#Non-Commercial Gate Market Size | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lailarimu · 2 months ago

Text

Exploring Automatic Retractable Gate Prices in Bangladesh – A Detailed Overview for Smart Buyers

With the rise of modern architecture and smart home solutions, automatic retractable gates are becoming increasingly popular in Bangladesh. These gates not only enhance the security of your property but also add a sleek, contemporary look that complements both residential and commercial spaces. From smart features to aesthetic design and functionality, retractable gates have a lot to offer.

But with so many options available in the market, one of the key questions for buyers is: how much does an automatic retractable gate cost in Bangladesh? This article provides an in-depth look at the various price ranges, factors influencing costs, and tips for finding the best gate for your needs.

Understanding Automatic Retractable Gates

Automatic retractable gates are motorized gates that can fold or slide to open and close automatically. Designed for convenience, these gates are widely used in both residential and commercial properties. They are operated using remote controls, apps, or automated sensors, making them a perfect fit for modern, high-tech lifestyles.

Key benefits of these gates include:

Space Efficiency: The retractable mechanism allows for compact storage, making it ideal for properties with limited space.

Automation and Convenience: Automation makes entry and exit a seamless process, especially for vehicle access.

Aesthetic Appeal: These gates come in various designs that enhance the overall look of the property.

Security: With sturdy materials and smart technology, they provide an added layer of protection against unauthorized access.

Price Range of Automatic Retractable Gates in Bangladesh

Automatic retractable gates in Bangladesh come in a wide range of prices, from budget-friendly to premium models. The price primarily depends on the materials, technology, size, and brand. Here’s a rough breakdown of what to expect:

Economy Range (BDT 60,000 – BDT 100,000):

Basic designs and materials, often using stainless steel or aluminum.

Basic automation features such as remote control or button operation.

Suitable for small residential properties.

Mid-Range (BDT 100,000 – BDT 170,000):

Mid-tier designs with enhanced security features.

Materials such as galvanized steel or higher-grade aluminum.

Advanced automation features, including sensors or app connectivity.

Suitable for medium-sized residential or commercial spaces.

Premium Range (BDT 170,000 – BDT 250,000+):

High-end materials like heavy-duty steel or custom alloy finishes.

Full automation with smart controls via mobile apps or advanced sensors.

Custom designs and finishes to suit modern architecture.

Ideal for large residential compounds, commercial complexes, and high-security areas.

Factors Influencing the Price of Automatic Retractable Gates

Several factors can influence the pricing of automatic retractable gates in Bangladesh. Understanding these will help you make a more informed decision and choose a gate that fits both your budget and needs.

Material Used:

The choice of material has a significant impact on the price. Basic models use standard aluminum or stainless steel, which are more affordable. High-end gates often feature galvanized or powder-coated steel, which is more durable and resistant to weathering.

Automation Features:

The complexity of the automation system also plays a big role in determining the cost. Simple remote-controlled gates are on the lower end, while gates with advanced features such as app control, fingerprint access, or motion sensors come at a higher price.

Gate Size:

Larger gates naturally require more material and more powerful motors for operation, increasing the overall cost. Customization in terms of size to fit non-standard openings also drives up the price.

Design Customization:

Basic designs tend to be more affordable, while custom-built gates with intricate designs, logos, or branding can add significantly to the cost. Premium models often offer enhanced aesthetic appeal, including ornamental designs or unique finishes.

Brand and Warranty:

Established brands with a reputation for high-quality materials, performance, and after-sales service typically charge more for their products. However, they often come with extended warranties and reliable customer support, which is crucial for long-term use.

Popular Brands and Suppliers of Automatic Retractable Gates in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has seen an influx of local and international brands offering high-quality automatic retractable gates. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Foton Gates:

Foton offers a range of retractable gates known for their durability and reliability. Prices start from BDT 90,000 and can go up to BDT 200,000 for more sophisticated models.

Konka Gate Solutions:

Konka specializes in providing mid-range and high-end automatic retractable gates with excellent safety features. Their products are priced between BDT 80,000 and BDT 180,000.

Local Manufacturers:

Many local manufacturers in Bangladesh provide custom-built automatic retractable gates at competitive prices, usually ranging from BDT 60,000 to BDT 150,000 depending on the features and customization.

Hongsda Automation:

This brand is known for its premium retractable gates with cutting-edge technology such as mobile app control and sensor-based operation. Their gates start at BDT 160,000 and go upwards.

Where to Purchase Automatic Retractable Gates in Bangladesh

When it comes to purchasing automatic retractable gates in Bangladesh, you have multiple options:

Local Dealers and Hardware Stores:

Many hardware stores in Dhaka, Chittagong, and other major cities offer a range of retractable gates. You can also find installation services in-house.

Online Marketplaces:

Platforms like Daraz and Bikroy feature listings from different suppliers and manufacturers. This allows you to compare prices and features before making a decision.

Direct from Manufacturers:

If you are looking for custom-built gates, you can contact manufacturers directly. This often allows for better pricing and more flexible design options. Many manufacturers offer end-to-end solutions, including installation.

Installation Costs and Considerations

Beyond the cost of the gate itself, installation is another crucial aspect to consider. Depending on the complexity of the gate, installation costs can range from BDT 10,000 to BDT 20,000. If you are purchasing a premium gate with advanced automation, expect the installation process to be more labor-intensive, potentially driving the cost higher.

You should also ensure that the installer is experienced with retractable gates, as a poor installation can lead to operational issues down the line. Ask for warranties on both the gate and the installation service to avoid future maintenance headaches.

Final Tips for Choosing the Right Automatic Retractable Gate

Selecting the perfect retractable gate involves balancing functionality, aesthetics, and budget. Here are some final tips to keep in mind:

Assess Your Property’s Needs: Consider the size of your entrance, the level of security required, and whether you prefer basic automation or advanced smart features.

Material Durability: For areas prone to harsh weather, invest in gates made from corrosion-resistant materials like galvanized steel or powder-coated aluminum.

Customization vs. Standard Models: While custom gates can add a personal touch and complement your property’s design, standard models are often more affordable and available more quickly.

Long-Term Considerations: Factor in the gate’s maintenance and servicing needs. High-end gates may cost more upfront but usually require less frequent repairs and come with longer warranties.

Conclusion

The price of automatic retractable gates in Bangladesh can vary significantly based on materials, automation systems, and size, with options available for both budget-conscious buyers and those looking for premium features. Understanding your specific needs and researching brands and suppliers will ensure you make a wise investment. With prices ranging from BDT 60,000 to BDT 250,000, there is an automatic retractable gate out there for every type of property and budget.

0 notes

industryforecastnews · 8 months ago

Text

Women’s Health Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report, 2030

Women's Health Market Growth & Trends

The global women’s health market size is expected to reach USD 67.07 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 5.7% from 2024 to 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The introduction of innovative novel products and the presence of a strong pipeline of women’s health products are prime factors driving the market growth. For instance, in May 2021, the Food & Drug Administration approved Myfembree, developed by Pfizer Inc. in collaboration with Myovant Sciences, for uterine fibroids associated with heavy menstrual bleeding. An increase in the incidence of endometriosis and a rise in support from non-profit organizations are expected to fuel the market growth over the forecast period.

For instance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged USD 280 million every year from 2021 to 2030 for the development of new contraceptive technologies and to support family planning initiatives. According to the WHO report 2021, globally, around 10% (190 million) of reproductive-age girls and women are affected by endometriosis. It is a chronic disease related to severe pain during periods, bowel movements and/or urination, abdominal bloating, nausea, fatigue, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the market. Strict measures undertaken by governments to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, such as social distancing and community-wide lockdowns, have had a detrimental impact on treatment facilities & gynecological clinics.

For instance, in low- and middle-income countries there has been a decline in the usage of long- and short-acting reversible contraceptives. Strategic initiatives undertaken by key players, such as collaborations, agreements, and partnerships, for the development and commercialization of products are anticipated to drive market growth. For instance, in October 2021, Richter and Hikma signed an exclusive licensing agreement to commercialize denosumab, comprising biosimilar of Xgeva and Prolia in the U.S. Moreover, the growing competition from generic drugs increases the pricing pressure after patent expiration, which is anticipated to impede market growth.

For instance, after the patent expiry, the revenue of Forteo declined by 23% between 2020 and 2021. North America dominated the global market in 2021 owing to favorable reimbursement policies, the presence of key market players, supportive government regulations, approval & commercialization of products, and high usage of contraceptives among women. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period due to rising government spending on women’s health. For instance, the Australian Government announced an investment of USD 333 million to support health services and support.

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/womens-health-market

Women's Health Market Report Highlights

The contraceptives segment held the highest market share of more than 35.25% of the global revenue in 2023 due to increased awareness about family planning and rapid technological advancements in contraception

The University of California Bixby Center released a reimbursement guide to help health providers offer women a full range of contraceptives

The endometriosis segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period due to the launch of products, such as Relugoliz and the impending launch of Linzagolix for the treatment of women with uterine fibroids

Based on age, the 50 years and above segment is expected to register the fastest growth rate of 6.7% over the forecast period as an increase in life expectancy is boosting the overall menopausal population across the globe

According to the International Menopause Society, globally, women aged between 45 and 55 years typically experience menopause, with the average age of onset at 51.5 years

Women's Health Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global Women's Health market on the basis age, application, drugs, and region:

Women's Health Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Hormonal Infertility

Contraceptives

Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Endometriosis & Uterine Fibroids

Menopause

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Women's Health Drug Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

ACTONEL

YAZ,Yasmin,Yasminelle

FORTEO

Minastrin 24 Fe

Mirena

NuvaRing

ORTHO TRI-CY LO

Premarin

Prolia

Reclast/Aclasta

XGEVA

Zometa

Others

Women's Health Age Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

50 years and above

Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Endometriosis & Uterine Fibroids

Menopause

Others

Women's Health Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2018 - 2030)

North America

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

Australia

South Korea

Thailand

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Argentina

Middle East & Africa

South Africa

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Kuwait

List of Key Players of Women’s Health Market

AbbVie, Inc.

Bayer AG

Merck & Co., Inc.

Pfizer, Inc.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Agile Therapeutics

Amgen, Inc.

Apothecus Pharmaceutical Corp.

Blairex Laboratories, Inc.

Ferring B.V.

