Point of Origin: Vol. IV, No. 52

January 28, 1994 - the first Point of Origin of the year! This one includes a big story from CES, where both Super Wing Commander and the Interactive Movie line were officially launched. There's also an interesting note in the In Print section... about an appearance by Privateer in the TV show Viper. The episode was apparently called "Ghosts," in the show's first season -- anyone have a copy?

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!

• CES Revisited has the story from the trade show: "CES was the official launch of BioForge, Wings of Glory, System Shock and Super Wing... Super Wing Commander really wowed them at the 3DO booth. If you haven't seen some of the new flicks such as the funeral scene or the launch sequence,you really owe it to yourself to check it out. 3DO is now giving out SWC3DO screen shots to all of the press and it's being touted as a premiere title for the new platform. In fact, Panasonic will be using gameplay video from SWC to launch its multiplayer in Japan... While we're on the subject, several ORIGINites at the show thought that MeritSoftware deserved an award for Blatant Disregard for the Truth. Merit's new title, Harvester, is a gory hack-and-murder mystery with detailed, graphic graphics. The sign above the demo read: 'From the writer of Strike Commander and Privateer.' That's right--one of our own former writers, Gilbert Austin. EA Legal's looking into that one."
• EOMs: The Marks of Excellence has a short biography of fan-favorite Wing Commander developer: "Mark's credits extend to Bad Blood (C-64), Wing Commander II, Martian Dreams, Ultima VII and Runes of Virtue."
• In Print has great reviews for Privateer:

And the good reviews keep coming in for Privateer. In January's edition of PC Entertainment, Scott Wolfwrites,'Privateer pulls you in gently, then holds you with an iron grip.' Wolf gives Privateer a 4.5 rating out of 5.

Al Giovetti likes what he sees with Privateer. Giovetti writes for Electronic Games and gives Privateer a 90 percent rating. Giovetti says, 'Graphics, sound effects, music and speech are all entertaining. Privateer may be the best Wing Commander yet.'

Speaking of the best, the writers of Computer Game Review liked enough of what they heard on Privateer to rank it number one for Best Sound of the Year in the mag's rundown on the best games of 1993. CGR wrote, 'What makes the voices so great in Privateer is that they don't sound like they were done by the same people that show up in a lot of movies they show on late-night cable. In other words t hey were right on as far as acting ability and intensity.'

And in case you missed it, Priateer made it's network television debut on the NBC program 'Viper.' Several months ago, program producers asked ORIGIN for a Privateer box that could be used as a prop. It finally showed up in the January 14th episode. One of the characters even mentioned Privateer by name.

.. COMPUTE magazine starts off the new year with nothing but good things to say abotu ORIGIN products. Several titles were recognized in the magazine's special section, 'COPUTE's Getting Started.' Wing Commandergames were listed among the article'stop 10 arcade games.'Dynamic space combat wrapped around acinematicstoryline,' the author writes. 'Ferocious action scenes, featuring in-your-face 3-D dogfights.' Concerning Wing Commander Academy, the same author writes, 'Nothing but pure adrenaline-pumping action.'

... The same magazine [PC Games Plus], which is published in Australia and distributed in Asia, Canada and the UK, alsohad some good things to say about Privateer. Michael O'Brien proclaims, 'Privateer is one of the most addictive games that I have played in a long time.' O'Brien closes by saying, 'To all the players who want a space game above the ordinary, Privateer is an excellent choice.'

Point of Origin
Vol. IV, No. 52 - January 28, 1994 Contents CES Revisited
In Print
EOMs: The Marks of Excellence
LOOK! NEW TRAINING CLASSES!
On the Clock
Ticker
Dear Point Man
The Top-10 Things I've Learned While Working at ORIGIN
A Word from Sharon