Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Moby ID: 80
Overview edit · view history
When wargame giant Avalon Hill and then-current computer game publishers were not interested in his first title, Joel Billings had to found his own company to publish and distribute his computer wargames. SSI was the dominant force in computer wargames from then (1981) into the early 1990s, holding its own against Avalon Hill's own efforts and other competitors.
In the mid 1980s, two of SSI's more prolific developers left to form their own company, SSG. The split appears to have been at least as much a result of the two living in Australia as of any business or creative reasons.
In the late 1980s, SSI signed a deal with TSR, Inc., to publish official Dungeons and Dragons computer games. The "Gold Box" D&D games took the company in new directions. Although SSI never stopped publishing war games, the D&D license quickly became the main source of income and produced their best-known products.
The loss of the D&D license to Interplay was the swan song for SSI as an independent company. No longer dominant in their original wargame market and suddenly without their primary franchise, the company was acquired by Mindscape in 1994. It changed hands several times after that - from Mindscape to The Learning Company, Mattel Interactive, The Gores Group and finally to Ubi Soft on 7 March 2001. Ubi Soft used the SSI logo and name on some of their titles, including Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor and Destroyer Command, but has retired the brand around 2002.
Credited on 241 Games from 1980 to 2023
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History +
- March 7, 2001
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The Game Studios division of The Learning Company, of which SSI was part, is acquired by Ubi Soft. SSI itself is reduced to a publishing label.
- 1994
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Purchased by Mindscape.
- 1987
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The company acquires the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) license from TSR.
- 1979
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Company founded by Joel Billings.
Trivia +
The company website was formerly located at http://www.ssionline.com/
Location and Contact information in Dec. 1994:
S.S.I.
675 Almanor Avenue, Suite 201
Sunnyvale, CA 94086-2901
Tel: 408-737-6800
Related Web Sites +
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The History of SSI Games
An SSI fansite which offers a bibliography of the company's releases, accompanied by summaries from the original product catalogs, as well as information on the SSI/TSR collaboration, a commentary on the company's tenure, and other additional information.
Frequent Collaborators
Companies- 43 games with Louis Saekow Design LLC
- 39 games with TSR, Inc.
- 26 games with Mindscape SA
- 24 games with Mindscape International GmbH
- 20 games with Epic Games Tools LLC
- 16 games with Mindscape International Ltd.
- 14 games with Westwood Studios, Inc.
- 13 games with U.S. Gold Ltd.
- 11 games with Top Star Computer Services
- 11 games with GOG Poland Sp. z o.o.
- 106 games with David Boudreau
- 90 games with Louis Hsu Saekow
- 57 games with Joel Billings
- 53 games with Charles J. Kroegel Jr.
- 51 games with Kathryn J. Lee
- 46 games with Mark Whisler
- 44 games with Eileen Matsumi
- 43 games with Cyrus G. Harris
- 42 games with Roland Gustafsson
- 41 games with Bret Berry
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