Browse Full Report: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/womens-health-market

#Women’s Health Market #Women’s Health Market Size #Women’s Health Market Share #Women’s Health Market Trends

0 notes

tarmizihartanah · 2 years ago

Photo

Double Storey Terrace@ Kajang East Precint 2 ===================== Asking Price - RM 840K ===================== DETAILS : -Freehold Strata/Non-Bumi Lot --Size : 2199 sqft (approx) -Land size : 1765 sqft (22×80) --Bedrooms : 4 -Bathrooms : 4 --2 Covered Parking - Extra Land sqft Special Package -Kitchen (hood and hop, 4G glass cabinet, compact plus table top and Vinyl flooring ) -Lighting -Air-cond -Water heaters-2 -full house curtains -Fan-7 -artificial grass carpet -Extended room FACILITIES : Next to Kajang & Bandar Baru Bangi township with full facilities required for modern living : schools, banks, Aeon, Mydin, Tesco, commercial area, district office, police station, fire station, modern goverment clinic, private hospitals etc -Gated and Guarded -Clubhouse -Gym -Multi purpose hall -Jogging track -Swimming pool AMENITIES : -Few minutes drive to Hyper market like Evomall, IOI City Mall, Giant, & Alamanda - 6 mins to Econsave - 7 mins to MYDIN Seksyen 7 Bandar Baru Bangi. Boleh klik link ini untuk perbincangan lanjut ya. *Jual/Beli Hartanah* https://jualbelirumahdengancikmizi.wasap.my Mohd Tarmizi Bakar AFZ Realty Sdn. Bhd 🏘️Klik sini untuk ke laman telegram carian rumah, tanah dan bangunan yang diperlukan. https://t.me/tarmizihartanaheastcost Page Link Untuk Hartanah: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090117935252&mibextid=ZbWKwL Profile FB: https://www.facebook.com/mohdtarmizi.bakar.5?mibextid=ZbWKwL Link Catalog Whatsapp: https://wa.me/c/60179454294 Link Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maimizihartanah?_t=8ZhJ6uYnZab&_r=1 Link IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/COukMpTj9-Q/?igshid=p0s13f4d0h12 Link Twitter: https://twitter.com/tarmizihartanah?t=6dF8l6VsEiyUpK-2krqndg&s=09 Link Tumblr: https://at.tumblr.com/tarmizihartanah/hp1td2uj85ed Link YouTube: Subscribe. https://youtube.com/@mohdtarmizibakar #TrustedAgentHartanah #PerundingHartanahKuantan #TeamNinjaKuantan #AFZREALTY #jualbelirumahpantas #pejuanghartanah ‌ #taman #kawasan #rumah #tanah #bangunan #kuantan #gambang #pekan #kemaman #kualaterengganu #dungun #paka #kerteh #jerteh #besut #rumahmampumilik #rumahbawahhargapasaran #lppsa #banker #lawyer #surveyour #morgage #refi https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp1TJm9v2ro/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

0 notes

arcellorcontrols · 2 years ago

Text

Types of Instrumentation Valves & Their Application

The global market has been witnessing high demand for industrial valves due to their extensive applications, design, and types. These industrial devices are essential for controlling the flow of gases, slurries, and liquids. These instrumentation valves find application in construction, automotive, and other industries. The following guide offers an overview of the types of valves in instrumentation, benefits, and disadvantages.

Types of instrument valves

The leading instrumentation valves manufacturer, like Arcellor Controls (India), offers the following types of instrumentation valves:

Gate valves

Ball valves

Globe valves

Check valves

The following are the applications, advantages, and disadvantages of instrument valves:

Gate Valves

These valves work as isolation valves and control fluid flow through pipes. They are essential for starting and stopping the fluid flow through the pipelines. These valves find applications in the commercial and domestic sectors. A leading instrumentation valve supplier in India offers these valves in different materials like cast iron, forged steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, etc.

Advantages

These valves have minimal friction loss

One can use these valves both ways

Gate valves offer minimal pressure loss and laminar flow

These valves help conserve energy

After opening these valves fully, they offer tight sealing and low-pressure drop

Disadvantages

These valves do not allow quick opening and closing.

The valves can generate vibrations.

2. Ball Valves

These valves in instrumentation utilize a ball for controlling the fluid flow. They allow opening, blocking, or partial opening, ultimately regulating fluid flow. Ball valves are beneficial in transporting gases and provide a great sealing effect. These valves operate up to pressure ranges of 700 bars. They are also effective in operating up to temperature ranges of 200°C. The size of these valves ranges from 0.5 cm to 30 cm.

Advantages

Ball valves have a low-maintenance and compact design, eliminating lubrication requirements.

These valves are the most cost-effective.

These valves offer ultimate sealing.

These valves are easy to open and close.

They have multi-way patterns and offer flexibility.

Disadvantages

These valves are not effective for offering throttle.

3. Globe Valves

These are another top valve category that finds use in extensive applications. Globe valves are like gate valves utilizing linear motion essential to generate a throttling flow. These valves are essential for flow control in pipes. They do so by regulating the position of the plug or a movable disk. These valves offer more excellent sealing than other valves.

Advantages

These valves in instrumentation offer a throttling effect and offer full closure.

They have a short opening and closing time.

These valves have an easy process of body ring seating surface.

Glove valves can also work as stop-check valves.

These valves have a positive shut-off function.

Disadvantages

These valves have high-pressure losses.

These valves require an actuator or greater force for closing under high pressure.

4. Check Valves

These instrumentation valves are famous as Non-return valves or (NRVs). Check valves allow the flow of liquid in one direction and do not allow the backflow of the fluid in the reverse direction. Check valves are essential for preventing reverse flow in the system, disturbing the process, or damaging the equipment. Check valves help protect the pumps during liquid applications. They also protect the compressor damage in case of gas systems, preventing backflow and ultimate shutdown. The design of check valves ensures a reduction in backflow.

Advantages

These valves do not allow backflow.

Check valves can also help sustain fluid pressure.

These valves work as an efficient backup system.

Disadvantages

Check valves are not suitable for pulsating systems.

The closing element in the check valve can lead to a crash and damage or excessive wear.

Final thoughts Instrumentation valves are essential for multiple purposes. However, one must purchase these valves from reputed instrumentation valve manufacturers like Arcellor Controls (India). The company is a leading manufacturer and supplier of valves and instruments, instrumentation fittings, air headers, flanges, and condensate pots. For more products, explore their website today!

#Instrumentation Valves #Types of instrumentation valves #Valves in Instrument

0 notes

hakesbros · 2 years ago

Text

Ex-gop Candidate Solomon Pena Arrested In Shootings At Lawmakers Homes

Also, many bigger parcels of Albuquerque land can be found on the west side as properly. Land and parcels are available for sub-dividers, builders, and builders of all sizes. The Westside is a large area that starts on the homes for sale in albuquerque nm western financial institution of the Rio Grande, and extends west up and over the western escarpment, to the north is bordered by the City of Rio Rancho, and south to Central Avenue . There are great choices for housing, training, and recreation.

We surveyed local agents and located that the average real estate commission in New Mexico is 5.59%, which is higher than the national average of 5.37%. Before that price adjustment, mortgage charges on investment properties may have been half a proportion point new home builders in albuquerque higher than these on proprietor occupied properties, in accordance with Armer. For first-time homebuyers, he said, the maths doesn’t work out. He supplied the instance of a two-person family making $74,four hundred annually or $6,200 a month.

All data in this website is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Information is offered for consumers' private, non-commercial use, and may not be used for any function apart new homes albuquerque from the identification of potential properties for purchase. Marco Santarelli is an investor, writer, Inc. 5000 entrepreneur, and the founder of Norada Real Estate Investments – a nationwide supplier of turnkey cash-flow funding property.

If market situations are blended or favor consumers, it could be more difficult to influence your realtor to simply accept a much less expensive charge. In reality, we found that whereas 5.59% is the common in New Mexico, rates typically fall between four.68% and 6.49%. You can save money by negotiating a decrease price together with your listing agent or by working with brokerage that has a reduced commission mannequin. Homes with massive price tags include all sorts of enviable amenities. Pools, home gyms, high-tech fixtures, sweeping security methods, spacious yards, and a room for every need are luxuries most people covet. As individuals spent more time than ever earlier than of their homes, these luxuries—and the cavernous sq. footage and yards that home them—became extra fascinating than ever.

Most heroes save a minimum of $3,000 after they buy or promote a home with us. When you add up savings from actual property brokers, loan officers, title corporations, home inspectors and different every day offers, the financial savings is means beyond what you’ll get from other national programs. In basic, in a seller's market — where home sellers have extra leverage than consumers — a list agent's job is easier they usually may be more willing to lower their commission rates. Based on our analysis, the typical commission fee for listing brokers is 2.76% of the ultimate home price and 2.83% for buyer's agents, for a complete of 5.59%. Rising federal interest rates have forced mortgage rates to rise sharply, leading to a 42.3% drop in single family home gross sales in the fourth quarter of 2022. Want the native "Breaking Bad" expertise with out applying for a mortgage?

Also generally known as EDo ''East Downtown'' Property is situated throughout the st... Exceptional location backing the National Forest at the base of the mountain w/access to the Tramway Trail, unimaginable views, starlit skies, wild life crossings and one o... Stunning single degree floorplan in sought after gated community. Approximately 20 acres off Douglas Rd SW - legal entry, energy close by.

From your first day on the job via retirement, if you're prepared to consider buying, selling or refinancing a house we are going to allow you to get it carried out and prevent money. We imagine in getting involved and contributing to the neighborhoods the place we build to help help local residents. Making a difference for the greater homes for sale albuquerque good is something we are able to all feel good about. Our skilled team is right here to help with the complete process—from financing, to selling your current home, we’re right here that can assist you navigate the whole course of through closing. Enter your zip code to see if Clever has a companion agent in your space.

These homes begin at just $70,000 and can have as much as 4,529 square toes of dwelling area. If you need to move in a rush, there are 169 quick move-in new homes in Albuquerque of which 173 are under development and soon to be ready. After all, the Albuquerque Realtor® that you just hire to symbolize you can be the make-or-break factor that determines whether you get an amazing deal or lose out on one. The real estate agent performs such a significant position in your transaction that they could be the distinction between five or six figures in your checking account. To preserve the history and character of the realm, most homes are constructed in the Pueblo Revival style.

