Point of Origin: Vol. III, No. 49

Happy Halloween! This spooky issue of Point of Origin celebrates the release of Shadowcaster... will this unconventional 'not quite Origin' release live up to the company's past standards? In a word...

A very special thanks to Joe Garrity of the Origin Museum for making this resource available and to Electronic Arts for sending them to him in the first place!

• Shadowcaster Signs Off While Privateer Keeps Flying should be self-explanatory: "This is an unusual situation for ORIGIN: one blockbuster product is blowing off the shelves, another string title is heading out the door, and it's all happening within the three months before Christmas... Meanwhile, Privateer shows no signs of slowing. The Playtesters Guide has gone to the printer and should fan the flames even more. In fact, we're just about ready to apply for 'silver' certification from the Software Publishers Association (indicating domestic sales of 50K). The Bulldogs feel that this one could go 'gold' by the end of the fiscal year... It now looks as though Super Wing 3DO will blast off in January. Early indications are that this could be one of the strongest 3DO titles out there. We should have a better feel after this weekend. The big Panasonic 3DO Mall Tour stops in Dallas this weekend at Valley View Mall. Point of ORIGIN will be there and have a report in the next issue."
• Pulse Check has some interesting support numbers for Privateer: "Taking a look at the period from 10/11 to 10/15, Privateer tops the list with 748 calls logged. The top categories for that game are: IRQ conflicts (26%), hints (24%), boot disk creation (17%) and joystick problems (12%)... PS Reps handled an assortment of other calls: U7 (126), Wing 2 (70), Underworld 2 (65), Wing 1 (60), Silver Seed (57), Underworld 1 (52) and Wing Academy (42)... Team lead testers are: Brian Wachhaus/Super Wing 3DO, Rik Packham/Pacific Strike, Don Derouen/Ultima 8 and Jerrold Harrington/Strike CD."
• Big Bump in Profits has good news from EA corporate: "Top selling new releases during the quarter were 'Jungle Strike(TM),' 'NHL Hockey '94,' and 'Bill Walsh College Football(TM)' for the Genesis system and 'Privateer(R)' for the IBM PC. Other Electronic Arts products appearing on retailer Top 20 lists during the quarter included 'General Chaos(TM),' 'Mutant League(TM) Football,' 'Bulls vs Blazers and the NBA(R) Playoffs,' 'PGA TOUR (R) II,' and bundles of 'Bill Walsh College Football and 'General Chaos' with the 4 Way Play adapter for the Genesis system; 'Syndicate,' 'Space Hulk(TM),' 'Ultrabots(TM),' and 'Wing Commander(R) Academy' for the IBM PC, and 'Wing Commander Deluxe' for the IBM PC CD."
• Press Roundup has some good reviews of Academy: "The November Computer gaming World is out and includes Strike strategy tips from Tom Basham. Later on, Paul Schuytema takes on Wing Academy. Let's put it this way, the review starts out with: 'First, the bottom line on ORIGIN's Wing commander Academy: if you enjoy space combat simulations, you must have this game. Period.' It just gets better in the two-page spread peppered with screen shots. His 'quibbles': no scoring for individual missions, no flight recorder and he wants more control in mission design... Hot off the presses, the November COMPUTE has a review of Wing Academy. Dave Gerding calls it a 'great, all-action playground where you can keep you battle skills honed.'"
• Misc. has an odd note: "Starting tomorrow, the Marketing Department will become the first non-PD group to go on mandatory overtime. The reason: additional packaging and documentation tasks that go along with Wing 2/Sega heaped on top of an already full plate." The Sega port of Wing Commander 2 was cancelled early on - it's odd that it would need documentation developed in such an extreme manner...

Point of Origin
Vol. III, No. 49 - October 22, 1993 Contents Shadowcaster Signs Off While Privateer Keeps Flying
Pulse Check
Logging In
Of Costumes, COoking & Christmas
Big Bump in Profits
Off the Clock - Trey Hermann
Humans & Resources
Press Roundup
Misc
Ticker