Editing Strategic Simulations (section)

==History==
The company was founded by [[Joel Billings]], a [[wargame]] enthusiast, who in the summer of 1979 saw the possibility of using the new home computers such as the [[TRS-80]] for wargames.{{r|CGWmar88}} While unsuccessfully approaching [[Avalon Hill]] and [[Automated Simulations]] to publish wargames,<ref name="wilson199111">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=88 |title=A History of Computer Games |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=November 1991 |access-date=18 November 2013 |author=Wilson, Johnny L. |page=10}}</ref> he hired [[video game programmer|programmers]] [[John Lyons (game programmer)|John Lyons]], who wrote ''[[Computer Bismarck]]''—later claimed to have been the first "serious wargame" published for a [[microcomputer]]<ref name="CGWmar88">"Titans of the Computer Gaming World", [http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1988&pub=2&id=45 ''Computer Gaming World'', March 1988], p.36.</ref>—and [[Ed Williger]], who wrote ''[[Computer Ambush]]''. Both games were written in [[BASIC]] as were many of SSI's early games.

Although Billings expected that he and Lyon would write the first version of ''Computer Bismarck'' on a [[North Star Computers|North Star]] computer, [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]] executive [[Trip Hawkins]], who would later found [[Electronic Arts]], persuaded Billings to switch to the [[Apple II]] because of its graphics.<ref name="wilson199111"/> ''Computer Bismarck'' appeared for the Apple in January 1980 and for the TRS-80 later in the year. [[Chuck Kroegel]], who joined the company as an employee in 1983, was the co-author with [[David Landrey]] of many of the early SSI wargames and led product development for over ten years.

[[File:Computer Gaming World issue 2.3 (page 22 Strategic Simulations).jpg|thumb|left|Strategic Simulations booth at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]] in 1982]]

By late 1980, SSI advertised that its games could "take you from [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]] to the [[Super Bowl]]. (By way of the [[North Atlantic]].)"<ref name="byte198011">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-11/1980_11_BYTE_05-11_High-Resolution_Graphics#page/n329/mode/2up |title=We can take you from Waterloo to the Super Bowl. (By way of the North Atlantic.) |magazine=BYTE |date=November 1980 |access-date=18 October 2013 |author=Advertisement |page=375}}</ref> In 1982 SSI launched their ''RapidFire'' line. Although the name implies action titles, it was in fact simply a branding of games being written by third party authors. The initial series consisted of ''[[Cytron Masters]]'', ''[[The Cosmic Balance]]'' and ''[[Galactic Gladiators]]''. Later titles included ''[[Epidemic!]]'', a real time strategy title dealing with a global plague, ''Queen of Hearts'', ''[[Cosmic Balance II]]'', ''[[Broadsides (video game)|Broadsides]]'' and others. The branding effort did not last very long, and appeared to have been ended in either 1983 or 1984. Chris Smith reviewed SSI's ''RapidFire Line'' in ''[[The Space Gamer]]'' No. 59.<ref name="SG">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Chris |date=January 1983 |title=SSI's RapidFire Line: Featured Review |journal=[[The Space Gamer]] |publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]] |issue=59 |pages=14–15}}</ref> Smith commented that " RapidFire is a game line that deserves any award it can be nominated for. It is the best line of computer games I've ever seen, and the programs rate high on an individual basis also."<ref name="SG"/>

By 1985, ''[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]]'' wrote "serious computer wargamers consider [SSI] a company in a class by itself". It had 60 employees and had published 12 games in the previous year, most written in [[compiler|compiled]] [[BASIC]]. Developers such as [[Gary Grigsby]] received royalties of up to $20,000 per game.<ref name="Antic-4-3">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]] |title=War Games: The story of S.S.I. |first=Jack |last=Powell |volume=4 |issue=3 |date=July 1985 |page=28 |url=https://archive.org/stream/1985-07-anticmagazine/Antic_Vol_4-03_1985-07_Computer_Challenges#page/n27/mode/2up}}</ref> By fiscal 1987 the company had $5 million in sales, and had released 89 games in its first eight years.{{r|CGWmar88}}

SSI had expanded into [[role-playing game]]s in 1984 with titles such as ''[[Wizard's Crown]]'', ''[[Questron]]'' and the ''[[Phantasie]]'' series. In 1987, SSI acquired the ''[[Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Advanced Dungeons & Dragons|Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (AD&D) license from [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]] and subsequently published 30 titles in that series, starting with ''[[Pool of Radiance]]'' in 1988 and including ''[[War of the Lance (video game)|War of the Lance]]'' in 1989 (Apple II) and 1990 (MS-DOS & Commodore 64). The TSR products formed the core of games released using the [[Gold Box]] engine.

By 1992, ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' stated that SSI "is no longer known as, primarily, a wargame company [but] continues to publish its share of wargames".<ref name="cgw199208">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=97 |title=The Consumer Electronics Show: No Longer Behind Closed Doors |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=August 1992 |access-date=3 July 2014 |pages=23–28}}</ref> In 1994, the company released ''[[Panzer General]]''. Panzer General was a very approachable and easy-to-play game that nevertheless had some gameplay depth and the sense of continuity and goals. It was followed by three other games based on slightly modified versions of the basic engine, including ''[[Allied General]]'' and ''[[Pacific General]]'', the latter arguably being the most balanced. Non-historical games based on the same system were also released, ''[[Star General]]'' and ''[[Fantasy General]]''. These were later referred to collectively as the ''5-Star General Series''.

As the newer versions were released over a three-year period they increasingly became outdated in terms of improving computer hardware. In 1997 they released a new version, ''[[Panzer General II]]'', with hand-painted maps and icons. It was very popular, selling well over 100,000 copies in its first release, and is still modded and played today.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} ''[[People's General]]'' was based on the same engine. In 1999 ''[[Panzer General 3D Assault]]'' introduced a true 3D engine, but gameplay was not particularly notable.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} A final attempt in 2000 was ''[[Panzer General III: Scorched Earth]]''.

SSI was acquired by [[Mindscape Group|Mindscape]] in 1994, spent some time as part of [[Mattel]], and finally became part of [[Ubisoft]] in March 2001, which retired the brand a few years later.<ref name="SSI-brand_MG"/>

In December 2013, [[Joel Billings]] donated several SSI video games, such as ''[[Computer Bismarck]]'', including the [[source code]] for preservation to the [[International Center for the History of Electronic Games|ICHEG]].<ref name="ICHEGSSI">{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/strategic-simulations-inc-founder-donates-company-collection-to-icheg |title=Strategic Simulations, Inc. founder donates company collection to ICHEG |date=2013-12-16 |first=Christian |last=Nutt |website=[[Gamasutra]] |access-date=2013-12-22}}</ref><ref name="ICHEGSSI2">{{cite web |url=http://www.icheg.org/blog/chegheads/2013/12/the-strategic-simulations-inc-collection/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323152519/http://www.icheg.org/blog/chegheads/2013/12/the-strategic-simulations-inc-collection|archive-date=March 23, 2017 |title=The Strategic Simulations, Inc. Collection |date=2013-12-16 |first=Jon-Paul C. |last=Dyson |publisher=[[International Center for the History of Electronic Games|ICHEG]] |access-date=2013-12-22}}</ref>