If you have feedback about a person agent or workplace, please locate the workplace and make contact with the supervisor. The witness stated Peña’s gun jammed and did not fire appropriately however one of many different males fired a quantity of rounds from a Glock pistol into the Lopez home. Excluding the steep slowdown in sales homes for sale in albuquerque new mexico that occurred in May 2020 close to the start of the pandemic, gross sales final month skidded to the slowest annual pace since November 2010. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that present U.S. home sales totaled 5.03 million final 12 months, a 17.8% decline from 2021.

Agents could not present premium providers like drone photography and skilled home staging. You could not get matched with an agent from your preferred actual estate brokerage. On that very same $299,814 home — you'd pay simply $11,500, up to 31% lower than paying average rates. “Now with the rise of interest rates, we’re going again to the place lots of people are leveraging the ability of that cash to buy the house,” Lamprich said. The city additionally attempts to assist homebuyers by offering no-interest loans of as much as $50,000, due upon sale of the home, to increase eligible buyers’ down funds. This program helps 20 to 25 individuals a yr, in accordance with Ladd.

#real estate

0 notes

article-research · 3 years ago

Text

Non-Commercial Gate Market - Global Industry Outlook Research Report 2021-2026 Added By DecisionDatabases

The global Non-Commercial Gate Market report offers a comprehensive assessment of the market for the forecast years. The report contains several segments and an analysis of the market trends and growth factors that are playing a vital role in the market. These factors encompass the drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This globe industry offers an outlook on the strategic development of the market in terms of revenue profits over the forecast period 2021-2026.

The key market players for the global Non-Commercial Gate market are listed below:

ASSA ABLOY(Ameristar)

Nasatka

HySecurity

Tymetal

RSSI

Ross Technology

SecureUSA

Hercules Fence

Delta Scientific

American Physical Security Group, LLC

Concentric Security

B&B ARMR

Others

Click here to get a FREE Sample Copy of the Non-Commercial Gate Market Research Report @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-26850

The Global Non-commercial Gate Market Report is equipped with market data from 2016 to 2026. The report gives a market overview covering key drivers and risk factors. The report is bifurcated by top global manufactures mentioning sales, revenue, and prices as applicable. It also evaluates the competitive scenario of the leading players. The report expands to cover regional market data along with type and application. The report forecasts sales and revenue from 2021 to 2026. The detailed sales channel is also covered in the study.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Non-Commercial Gate Market

The global pandemic COVID-19 has affected the Non-commercial Gate market directly or indirectly. This study covers a separate section giving an explicitly clear understanding of the aftereffects of this pandemic. The detailed study highlights the probable outcomes of this global crisis on the Non-commercial Gate industry. The impact study on production, supply-demand, and sales provides a holistic approach to the future.

Do You Have Any Query Or Report Customization? Ask Our Market Expert @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/ask-questions-26850

Why Purchase this Report?

A robust research methodology has been followed to collect data for the report. Data, thus collected passes through multiple quality checks to ensure the best quality is served.

The report gives a holistic view of the competitive scenario of the Non-commercial Gate market

The latest product launches along with technological changes and development are covered in the report.

The data analysis in the report helps in understanding the anticipated Non-commercial Gate market dynamics from 2021 to 2026.

DecisionDatabases has a vast repository of data, therefore, we can accommodate customized requirements also.

The graphs, tables and pie charts, and info-graphics covered in the report will help in a better understanding of the report.

The market drivers, restraints, upcoming opportunities, and anticipated restraints cited in the report will assist in making an informed decision.

To better understand the market scenario, the Non-commercial Gate market is segmented as below:

By Types:

Driveway Gates

Crash (wedge barrier)

By Applications:

Critical Infrastructure

Defense & Government Organization

Industrial

Sensitive Areas

Other

By Regions:

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Central & Eastern Europe, CIS)

Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, Rest of Asia Pacific)

Latin America (Brazil, Rest of L.A.)

The Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC, Rest of Middle East)

The content of the study subjects includes a total of 14 chapters:

Chapter 1: To describe Non-commercial Gate product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market driving force, and market risks. Chapter 2: To profile the top manufacturers of Non-commercial Gate, with price, sales, revenue, and global market share of Non-commercial Gate in 2018 and 2019. Chapter 3: The Non-commercial Gate competitive situation, sales, revenue, and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast. Chapter 4: The Non-commercial Gate breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue, and growth by region, from 2015 to 2020. Chapter 5 and 6: To segment the sales by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2015 to 2020. Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11: To break the sales data at the country level, with sales, revenue, and market share for key countries in the world, from 2016 to 2021 and Non-commercial Gate market forecast, by regions, type, and application, with sales and revenue, from 2021 to 2026. Chapter 12, 13 & 14: To describe Non-commercial Gate sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion, appendix, and data source.

Directly Purchase the Complete Global Non-Commercial Gate Market Research Report @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/buy-now-26850

About Us:

DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research report provider, enriching decision-makers, and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research reports, customized research reports, company profiles, and industry databases across multiple domains. Our expert research analysts have been trained to map client’s research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise, and meaningful data at a lightning speed.

For more details: DecisionDatabases.com E-Mail: [email protected] Phone: +91 90 28 057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/

Referral Source – https://view.publitas.com/decisiondatabases-com-_vzxge7jabyb/global-non-commercial-gate-market-insights-analysis-and-forecast-report-2021-to-2026/

#Non-Commercial Gate Market #Non-Commercial Gate Market Size #Non-Commercial Gate Market Growth #Non-Commercial Gate Market Trends #Global Non-Commercial Gate Industry Report #Non-Commercial Gate Market Analysis #Non-Commercial Gate Market Factors #Non-Commercial Gate Market Demand

0 notes

nealcassatiel · 4 years ago

Text

Bobo Berens doing some interesting Twitter likes...

Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media is a 1988 book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky arguing that the mass communication media of the U.S. "are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion", by means of the propaganda model of communication.

The book introduced the propaganda model of communication, which is still developing today.

The propaganda model for the manufacture of public consent describes five editorially distorting filters, which are applied to the reporting of news in mass communications media. These five filters of editorial bias are:

Size, ownership, and profit orientation: The dominant mass-media outlets are large profit-based operations, and therefore they must cater to the financial interests of the owners such as corporations and controlling investors. The size of a media company is a consequence of the investment capital required for the mass-communications technology required to reach a mass audience of viewers, listeners, and readers.

The advertising license to do business: Since the majority of the revenue of major media outlets derives from advertising (not from sales or subscriptions), advertisers have acquired a "de facto licensing authority." Media outlets are not commercially viable without the support of advertisers. News media must therefore cater to the political prejudices and economic desires of their advertisers. This has weakened the working class press, for example, and also helps explain the attrition in the number of newspapers.

Sourcing mass media news: Herman and Chomsky argue that "the large bureaucracies of the powerful subsidize the mass media, and gain special access [to the news], by their contribution to reducing the media's costs of acquiring [...] and producing, news. The large entities that provide this subsidy become 'routine' news sources and have privileged access to the gates. Non-routine sources must struggle for access, and may be ignored by the arbitrary decision of the gatekeepers." Editorial distortion is aggravated by the news media's dependence upon private and governmental news sources. If a given newspaper, television station, magazine, etc., incurs disfavor from the sources, it is subtly excluded from access to information. Consequently, it loses readers or viewers, and ultimately, advertisers. To minimize such financial danger, news media businesses editorially distort their reporting to favor government and corporate policies in order to stay in business.[12]

Flak and the enforcers: "Flak" refers to negative responses to a media statement or program (e.g. letters, complaints, lawsuits, or legislative actions). Flak can be expensive to the media, either due to loss of advertising revenue, or due to the costs of legal defense or defense of the media outlet's public image. Flak can be organized by powerful, private influence groups (e.g. think tanks). The prospect of eliciting flak can be a deterrent to the reporting of certain kinds of facts or opinions. (nealcassatiel: think, Conservative anti-gay groups, Christian anti-gay groups)

Anti-communism/war on terror: Anti-communism was included as a filter in the original 1988 edition of the book, but Chomsky argues that since the end of the Cold War (1945–91) anticommunism was replaced by the "war on terror" as the major social control mechanism.

(nealcassatiel: I know this all relates to TV news media, and Bobo may be just thinking about the News with regards to this, but if you exchange ‘TV news media’ for just ‘TV’, then... well, it all seems wildly relevant to what may have happened behind closed doors re the SPN finale)

#spn #supernatural #fuck this #everything noam says im like mmmhmmm #finale conspiracy #fuck the cw

34 notes · View notes

marketresearchandanalysis · 4 years ago

Text

Automated Parking Systems (APS) Market Market Share, Industry Growth, Trend, Drivers, Challenges, Key Companies by 2026

A new market research report on Global Automated Parking System (APS) Market has been recently published by Reports and Data that offers a comprehensive evaluation of market report. The study provides a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of the factors affecting the market with an aim to provide an in-depth analysis of the growth trend of the market. The report aims to provide an accurate insight into the current and emerging trends of the market. In addition, the report covers technological developments, market value analysis, volume, micro and macro-economic factors affecting the growth of the market.

The research study comprises of vital information focusing on major market trends and estimated revenue growth rate. Additionally, the report highlights the market competition including the portfolios and strategic alliances and endeavors of the key competitors. It focuses on the mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, collaborations, product launches, brand promotions, and agreements, among others. The report also offers key insights about top companies in the market along with their company overview, business expansion plans, financial standing, production and manufacturing capacity, and global position.

Get a sample of the report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/2333

Key companies operating in the market include: Wohr (Germany), Klaus Multi Parking (Germany), CityLift (the US), Westfalia (Germany), Robotic Parking Systems Inc. (the US), Unitronics (Israel), Kyline Parking AG (Switzerland), Dayang Parking Co ltd (China) Automotion Parking Systems and other are operating in the automated parking system marketplace

The report provides comprehensive details about the market with respect to overall revenue, sales and consumption, pricing trends, gross margins, growth rate, and market size. The report also provides an extensive analysis of key regions where the market has established its presence. The report covers major geographical regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. A country-wise analysis is also included to offer better insights into regional spread of the Automated Parking System (APS) market.

