Lists: 4th Gen Console Games from Electronic Arts (EA)

The purpose of this list is to show how heavily biased EA was towards the Genesis over the Super Nintendo (or Turbografx) in the 4th generation.  EA started out as a computer game developer, and only moved into consoles in the early ’90s, first with the Sega Genesis.  EA famously reverse-engineered the Genesis, and did it in a legal manner, and then went to Sega and threatened to release unlicensed games unless Sega gave them a better licensing deal than the usual strict and pricey one they had previously been offered.

Sega caved, and it was a good thing too, because EA, particularly EA Sports, quickly proved to be almost as important as Sonic in making the Genesis a hit in the U.S..  However, even though they started out supporting only the Genesis, in not too long EA did start to support the SNES, but with an extremely limited game library outside of EA Sports.  The list below shows exactly HOW thin EA’s SNES game library really was.

EA’s Bullfrog and Origin divisions, however, did support Nintendo.  Origin particularly released most of their 4th gen console games only on Nintendo platforms; they only had one on Sega, and it was ported by Game Arts and published by Sega itself.  But Origin and Bullfrog released only a few console games each that generation, and don’t come close to making up for EA’s massive SNES-Genesis deficit.

 

16-bit EA / EA Sports Titles

 

Note: I’m not listing all platforms for sports games or arcade ports, or most specific computer platforms. These games are all true exclusives, not released anywhere else at the time.  I am also not listing 7th or 8th gen collection or port releases of these games — so the titles in the EA collection for PSP, most notably, aren’t listed as having PSP releases.  I’m focusing this list on systems of the ’90s, mostly.   Also, every section of this list is organized by release year, so earlier games are at the top, later ones below.  Finally, genres are listed for non-sports titles only.

Genesis Exclusives

John Madden Football (1990)
Rings of Power (1991) – Action-RPG
NHL Hockey (1991)
F-22 Interceptor (1991) – Sim
Bulls versus Lakers and the NBA Playoffs (1991)
PGA Tour Golf II (1992)
Team USA Basketball (1992)
Rolo to the Rescue (1992) – Platformer
Crue Ball (1992) – Pinball
Jordan vs Bird (1992)
Road Rash (1992) – Racing (Also released on Game Boy, Game Gear, and later Game Boy Color, but not any other TV consoles in the US; Europe did get a Sega Master System version.)
Road Rash II (1993) – Racing
TechnoClash (1993) – Action-RPG
Blades of Vengeance (1993) – Platform-Action
Haunting Starring Polterguy (1993) – Unique puzzle-action
F-117 Night Storm (1993) – Sim
Skitchin’ (1993) – Racing
Tony La Russa Baseball (1993)
Mutant League Football (1993)
FIFA International Soccer (1993)
Virtual Pinball (1993) – Pinball
Mutant League Hockey (1994)
PGA Tour Golf III (1994)
La Russa Baseball ’95 (1994)
Rugby World Cup ’95 (1994) [Europe only release; there is also a slightly different Australia-only version of this game, Australian Rugby League]
Normy’s Beach Babe-O-Rama (1994) – Platformer
General Chaos (1994) – Action/Strategy
Mario Andretti Racing (1994) – Racing
FIFA Soccer ’95 (1994) (also on Game Gear)
Road Rash 3: Tour de Force (1995) – Racing
Coach K College Basketball (1995)
College Football USA ’96 (1995)

Genesis + Sega 32X Only

Toughman Contest (1995) – Boxing (32X ver. is a slightly upgraded Genesis port)

Sega CD Only

Road Rash CD (1995) – Racing (this is essentially a hybrid of the Genesis and 3DO games.  It has Genesis-style graphics, and 3DO menus and theme.)

