: The Conquerors]]'' | ||
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|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Mythology|Age of Mythology]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Mythology|Age of Mythology]]'' | ||
|2002 | |2002 | ||
| | |RTS | ||
|- | |- | ||
|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Mythology: The Titans|Age of Mythology: The Titans]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Mythology: The Titans|Age of Mythology: The Titans]]'' | ||
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|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III|Age of Empires III]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III|Age of Empires III]]'' | ||
|2005 | |2005 | ||
| | |RTS | ||
|- | |- | ||
|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs|Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs|Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs]]'' | ||
Line 72: | Line 57: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties|Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties]]'' | |''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties|Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties]]'' | ||
<ref>Co-developed with [[Wikipedia:Big Huge Games|Big Huge Games]].</ref> | |||
|2007 | |2007 | ||
|Expansion pack | |Expansion pack | ||
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|''[[Halo Wars]]'' | |''[[Halo Wars]]'' | ||
|2009 | |2009 | ||
| | |RTS | ||
|- | |- | ||
|'' | |[[Untitled Halo MMO|Untitled ''Halo'' MMO]] | ||
| | |Canceled | ||
| | |||
MMORPG | |||
|} | |} | ||
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*[[Wikipedia:Graeme Devine|Graeme Devine]] | *[[Wikipedia:Graeme Devine|Graeme Devine]] | ||
*[[Wikipedia:Dave Pottinger|Dave Pottinger]] | *[[Wikipedia:Dave Pottinger|Dave Pottinger]] | ||
*[[Jerome K. Jones]] | *[[Jerome K. Jones|Jerome K. Jones]] | ||
*[[Lance Hoke]] | *[[Lance Hoke]] | ||
== | == Note == | ||
<references group="note"/> | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
<references/> | |||
== External | == External link == | ||
*[http://www.ensemblestudios.com/ Official website] | *[http://www.ensemblestudios.com/ Official website] | ||
[[Category:Companies]] | [[Category:Companies]] | ||