Based on types, the Automated Parking System (APS) market has been segmented into: Speedy Tower,Rotary Carousel,Optima Parking,Multi Parking,Lift and Slide Parking

Based on application, the Automated Parking System (APS) market has been segmented into: Automated Parking System (APS) by Design, Hydraulic, Electro-mechanical, Automated Parking System (APS) by System, Hardware, Cameras, Smart Meters, Signage, Parking Gates, Others, Software, Parking Guidance System ,Analytics Solution, Automated Parking System (APS) by Platform, Pallated, Non-Pallated, Automated Parking System (APS) by End User (Revenue, USD Million; 2016–2026),Commercial, Office Building, Mall, Other

Request a discount on the report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/discount-enquiry-form/2333

Key Points Addressed in the Report:

· Market revenue shares by major business players, by type, by application, and market scope of global Automated Parking System (APS) market

· Competitive analysis of the key players including aspects such as company overview, product or services specification, vendors, and buyers

· Recent mergers, acquisitions, product launches, recent investments, and joint ventures

· SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces analysis along with feasibility analysis and investment return analysis

· Strategic recommendation to key players and new entrants to overcome barriers in the global market

· 8-year forecast of Automated Parking System (APS) market along with analysis of global trends, economic scenario, and key opportunities

· In-depth analysis of major challenges, restraints, limitations, along with drivers, growth prospects, and opportunities

· Regional analysis and country-wise analysis to provide better understanding of the global market

· Extensive study of key product types and applications offered by the industry

To know more about the report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/automated-parking-system-aps-market

Thank you for reading our report. For customization inquiry or further information, please connect with us and we will ensure you get the report that meets your requirements.

#Automated Parking Systems (APS) Market share Automated Parking Systems (APS) Market trend Automated Parking Systems (APS) Market forecast

1 note · View note

monsterislandbuddies · 6 years ago

Text

Why the Trendmasters “Godzilla Wars” Package Design is Awful

Before we start, an important note about context...

In the 1990s, now-defunct toy company Trendmasters released several waves of Godzilla action figures in the United States. For the purposes of my upcoming criticisms, context is extremely important: from the mid-1980s to 1998 (when Tristar’s Godzilla film hit theaters), there wasn’t much Godzilla activity in the states. Most Americans were unaware of the new movies being produced in Japan, and aside from a Nike commercial here or an MTV Lifetime Achievement award there, Godzilla was rarely on the minds of the average American.

Therefore, for this deep dive, please keep in mind that Trendmasters already had an uphill battle as there were no movies, comics, video games, or TV shows to support their first waves of Godzilla toys. They were riding almost entirely on Godzilla’s position as a tremendously recognizable IP.

The first Trendmasters line of action figures were under the name “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”, with the second main line being “Godzilla Wars” in 1995. I recently added a “Godzilla Wars” Baragon to my collection (seen above), and I couldn’t help but study its packaging. Out of the gate, I like how I was able to remove Baragon without damaging the box at all. But other than that, I found the box art and copy to be so atrocious that I personally believe it stunted the success of this toy launch. Everything I’m going to say is based on my own opinions but I do want to note - without divulging too much personal information - that my career is in this field and has been for over a decade. That doesn’t make me automatically right, so in the end, I invite you all to share your thoughts! Now, let’s begin...

What's the “Story” Here?

Let’s break down the act of marketing an action toy line to it’s bare bones: most lines have a main hero, and then the main adversary. They’re the two figures kids should want first (and the two toys your company is almost guaranteed to sell). He-Man and Skeletor. Optimus Prime and Megatron. Luke and Darth Vader. In a Godzilla line, the prime character (and probably the only one kids have any vague familiarity with) is Godzilla. After Godzilla, where do you go? What are the “Godzilla Wars”? Let’s investigate.

This art includes Godzilla, as it should. Behind him is... a second Godzilla? With a spike of some sort on his head? Remember: this is 1995. It would still be a few years before Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla would come to America on VHS. In the states, most people don’t understand who that character is. Is it a supercharged Godzilla? Or is it the foe we’re going to war with? Maybe the back of the packaging will offer some help...

There’s no story synopsis on the back, and that’s sometimes okay... but in this case--where the toys have no support in other media--a brief synopsis is a good idea. Even a blurb under the logo would be helpful. For example (off the top of my head):

Earth’s armies are helpless as giant-sized aliens invade with one goal in mind: DESTROY. Only Godzilla and his friends are powerful enough to defend our planet, but will their war save humankind... or end it?

A little blurb like that is a great way to kick-start the imagination and inspire someone to purchase these toys and play out the story. Plus a “war” implies ARMIES, so this incentivizes kids to want to collect as many “soldiers” as possible!

Back to interpreting the story as it’s presented: does the front picture imply that Space Godzilla is the main villain? The back of the box has him all the way in the bottom right corner, so not likely. If he is the main villain, Space Godzilla is better served at the top of one of the two columns (preferably right next to Godzilla). Even better, the columns should be split with heroes on one side, and villains on the other. This will would help kids instantly understand what the sides are in this war.

To understand the story of “Godzilla Wars”, it seems that all we have to go by are the character descriptions, and they are the most offensive part of this entire box...

Who Are These Characters?

I cannot stress this enough: the Heisei era Japanese Godzilla films were not wildly available in America in 1995. For this section, you need to divorce yourself of all of your current Godzilla knowledge and pretend you’re being introduced to many of these characters for the very first time.

In general, Americans read from left to right and top to bottom. The layout of these columns is already confusing because I’m not sure if I should start at Supercharged Godzilla (left) or regular Godzilla (top). Let’s start with regular:

He began life as Godzillasaurus--millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Exposed to radiation in the mid 1950′s, Godzilla--as he came to be called--transformed into a towering monster capable of delivering a devastating atomic blast with his breath. Since then, Godzilla has menaced the cities of Japan and fought off many seemingly unbeatable adversaries, earning him the title, “The King of the Monsters”.

It’s not a bad description of our hero. Personally I would’ve simplified the opening and cut the “Godzillasaurus” stuff:

Once a slumbering prehistoric monster, Godzilla was awakened by man’s atomic testing in the 1950s. Now radioactive with a devastating atomic blast, he has risen to release his fury on all of us! But when Earth is invaded by powerful monsters from far away galaxies, Godzilla may now be our only hope for survival!

This revision quickly explains Godzilla’s origin and ties him to the toy line’s story in a meaningful way. Now let’s see what Supercharged Godzilla is all about:

Caught in the powerflux of Dr. Shiragami’s Re-Genesis trap...

...and I’m already lost. Dr. Shiragami? Powerflux? Re-Genesis trap? I appreciate the attempt at creating a specific explanation for Supercharged Godzilla, but this description has too many unfamiliar ideas and can actually intimidate kids away from the toy line. Always keep it simple:

Godzilla’s heart is a full-blown nuclear reactor, and to stay energized, the king of the monsters needs to feed off of our power plants! But when he absorbs too much energy, Godzilla’s skin turns black and his atomic powers temporarily DOUBLE in strength!

A nice, easily digestible explanation like this is much more inviting to children. Now for Mothra’s blurb (the first non-Godzilla description a kid might read):

Hatched form an egg that flew from space, Mothra fires an ultra-sonic wave beam of considerable destructive force from his antennae. The poisonous powder stored in his wings can temporarily paralyze the muscles in Godzilla’s body, and neutralize Godzilla’s atomic blast.

There are three things I would immediately change: first, I’d remove the “space” part of Mothra’s origin. Remember, in my Godzilla Wars, the alien invaders are the bad guys... and we want Mothra to fight for good! Second, I don’t see any reason Mothra can’t be a female here. Last: why is half of this description about how Mothra can attack Godzilla when they’re on the same side? I suggest:

Worshiped by natives as a goddess on the secluded Infant Island, Mothra has been a spiritual protector of the Earth for thousands of years. She saved Japan from one of Godzilla’s earliest attacks, but now they must work together to defend our planet from dangerous new foes.

Since there’s a chance people might be more familiar with Mothra (due to seeing Showa-era films on broadcast television or posters in video stores), her position on the packaging roster is not bad. Who’s next?

Well this is an odd (but at least familiar) bunch of characters to present in this order. Rodan’s blurb isn’t great, but it’s also not offensive so I’m going to skip that one. This brings us to King Ghidorah, and oh-boy:

Engineered by the Earth Union Organization in the year 2204 as a bio-weapon with which to destroy Japan, three Dorats were sent back in time to the 1940′s where they fused into the three-headed King Ghidorah! But the EUO’s plan to destroy Japan was soon put to an end by the mighty Godzilla!

Questions: why would the Earth Union Organization want to DESTROY Japan? What’s a dorat? Why did they send them to 1940, and how’d they get back to the present? I appreciate how Trendmasters wanted to respect the source material, but that source material was only available in Japan at this point! Without context, King Ghidorah’s description is puzzling. It’s also not a good idea to imply that this character was already defeated.

Further, like Mothra, there’s a chance people might actually recognize King Ghidorah. Therefore, it’s a smart idea to stick to the Showa-origin for this character and (again) keep it simple. I submit:

One of the most dangerous monsters in the universe, King Ghidorah has traveled across numerous planets and galaxies leaving only a path of destruction behind. Now, this three-headed monstrosity has landed on Earth, and it will take the combined forces of ALL of our mightiest monsters to stop him!

No more implying that King Ghidorah was already defeated; instead, let’s beef him up. If anything, look at it from a commerce angle: Godzilla can’t defeat King Ghidorah on his own, kiddies... you’re going to need to buy him some help!

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s blurb is also problematic:

After a losing battle with Godzilla, Ghidorah lay at the bottom of the ocean. The Earth Union Organization salvaged the battered bio-weapon and gave it a new life as Mecha-King Ghidorah--an even more powerful Cyber-Monster--and returned him back in time to face Godzilla!

This is a tricky one. We just read a blurb about King Ghidorah, and now we’re reading about how he already lost a battle with Godzilla. We don’t want to make King Ghidorah sound weak right out of the gate, but how else do you describe his cyber transformation? I say keep it vague:

The only thing more powerful than King Ghidorah is the enhanced Mecha-King Ghidorah! This near-invincible cyber monster is faster, stronger, and worst of all, SMARTER. But who provided all of these mechanical upgrades? Is someone on Earth rooting for the space monsters to win?

A smarter King Ghidorah? A human conspiracy? Just writing that made me want to go home and start playing with my toys! Here’s what they have for Mecha-Godzilla:

In 1992, the Godzilla Force recovered the remains of the decimated Mecha-Ghidorah...

Hold up. So you mean to tell me that my King Ghidorah action figure was already defeated, and he became Mecha-King Ghidorah, and now THAT character was “decimated”? Why would I want to buy any of these toys if they’re all defeated already? The box copy already had my play time for me!

