Maxis has an interesting history – rise and fall. Like Apple, there was a genius partner (Will Wright) and a business partner (Jeff Braun). They started out small, in their homes. Later grew to an office in Orinda, but managed to crank out hit titles like SimCity and its follow-ons. Made some mistakes by acquisition (Print Artist publishing program – not gaming). Later acquired by Electronic Arts, EA shut down their business side and focused only on the game development – Maxis Studios. The hit series The Sims carried the studio. Later yet, they closed down the Studios and now focus only on The Sims as a series under the EA brand, but little link to the Maxis name anymore. (I worked there during the hey-days 1994-1999 and during the Maxis IPO and EA takeover.) Jeff – [email protected]