Now we’ve got a couple of characters who are very likely new to Americans: Battra and Biollante. I think Battra’s description is decent; we understand that he’s evil, and we understand his relation to Mothra.

Biollante, on the other hand, starts off with a very confusing statement:

Biollante is the genetic combination of a plant, a human and the mighty Godzilla himself.

Reading that (and seeing Biollante’s human-like legs), I would assume that she used to be some type of mad scientist who injected both plant and Godzilla DNA into herself only to mutate into Biollante! To avoid confusion, I would remove that first sentence entirely and start with the next one:

Created by Dr. Shiragami in an effort to produce an immortal plant, Biollante instead grows to become a giant monster of unthinkable power!

There’s Dr. Shiragami again. As you might have guessed, I would remove his name (and just have it say “Created by a team of geneticists”). To fit the “alien invasion” narrative I pitched earlier, I’d also throw in a line such as:

Now, Biollante has sided with the alien army, united by their hatred of Godzilla and ANY monster that stands in their way!

Gigan’s description is decent, so let’s jump ahead to the last three monsters.

Anguirus is the first and only monster described as an ally of Godzilla. I also believe his description to be the best one currently on the box. It’s the only one to mention Monster Island, it guesses (but doesn’t confirm) his origin, it explains his relationship to Godzilla, and it explains his skill set. The only change I’d suggest is shortening the word count 2-3 lines.

Moguera, on the other hand, is an assault of overwhelming information.

The newest and most powerful of all Godzilla destroying weapons created by the U.N.G.C.C (United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center), Moguera is actually two ultra war vehicles: The Land Moguera and the Star Falcon.

In all of these descriptions combined, we’ve been introduced to THREE human organizations with the exact same goal: destroy Godzilla. In my opinion, only G-Force should be involved with this universe. "G-Force” is easy to read, it’s easy to remember, and Trendmasters already had some G-Force-related toys at this point so there IS a little familiarity.

Second, unless the toy itself can split into two vehicles and recombine into Moguera, I would leave this transformation line out of the description entirely. In a void, it reads like this will be a feature of the Moguera toy, and that’s misleading.

FINALLY we get to SpaceGodzilla (remember him? He’s the guy on the front of the box art with Godzilla). And guess what’s in the very first sentence? “The dead monster Biollante...”. Another monster is already dead! That’s four in total! Why would I want to ask for toys that are already dead?

Here’s something you may have not noticed: this is the Baragon box we’re looking at, and Baragon’s nowhere to be found in the character roster on the back! Neither are Megalon or Varan, who are also in the Godzilla Wars toy line.

Size Matters

Before we wrap this up, I want to show you one more thing real quick. Look at this packaging for the American Dreamworks Ultraman line. I’m not suggesting that this is far superior box art, but one element I really like is the inclusion of the skyline at the bottom of the box. This visual helps you immediately understand that these are GIANT characters.

I like the Trendmasters Godzilla toys themselves (for what they are), but there’s nothing in the presentation to help me remember that these are giant monsters I’m playing with. Even some simple art on the front or back of a couple of buildings around Godzilla would be helpful. I know that most people understand that Godzilla is enormous, but the added visual would sure make for a great reminder that this toy can theoretically CRUSH every other toy I own.

In Conclusion

Godzilla is one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world, and in my opinion, there’s no reason this popularity can’t thrive in mainstream American culture. Toy companies who are marketing toward kids need to find a balance of giving kids enough context so they’re attracted to new characters, while also leaving OUT enough information so the kids’ imaginations can fill in the blanks.

More important, if you hand kids a conflict and the beginning of a story, it’ll excite them into engaging with the toy line by keeping the story going. Think about it: without a story, why exactly IS “Godzilla Wars” different than the previous Trendmasters toy line?

The primary purpose of this post is to let all of these thoughts spill out of my noisy head... but the second purpose is to hopefully inspire you to think a little more about packaging: when you’re attracted to toy packaging, can you pinpoint why? What kind of elements repel you? And as a G-Fan, what do you think American-produced Godzilla toys can do yo appeal to broader audiences?

Action figures can be works of art, and their packaging can be too. I hope this stream of consciousness will get you thinking about it - even if you disagree with everything I’ve said.

Thank you for hearing my thoughts!

-MIB

#godzilla #trendmasters #advertising #marketing #package art #vintage #1995 #godzilla wars #mothra #rodan #spacegodzilla #King Ghidorah #king of the monsters #Mechagodzilla #battra #anguirus #biollante #varan #megalon

77 notes · View notes

ciathyzareposts · 5 years ago

Text

Origin Sells Out

One day in early June of 1992, a group of executives from Electronic Arts visited Origin Systems’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. If they had come from any other company, the rank and file at Origin might not have paid them much attention. As it was, though, the visit felt a bit like Saddam Hussein dropping in at George Bush’s White House for a fireside chat. For Origin and EA, you see, had a history.

Back in August of 1985, just prior to the release of Ultima IV, the much smaller Origin had signed a contract to piggyback on EA’s distribution network as an affiliated label. Eighteen months later, when EA released an otherwise unmemorable CRPG called Deathlord whose interface hewed a little too closely to that of an Ultima, a livid Richard Garriott attempted to pull Origin out of the agreement early. EA at first seemed prepared to crush Origin utterly in retribution by pulling at the legal seams in the two companies’ contract. Origin, however, found themselves a protector: Brøderbund Software, whose size and clout at the time were comparable to that of EA. At last, EA agreed to allow Origin to go their own way, albeit probably only after the smaller company paid them a modest settlement for breaking the contract. Origin quickly signed a new distribution contract with Brøderbund, which lasted until 1989, by which point they had become big enough in their own right to take over their own distribution.

But Richard Garriott wasn’t one to forgive even a small personal slight easily, much less a full-blown threat to destroy his company. From 1987 on, EA was Public Enemy #1 at Origin, a status which Garriott marked in ways that only seemed to grow pettier as time went on. Garriott built a mausoleum for “Pirt Snikwah” — the name of Trip Hawkins, EA’s founder and chief executive, spelled backward — at his Austin mansion of Britannia Manor. Ultima V‘s parser treated the phrase “Electronic Arts” like a curse word; Ultima VI included a gang of evil pirates named after some of the more prominent members of EA’s executive staff. Time really did seem to make Garriott more rather than less bitter. Among his relatively few detail-oriented contributions to Ultima VII were a set of infernal inter-dimensional generators whose shapes together formed the EA logo. He also demanded that the two villains who went on a murder spree across Britannia in that game be named Elizabeth and Abraham. Just to drive the point home, the pair worked for a “Destroyer of Worlds” — an inversion of Origin’s longstanding tagline of “We Create Worlds.”

And yet here the destroyers were, just two months after the release of Ultima VII, chatting amiably with their hosts while they gazed upon their surroundings with what seemed to some of Origin’s employees an ominously proprietorial air. Urgent speculation ran up and down the corridors: what the hell was going on? In response to the concerned inquiries of their employees, Origin’s management rushed to say that the two companies were merely discussing “some joint ventures in Sega Genesis development,” even though “they haven’t done a lot of cooperative projects in the past.” That was certainly putting a brave face on half a decade of character assassination!

What was really going on was, as the more astute employees at Origin could all too plainly sense, something far bigger than any mere “joint venture.” The fact was, Origin was in a serious financial bind — not a unique one in their evolving industry, but one which their unique circumstances had made more severe for them than for most others. Everyone in the industry, Origin included, was looking ahead to a very near future when the enormous storage capacity of CD-ROM, combined with improving graphics and sound and exploding numbers of computers in homes, would allow computer games to join television, movies, and music as a staple of mainstream entertainment rather than a niche hobby. Products suitable for this new world order needed to go into development now in order to be on store shelves to greet it when it arrived. These next-generation products with their vastly higher audiovisual standards couldn’t be funded entirely out of the proceeds from current games. They required alternative forms of financing.

For Origin, this issue, which really was well-nigh universal among their peers, was further complicated by the realities of being a relatively small company without a lot of product diversification. A few underwhelming attempts to bring older Ultima games to the Nintendo Entertainment System aside, they had no real presence on videogame consoles, a market which dwarfed that of computer games, and had just two viable product lines even on computers: Ultima and Wing Commander. This lack of diversification left them in a decidedly risky position, where the failure of a single major release in either of those franchises could conceivably bring down the whole company.

The previous year of 1991 had been a year of Wing Commander, when the second mainline title in that franchise, combined with ongoing strong sales of the first game and a series of expansion packs for both of them, had accounted for fully 90 percent of the black ink in Origin’s books. In this year of 1992, it was supposed to have been the other franchise’s turn to carry the company while Wing Commander retooled its technology for the future. But Ultima VII: The Black Gate, while it had been far from an outright commercial failure, had garnered a more muted response than Origin had hoped and planned for, plagued as its launch had been by bugs, high system requirements, and the sheer difficulty of configuring it to run properly under the inscrutable stewardship of MS-DOS.

Even more worrisome than all of the specific issues that dogged this latest Ultima was a more diffuse sort of ennui directed toward it by gamers — a sense that the traditional approach of Ultima in general, with its hundred-hour play time, its huge amounts of text, and its emphasis on scope and player freedom rather than multimedia set-pieces, was falling out of step with the times. Richard Garriott liked to joke that he had spent his whole career making the same game over and over — just making it better and bigger and more sophisticated each time out. It was beginning to seem to some at Origin that that progression might have reached its natural end point. Before EA ever entered the picture, a sense was dawning that Ultima VIII needed to go in another direction entirely — needed to be tighter, flashier, more focused, more in step with the new types of customers who were now beginning to buy computer games. Ultima Underworld, a real-time first-person spinoff of the core series developed by the Boston studio Blue Sky Productions rather than Origin themselves, had already gone a considerable distance in that direction, and upon its near-simultaneous release with Ultima VII had threatened to overshadow its more cerebral big brother completely, garnering more enthusiastic reviews and, eventually, higher sales. Needless to say, had Ultima Underworld not turned into such a success, Origin’s financial position would have been still more critical than it already was. It seemed pretty clear that this was the direction that all of Ultima needed to go.

But making a flashier next-generation Ultima VIII — not to mention the next-generation Wing Commander — would require more money than even Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld together were currently bringing in. And yet, frustratingly, Origin couldn’t seem to drum up much in the way of financing. Their home state of Texas was in the midst of an ugly series of savings-and-loan scandals that had made all of the local banks gun-shy; the country as a whole was going through a mild recession that wasn’t helping; would-be private investors could see all too clearly the risks associated with Origin’s non-diversified business model. As the vaguely disappointing reception for Ultima VII continued to make itself felt, the crisis began to feel increasingly existential. Origin had lots of technical and creative talent and two valuable properties — Wing Commander in particular was arguably still the hottest single name in computer gaming — but had too little capital and a nonexistent credit line. They were, in other words, classic candidates for acquisition.

It seems that the rapprochement between EA and Origin began at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago at the very beginning of June of 1992, and, as evidenced by EA’s personal visit to Origin just a week or so later, proceeded rapidly from there. It would be interesting and perhaps a little amusing to learn how the rest of Origin’s management team coaxed Richard Garriott around to the idea of selling out to the company he had spent the last half-decade vilifying. But whatever tack they took, they obviously succeeded. At least a little bit of sugar was added to the bitter pill by the fact that Trip Hawkins, whom Garriott rightly or wrongly regarded as the worst of all the fiends at EA, had recently stepped down from his role in the company’s management to helm a new semi-subsidiary outfit known as 3DO. (“Had Trip still been there, there’s no way we would have gone with EA,” argues one former Origin staffer — but, then again, necessity can almost always make strange bedfellows.)

Likewise, we can only wonder what if anything EA’s negotiators saw fit to say to Origin generally and Garriott specifically about all of the personal attacks couched within the last few Ultima games. I rather suspect they said nothing; if there was one thing the supremely non-sentimental EA of this era had come to understand, it was that it seldom pays to make business personal.

Richard and Robert Garriott flank Stan McKee, Electronic Arts’s chief financial officer, as they toast the consummation of one of the more unexpected acquisitions in gaming history at EA’s headquarters in San Mateo, California.

So, the deal was finalized at EA’s headquarters in San Mateo, California, on September 25, 1992, in the form of a stock exchange worth $35 million. Both parties were polite enough to call it a merger rather than an acquisition, but it was painfully clear which one had the upper hand; EA, who were growing so fast they had just gone through a two-for-one stock split, now had annual revenues of $200 million, while Origin could boast of only $13 million. In a decision whose consequences remain with us to this day, Richard Garriott even agreed to sign over his personal copyrights to the Ultima franchise. In return, he became an EA vice president; his brother Robert, previously the chief executive in Austin, now had to settle for the title of the new EA subsidiary’s creative director.

From EA’s perspective, the deal got them Ultima, a franchise which was perhaps starting to feel a little over-exposed in the wake of a veritable flood of Origin product bearing the name, but one which nevertheless represented EA’s first viable CRPG franchise since the Bard’s Tale trilogy had concluded back in 1988. Much more importantly, though, it got them Wing Commander, in many ways the progenitor of the whole contemporary craze for multimedia “interactive movies”; it was a franchise which seemed immune to over-exposure. (Origin had amply proved this point by releasing two Wing Commander mainline games and four expansion packs in the last two years, plus a “Speech Accessory Pack” for Wing Commander II, all of which had sold very well indeed.)

As you do in these situations, both management teams promised the folks in Austin that nothing much would really change. “The key word is autonomy,” Origin’s executives said in their company’s internal newsletter. “Origin is supposed to operate independently from EA and maintain profitability.” But of course things did — had to — change. There was an inescapable power imbalance here, such that, while Origin’s management had to “consult” with EA when making decisions, their counterparts suffered no such obligation. And of course what might happen if Origin didn’t “maintain profitability” remained unspoken.

Thus most of the old guard at Origin would go on to remember September 25, 1992, as, if not quite the end of the old, freewheeling Origin Systems, at least the beginning of the end. Within six months, resentments against the mother ship’s overbearing ways were already building in such employees as an anonymous letter writer who asked his managers why they were “determined to eradicate the culture that makes Origin such a fun place to work.” Within a year, another was asking even more heatedly, “What happened to being a ‘wholly owned independent subsidiary of EA?’ When did EA start telling Origin what to do and when to do it? I thought Richard said we would remain independent and that EA wouldn’t touch us?!? Did I miss something here?” Eighteen months in, an executive assistant named Michelle Caddel, the very first new employee Origin had hired upon opening their Austin office in 1987, tried to make the best of the changes: “Although some of the warmth at Origin has disappeared with the merger, it still feels like a family.” For now, at any rate.

Perhaps tellingly, the person at Origin who seemed to thrive most under the new arrangement was one of the most widely disliked: Dallas Snell, the hard-driving production manager who was the father of a hundred exhausting crunch times, who tended to regard Origin’s games as commodities quantifiable in floppy disks and megabytes. Already by the time the Origin had been an EA subsidiary for a year, he had managed to install himself at a place in the org chart that was for all practical purposes above that of even Richard and Robert Garriott: he was the only person in Austin who was a “direct report” to Bing Gordon, EA’s powerful head of development.

On the other hand, becoming a part of the growing EA empire also brought its share of advantages. The new parent company’s deep pockets meant that Origin could prepare in earnest for that anticipated future when games would sell more copies but would also require more money, time, and manpower to create. Thus almost immediately after closing the deal with EA, Origin closed another one, for a much larger office space which they moved into in January of 1993. Then they set about filling up the place; over the course of the next year, Origin would double in size, going from 200 to 400 employees.

The calm before the storm: the enormous cafeteria at Origin’s new digs awaits the first onslaught of hungry employees. Hopefully someone will scrounge up some tables and chairs before the big moment arrives…

And so the work of game development went on. When EA bought Origin, the latter naturally already had a number of products, large and small, in the pipeline. The first-ever expansion pack for an existing Ultima game — an idea borrowed from Wing Commander — was about to hit stores; Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue would prove a weirdly unambitious addition to a hugely ambitious game, offering only a single dungeon to explore that was more frustrating than fun. Scheduled for release in 1993 were Wing Commander: Academy, a similarly underwhelming re-purposing of Origin’s internal development tools into a public-facing “mission builder,” and Wing Commander: Privateer, which took the core engine and moved it into a free-roaming framework rather than a tightly scripted, heavily story-driven one; it thus became a sort of updated version of the legendary Elite, and, indeed, would succeed surprisingly well on those terms. And then there was also Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, developed like its predecessor by Blue Sky up in Boston; it would prove a less compelling experience on the whole than Ultima Underworld I, being merely a bigger game rather than a better one, but it would be reasonably well-received by customers eager for more of the same.

Those, then, were the relatively modest projects. Origin’s two most expensive and ambitious games for the coming year consisted of yet one more from the Ultima franchise and one that was connected tangentially to Wing Commander. We’ll look at them a bit more closely, taking them one at a time.

The game which would be released under the long-winded title of Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle had had a complicated gestation. It was conceived as Origin’s latest solution to a problem that had long bedeviled them: that of how to leverage their latest expensive Ultima engine for more than one game without violating the letter of a promise Richard Garriott had made more than a decade before to never use the same engine for two successive mainline Ultima games. Back when Ultima VI was the latest and greatest, Origin had tried reusing its engine in a pair of spinoffs called the Worlds of Ultima, which rather awkwardly shoehorned the player’s character from the main series — the “Avatar” — into plots and settings that otherwise had nothing to do with Richard Garriott’s fantasy world of Britannia. Those two games had drawn from early 20th-century science and adventure fiction rather than Renaissance Faire fantasy, and had actually turned out quite magnificently; they’re among the best games ever to bear the Ultima name in this humble critic’s opinion. But, sadly, they had sold like the proverbial space heaters in the Sahara. It seemed that Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Rice Burroughs were a bridge too far for fans raised on J.R.R. Tolkien and Lord British.

So, Origin adjusted their approach when thinking of ways to reuse the even more expensive Ultima VII engine. They conceived two projects. One would be somewhat in the spirit of Worlds of Ultima, but would stick closer to Britannia-style fantasy: called Arthurian Legends, it would draw from, as you might assume, the legends of King Arthur, a fairly natural thematic fit for a series whose creator liked to call himself “Lord British.” The other game, the first to go into production, would be a direct sequel to Ultima VII, following the Avatar as he pursued the Guardian, that “Destroyer of Worlds” from the first game, from Britannia to a new world. This game, then, was Serpent Isle. Originally, it was to have had a pirate theme, all fantastical derring-do on an oceanic world, with a voodoo-like magic system in keeping with Earthly legends of Caribbean piracy.

This piratey Serpent Isle was first assigned to Origin writer Jeff George, but he struggled to find ways to adapt the idea to the reality of the Ultima VII engine’s affordances. Finally, after spinning his wheels for some months, he left the company entirely. Warren Spector, who had become Origin’s resident specialist in Just Getting Things Done, then took over the project and radically revised it, dropping the pirate angle and changing the setting to one that was much more Britannia-like, right down to a set of towns each dedicated to one of a set of abstract virtues. Having thus become a less excitingly original concept but a more practical one from a development perspective, Serpent Isle started to make good progress under Spector’s steady hand. Meanwhile another small team started working up a script for Arthurian Legends, which was planned as the Ultima VII engine’s last hurrah.

Yet the somewhat muted response to the first Ultima VII threw a spanner in the works. Origin’s management team was suddenly second-guessing the entire philosophy on which their company had been built: “Do we still create worlds?” Arthurian Legends was starved of resources amidst this crisis of confidence, and finally cancelled in January of 1993. Writer and designer Sheri Graner Ray, one of only two people left on the project at the end, invests its cancellation with major symbolic importance:

I truly believe that on some level we knew that this was the death knell for Origin. It was the last of the truly grass-roots games in production there… the last one that was conceived, championed, and put into development purely by the actual developers, with no support or input from the executives. It was actually, kinda, the end of an era for the game industry in general, as it was also during this time that we were all adjusting to the very recent EA buyout of Origin.

Brian Martin, one of the last two developers remaining on the Arthurian Legends project, made this odd little memorial to it with the help of his partner Sheri Graner Ray after being informed by management that the project was to be cancelled entirely. Ray herself tells the story: “Before we left that night, Brian laid down in the common area that was right outside our office and I went around his body with masking tape… like a chalk line… we added the outline of a crown and the outline of a sword. We then draped our door in black cloth and put up a sign that said, ‘The King is Dead. Long live the King.’ …. and a very odd thing happened. The next morning when we arrived, there were flowers by the outline. As the day wore on more flowers arrived.. and a candle.. and some coins were put on the eyes… and a poem arrived… it was uncanny. This went on for several days with the alter growing more and more. Finally, we were told we had to take it down, because there was a press junket coming through and they didn’t want the press seeing it.”

Serpent Isle, on the other hand, was too far along by the time the verdict was in on the first Ultima VII to make a cancellation realistic. It would instead go down in the recollection of most hardcore CRPG fans as the last “real” Ultima, the capstone to the process of evolution a young Richard Garriott had set in motion back in 1980 with a primitive BASIC game called Akalabeth. And yet the fact remains that it could have been so, so much better, had it only caught Origin at a less uncertain, more confident time.

Serpent Isle lacks the refreshingly original settings of the two Worlds of Ultima games, as it does the surprisingly fine writing of the first Ultima VII; Raymond Benson, the head writer on the latter project, worked on Serpent Isle only briefly before decamping to join MicroProse Software. In compensation, though, Serpent Isle is arguably a better game than its predecessor through the first 65 percent or so of its immense length. Ultima VII: The Black Gate can at times feel like the world’s most elaborate high-fantasy walking simulator; you really do spend most of your time just walking around and talking to people, an exercise that’s made rewarding only by the superb writing. Serpent Isle, by contrast, is full to bursting with actual things to do: puzzles to solve, dungeons to explore, quests to fulfill. It stretches its engine in all sorts of unexpected and wonderfully hands-on directions. Halfway in, it seems well on its way to being one of the best Ultima games of all, as fine a sendoff as any venerable series could hope for.

In the end, though, its strengths were all undone by Origin’s crisis of faith in the traditional Ultima concept. Determined to get its sales onto the books of what had been a rather lukewarm fiscal year and to wash their hands of the past it now represented, management demanded that it go out on March 25, 1993, the last day of said year. As a result, the last third or so of Serpent Isle is painfully, obviously unfinished. Conversations become threadbare, plot lines are left to dangle, side quests disappear, and bugs start to sprout up everywhere you look. As the fiction becomes a thinner and thinner veneer pasted over the mechanical nuts and bolts of the design, solubility falls by the wayside. By the end, you’re wandering through a maze of obscure plot triggers that have no logical connection with the events they cause, making a walkthrough a virtual necessity. It’s a downright sad thing to have to witness. Had its team only been allowed another three or four months to finish the job, Serpent Isle could have been not only a great final old-school Ultima but one of the best CRPGs of any type that I’ve ever played, a surefire entrant in my personal gaming hall of fame. As it is, though, it’s a bitter failure, arguably the most heartbreaking one of Warren Spector’s storied career.

And there was to be one final note of cutting irony in all of this: Serpent Isle, which Origin released without a lot of faith in its commercial potential, garnered a surprisingly warm reception among critics and fans alike, and wound up selling almost as well as the first Ultima VII. Indeed, it performed so well that the subject of doing “more games in that vein,” in addition to or even instead of a more streamlined Ultima VIII, was briefly discussed at Origin. As things transpired, though, its success led only to an expansion pack called The Silver Seed before the end of the year; this modest effort became the true swansong for the Ultima VII engine, as well as the whole era of the 100-hour-plus, exploration-focused, free-form single-player CRPG at Origin in general. The very philosophy that had spawned the company, that had been at the core of its identity for the first decade of its existence, was fading into history. Warren Spector would later have this to say in reference to a period during which practical commercial concerns strangled the last shreds of idealism at Origin:

There’s no doubt RPGs were out of favor by the mid-90s. No doubt at all. People didn’t seem to want fantasy stories or post-apocalypse stories anymore. They certainly didn’t want isometric, 100 hour fantasy or post-apocalypse stories, that’s for sure! I couldn’t say why it happened, but it did. Everyone was jumping on the CD craze – it was all cinematic games and high-end-graphics puzzle games… That was a tough time for me – I mean, picture yourself sitting in a meeting with a bunch of execs, trying to convince them to do all sorts of cool games and being told, “Warren, you’re not allowed to say the word ‘story’ any more.” Talk about a slap in the face, a bucket of cold water, a dose of reality.

If you ask me, the reason it all happened was that we assumed our audience wanted 100 hours of play and didn’t care much about graphics. Even high-end RPGs were pretty plain-jane next to things like Myst and even our own Wing Commander series. I think we fell behind our audience in terms of the sophistication they expected and we catered too much to the hardcore fans. That can work when you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars – even a few million – but when games start costing many millions, you just can’t make them for a relatively small audience of fans.

If Serpent Isle and its expansion were the last gasps of the Origin Systems that had been, the company’s other huge game of 1993 was every inch a product of the new Origin that had begun to take shape following the worldwide success of the first Wing Commander game. Chris Roberts, the father of Wing Commander, had been working on something called Strike Commander ever since late 1990, leaving Wing Commander II and all of the expansion packs and other spinoffs in the hands of other Origin staffers. The new game took the basic idea of the old — that of an action-oriented vehicular simulator with a strong story, told largely via between-mission dialog scenes — and moved it from the outer space of the far future to an Earth of a very near future, where the international order has broken down and mercenaries battle for control over the planet’s dwindling resources. You take to the skies in an F-16 as one of the mercenaries — one of the good ones, naturally.

Origin and Chris Roberts pulled out all the stops to make Strike Commander an audiovisual showcase; the game’s gestation time of two and a half years, absurdly long by the standards of the early 1990s, was a product of Roberts constantly updating his engine to take advantage of the latest cutting-edge hardware. The old Wing Commander engine was starting to look pretty long in the tooth by the end of 1992, so this new engine, which replaced its predecessor’s scaled sprites with true polygonal 3D graphics, was more than welcome. There’s no point in putting a modest face on it: Strike Commander looked downright spectacular in comparison with any other flight simulator on offer at the time. It was widely expected, both inside and outside of Origin, to become the company’s biggest game ever. In fact, it became the first Origin game to go gold in the United States — 100,000 copies sold to retail — before it had actually shipped there, thanks to the magic of pre-orders. Meanwhile European pre-orders topped 50,000, an all-time record for EA’s British subsidiary. All in all, more than 1.1 million Strike Commander floppy disks — 30 tons worth of plastic, metal, and iron oxide — were duplicated before a single unit was sold. Why not? This game was a sure thing.

The hype around Strike Commander was inescapable for months prior to its release. At the European Computer Trade Show in London, the last big event before the release, Origin put together a mock-up of an airplane hangar. Those lucky people who managed to seize control for few minutes got to play the game from behind a nose cowl and instrument panel. What Origin didn’t tell you was that the computer hidden away underneath all the window dressing was almost certainly much, much more powerful than one you had at home.

Alas, pride goeth before a fall. Just a couple of weeks after Strike Commander‘s worldwide release on April 23, 1993, Origin had to admit to themselves in their internal newsletter that sales from retail to actual end users were “slower than expected.” Consumers clearly weren’t as enamored with the change in setting as Origin and just about everyone else in their industry had assumed they would be. Transporting the Wing Commander formula into a reasonably identifiable version of the real world somehow made the story, which hovered as usual in some liminal space between comic book and soap opera, seem rather more than less ludicrous. At the same time, the use of an F-16 in place of a made-up star fighter, combined with the game’s superficial resemblance to the hardcore flight simulators of the day, raised expectations among some players which the game had never really been designed to meet. The editors of Origin’s newsletter complained, a little petulantly, about this group of sim jockeys who were “ready for a cockpit that had every gauge, altimeter, dial, and soft-drink holder in its proper place. This is basically the group which wouldn’t be happy unless you needed the $35 million worth of training the Air Force provides just to get the thing off the ground.” There were advantages, Origin was belatedly learning, to “simulating” a vehicle that had no basis in reality, as there were to fictions similarly divorced from the real world. In hitting so much closer to home, Strike Commander lost a lot of what had made Wing Commander so appealing.

The new game’s other problem was more immediate and practical: almost no one could run the darn thing well enough to actually have the experience Chris Roberts had intended it to be. Ever since Origin had abandoned the Apple II to make MS-DOS their primary development platform at the end of the 1980s, they’d had a reputation for pushing the latest hardware to its limit. This game, though, was something else entirely even from them. The box’s claim that it would run on an 80386 was a polite fiction at best; in reality, you needed an 80486, and one of the fastest ones at that — running at least at 50 MHz or, better yet, 66 MHz — if you wished to see anything like the silky-smooth visuals that Origin had been showing off so proudly at recent trade shows. Even Origin had to admit in their newsletter that customers had been “stunned” by the hardware Strike Commander craved. Pushed along by the kid-in-a-candy-store enthusiasm of Chris Roberts, who never had a passing fancy he didn’t want to rush right out and implement, they had badly overshot the current state of computing hardware.

Of course, said state was always evolving; it was on this fact that Origin now had to pin whatever diminished hopes they still had for Strike Commander. The talk of the hardware industry at the time was Intel’s new fifth-generation microprocessor, which abandoned the “x86” nomenclature in favor of the snazzy new focused-tested name of Pentium, another sign of how personal computers were continuing their steady march from being tools of businesspeople and obsessions of nerdy hobbyists into mainstream consumer-electronics products. Origin struck a promotional deal with Compaq Computers in nearby Houston, who, following what had become something of a tradition for them, were about to release the first mass-market desktop computer to be built around this latest Intel marvel. Compaq placed the showpiece that was Strike Commander-on-a-Pentium front and center at the big PC Expo corporate trade show that summer of 1993, causing quite a stir at an event that usually scoffed at games. “The fuse has only been lit,” went Origin’s cautiously optimistic new company line on Strike Commander, “and it looks to be a long and steady burn.”

But time would prove this optimism as well to be somewhat misplaced: one of those flashy new Compaq Pentium machines cost $7000 in its most minimalist configuration that summer. By the time prices had come down enough to make a Pentium affordable for gamers without an absurd amount of disposable income, other games with even more impressive audiovisuals would be available for showing off their hardware. Near the end of the year, Origin released an expansion pack for Strike Commander that had long been in the development pipeline, but that would be that: there would be no Strike Commander II. Chris Roberts turned his attention instead to Wing Commander III, which would raise the bar on development budget and multimedia ambition to truly unprecedented heights, not only for Origin but for their industry at large. After all, Wing Commander: Academy and Privateer, both of which had had a fraction of the development budget of Strike Commander but wound up selling just as well, proved that there was still a loyal, bankable audience out there for the core series.

Origin had good reason to play it safe now in this respect and others. When the one-year anniversary of the acquisition arrived, the accountants had to reveal to EA that their new subsidiary had done no more than break even so far. By most standards, it hadn’t been a terrible year at all: Ultima Underworld II, Serpent Isle, Wing Commander: Academy, and Wing Commander: Privateer had all more or less made money, and even Strike Commander wasn’t yet so badly underwater that all hope was lost on that front. But on the other hand, none of these games had turned into a breakout hit in the fashion of the first two Wing Commander games, even as the new facilities, new employees, and new titles going into development had cost plenty. EA was already beginning to voice some skepticism about some of Origin’s recent decisions. The crew in Austin really, really needed a home run rather than more base hits if they hoped to maintain their status in the industry and get back into their overlord’s good graces. Clearly 1994, which would feature a new mainline entry in both of Origin’s core properties for the first time since Ultima VI had dropped and Wing Commander mania had begun back in 1990, would be a pivotal year. Origin’s future was riding now on Ultima VIII and Wing Commander III.

(Sources: the book Dungeons and Dreamers: The Rise of Computer Game Culture from Geek to Chic by Brad King and John Borland; Origin’s internal newsletter Point of Origin from March 13 1992, June 19 1992, July 31 1992, September 25 1992, October 23 1992, November 6 1992, December 4 1992, December 18 1992, January 29 1993, February 12 1993, February 26 1993, March 26 1993, April 9 1993, April 23 1993, May 7 1993, May 21 1993, June 18 1993, July 2 1993, August 27 1993, September 10 1993, October 13 1993, October 22 1993, November 8 1993, and December 1993; Questbusters of April 1986 and July 1987; Computer Gaming World of October 1992 and August 1993. Online sources include “The Conquest of Origin” at The Escapist, “The Stars His Destination: Chris Roberts from Origin to Star Citizen“ at US Gamer, Shery Graner Ray’s blog entry “20 Years and Counting — Origin Systems,” and an interview with Warren Spector at RPG Codex.

All of the Origin games mentioned in this article are available for digital purchase at GOG.com.)

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/origin-sells-out/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

2 notes · View notes

chrysaliseuro2019 · 5 years ago

Text

Deliverance

A relaxed start to the the day in Vrsar. Breakfast laid on and it was a little different. Basically at the mostly open air restaurant which was adjacent to the rooms. We sat under a large tree called a Ladonja. Famed in these parts as a tree for the locals to sit under and chew the fat. Spot on. This was in a little area opposite the main part of the restaurant overlooking the town and out to sea. Quite a panoramic spot. So panoramic was it that they had set up a false window which you could stand in front of, as if the sea and town were the backdrop view you had from your room. We of course took a photo there but were more amused by the people who took a photo from the reverse way ie. looking into the “non room” from the sea.

Breakfast was a laid back affair sitting under the tree listening to the various foreign voices around us (mostly German) and made more laid back by the same waitress we had been chatting to the night before about the Fantasy duo. She was in fine droll form.

Post breakfast we had determined to visit Rovinj. It’s regarded as the star of the Istrian peninsula. Medieval town with all sorts of stone laneways and nooks and crannies which are very attractive. Topped by the church of St Euphemia, the largest baroque building in Istria, which we made our way up to. Luckily, though it overlooks the town, it’s not too high up as temperature in the 30s and humid and the shade ran out near the top.

Rovinj is a sizeable town, full of tourist shops of all categories, from tasteful to the usual fridge magnet pap. We had arrived around 12.30 and strolled around for perhaps a couple of hours with a view to staying the night. Interestingly, accommodation was not jumping out at us. Often, the various signs “zimmer, sobe, camere, apartments, rooms for rent” and of course plain old “hotel and B&B” are very prominent but not here.

We decided that though it had plenty of charms Rovinj was not for us. At least to stay the night in. From what we could see, accommodation was costly, scant or out of town. It also wasn’t quite pushing our buttons in terms of having to stay there. A little too busy, a little too commercial and of course not user friendly in terms of bed for the night. We continued on with Liz scanning possible next destinations. She came up with Fasana. Coastal town, didn’t know too much about it but it was worth a try. As we headed there we came across a delightful little beach at a place called Peroj. Around 5 kms shy of Fazana. We turned off the main road and drove along a wide stone road, adjacent to the beach and saw a few beach umbrellas and beds but not too busy. Liz went to the local beach bar and struck a deal on a couple of beds and umbrella (just beat the German couple to the last available beds) and so we spent the next 3 hours+ relaxing in this delightful location.

I was researching ferries from Split or Zadar to Ancona for the next leg of our trip and got very close to booking but it was a prolonged research process and around 6.45 we thought we had better find somewhere to stay this night as time was marching on. Liz had been looking at Fazan but hard to get anything in town as it was booked out or prohibitive. There were some possibilities at 1.2kms out of town or 2kms +. We went into town tried the tourist bureau where they simply recommended pricey hotels. Parked up and walked into the centre by the beach looking for accommodation signs. A few apartments but they were either booked or not responding to phone calls. The delightfully named Hotel Feral was unfortunately also full. We would have loved to stay there. A couple of ferals in the feral hotel. Tried a couple of flash hotels but one was full and the other too pricey.

Now getting towards 8.00 pm and nowhere to stay the night and fair to say we were getting a little toey. Probably more because we could see this funky town and could not find anywhere close. We knew we would find somewhere but ideally didn’t want to be too far from town.

Amusingly we found one B&B advertised close to town and headed there. Approaching it we started to feel a little disquieted. Scrubby old garden and gate with a bit of looped wire keeping it closed. As we stood at the gate contemplating whether to go in a man appeared out of the house. Let’s say he looked a bit like a good old boy from Deliverance the movie. Bare feet, trousers which had seen much better days (years) and possibly weren’t his. Also roaming around the yard (garden is too flattering - there was all sorts of bric a brac lying around) was a large dog I’m thinking Shetland pony size. He looked friendly enough but was of the guard dog variety (a shepherd) and the “beware of the dog sign” made us even more wary. As did his loud bark.

Anyway having come this far we called out to deliverance man, in our slowest and well enunciated English, something along the lines of “do you speak English - is this a B&B and do you have a room?” Already beginning to pray that the answer was no (to either of the last 2 questions). We could have garbled the effort as he didn’t speak English and so opened a door and called out to someone to come out from inside the house. They yelled back but did not appear so he showed us up to the room. The door being opened allowed a waft of cigarette smoke to waft out which again was unpleasant.

Meanwhile the hound of the Baskervilles took a liking to me. Liz was showing him all the affection but he was slobbering around against my leg trying to be my best mate including proudly fetching his semi crushed plastic bottle for me to see. We all four went to the room, Liz, me, Wilbur and Fido. We thought the dog was going to come into it for a mo to help us check it out but obviously he knew his place and sat by the door curiously watching on and waiting to continue his slobbering.

The room looked like it had last been occupied 10 years earlier. Possibly by the person who left our host’s trousers behind. Dark, dank, musty and very hot (the room though also probably applicable to the trousers). We couldn’t imagine spending 5 minutes in there let alone a night. Especially with the Clampetts and Rover for company. We mumbled that we would think about it and retreated as fast as we could. The old boy couldn’t have given a stuff (he was v friendly) but the dog watched us go a mite sadly I thought.

In the end we succumbed and booked a place 1.2 kms from town. Not too bad, we thought we could waltz in from there relatively easily, though we did have a bit of trouble locating it via Apple maps so another 20 mins down the drain. But eventually we rolled up. I had read an article about the locals being masters (and mistresses) at gilding the lily and making places seem much better than they truly are. Well we got dudded. 1.2 kms was to the signpost to the start of town. Let’s say it was about 4/5 kms out from the centre. Delightful landlady. Spoke German fluently but virtually no English (which forced me to try and recollect high school German from 50 years ago).

Room was fine but we realised that the walk into town was not on so pretty quickly changed and drove in. By now it was 9.00pm and they don’t eat as late in Croatia as they do in Greece. Town though was still rocking. It’s relatively small but obviously a favoured tourist destination as plenty of people (without being overwhelming) were doing their evening promenade or still having dinner by the waterfront.

We found a restaurant right on the front and had drinks followed by dinner. Grilled squid for me and mussels for Liz. Very good. Staff extremely helpful and friendly. Our seats were close to a little market area where the nearest stall was a guy blowing glass with plenty of onlookers. Great spot for people watching and we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours in perfect temperatures. Liz also managed to book a hotel for the next night right smack in town so we were set up for the next day. It was one of the pricey ones from night before but obviously they had a room free for one night so brought down the price on booking.com and we were in. Great. Went for a walk around town and then headed home.

It had been yet another different day. Laid back Vrsar to kick off, followed by picturesque though touristy Rovinj, a glorious laze for several hours on the beach, serious contemplation of the next move and the ferry. Followed by a couple of tense hours looking for a place to stay including the trouble finding the location of the B&B. Then a great dinner and relaxing remainder of the evening.

Next day we were able to check out of our B&B and the room was free at the hotel. Easy switch. They also provided free car parking at a car park which was about 150 metres away so easy bag transition and nice though snuggish room, though we didn’t care, being smack in town was the key.

We had one plan for the day. Head straight to the beach of yesterday at Peroj and grab one of those few beach umbrellas and beds. Liz was getting toey as to whether we would make it in time. The transfer to the hotel soaked up a little time and of course I needed to complete suitable ablutions prior to departure. The tension was rising in the car as we headed there and a lack of beach facilities for the day was going to cause repercussions. Relief. Only one umbrella was taken when we arrived so we had the pick of 5/6 others. We chose and immediately headed to the little beach bar for a toasted sandwich breakfast. Now around 11.00am.

The rest of the day was spent lazing, swimming, sleeping, blogging, reading followed by lazing, swimming, blogging, sleeping and reading. We were feeling very chilled.

Also took a decision to forget the ferry from Croatia to Italy. Neither of us are very keen on them. Our experience, at least of overnight ferries, in this part of the world has not been great. We were also happy to drive around. Cost might end up similar when comparing ferry costs including small cabin overnight to petrol, toll and accommodation cost for one night driving around top of Italy down.

We didn’t leave the beach till 6.30 and couldn’t believe where the time went. That evening we did pretty much the same as the night before. Went to the same restaurant given it was a great place to sit and watch the sunset and passing throng and had good food and uber friendly staff. Didn’t disappoint. Grilled squid for Liz , grilled sardines for me. Went to the No1 gelato shop in town post that and strolled around the little town again before heading the 50 metres home. Great day.

2 notes · View notes