SNES Only

Michael Jordan in: Chaos in the Windy City (1994) – Platformer
MLBPA Baseball (1994)

Genesis Console-Exclusive EA-published Ports of Computer Games – These are games originally released on Amiga, Mac, PC, Apple IIGS, and such, but on consoles these games were ported to the Gennesis and nothing else.  Note that many of the original computer games were not EA titles, but these ports are.  Some are original EA titles. [I’m not counting the CD32 at the moment.  Sorry. :p]

Sword of Sodan (1990) – Platform-Action
Battle Squadron (1990) – Shmup
Zany Golf (1990) – Minigolf
The Immortal (1990) – Action-Adventure
Budokan: The Martial Spirit (1991) – Fighting
The Faery Tale Adventure (1991) – Action-RPG
688 Attack Sub (1991) – Simulation (Vehicular)
StarFlight (1991) – 4X Sim
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday (1991) – RPG
Might and Magic: Gates to Another World (1991) – RPG
King’s Bounty: The Conqueror’s Quest (1991) (heavily modified port of the PC original) – RPG
Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs (1991) (heavily modified port of the PC version)
James Pond: Underwater Agent (1991) – Platform-ish
Centurion: Defender of Rome (1991) – Strategy
Fatal Rewind (1991) – Platform-Action
Dark Castle (1991) – Platformer
Galahad (1992) – Platformer
Lotus Turbo Challenge (1992) (also on CD32) – Racing
Risky Woods (1992) (modified port of the original) – Platformer
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1992) – Edutainment
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? (1992) – Edutainment
LHX Attack Chopper (1993) – Simulation (Vehicular)
Lotus II: R.E.C.S. (1993) – Racing

Ports of Computer Games Released on both the Genesis (by EA), and also on Other Consoles (by EA or, usually, Other Publishers).  Note: Only consoles the game is on are listed.  Also, a * means that the original computer game was published by EA too.  Note how rarely EA publishes the console versions not on Genesis.

Populous (1991) (published by EA: Genesis; published by others: SNES, PC Engine (JP only), Master System (EU only)) – Simulation (Building)
Blockout (1991) (published by EA: Genesis; published by others: Arcade, Lynx) – Puzzle
Shadow of the Beast (by EA: 1991 Genesis; by others, 1992: Sega Master System, TurboGrafx CD, Lynx) – Platform-Adventure
James Pond II: Codename Robocod (By EA: 1991 Genesis; By other publishers: 1993 Game Gear, Game Boy (EU only), and SNES as Super James Pond.  Also on Playstation (EU only), Game Boy Advance, Playstation 3 PSN Shop, and Nintendo DS.) – Platformer
Power Monger (By EA: 1992 Genesis, 1994 Sega CD; by other publishers: 1993 SNES (EU/JP only)) – Strategy
Shadow of the Beast II (By EA: 1992 Genesis; by others: 1994 Sega CD) – Platform-Adventure
James Pond 3: Operation Starfish (By EA: 1993 Genesis; By other publishers: 1994, Europe-only: Game Gear, SNES) – Platformer
Aquatic Games starring James Pond (1992) (by EA: 1992, Genesis; by other publishers, 1993, SNES) – Sports Minigames
Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension (1993) (by EA: Europe only, Genesis and Game Gear; by other publishers: SNES, CD32, SMS, US Genesis and GG releases) – Platformer
Theme Park (from EA: 1994: 3DO; 1995: Genesis, Saturn, Playstation; 2007: DS.  By other publishers: Jaguar, Amiga CD32, Sega CD) – Simulation (Building)

Ports of Arcade Games released on the Genesis and Other Consoles
In this category, we see the one and only EA port of a previously existing game that they released on SNES but not Genesis, Rampart!  Tengen published the Genesis version itself.  I would guess that their bad relationship with Nintendo made Tengen itself publishing on SNES essentially impossible, so EA stepped in for Rampart.

Rampart (from EA: 1993, SNES; from other publishers: many platforms) – Arcade Strategy/Action
Marble Madness (from EA: 1993, Genesis; from other publishers: many platforms)
Super Baseball 2020 (from EA: Genesis, 1994; from other publishers: arcade, Neo-Geo, Neo-Geo CD, SNES) – Arcade Action

Console-First Titles Released on both Genesis and SNES — These games are essentially the same game on both platforms.  They are also often on other platforms too; many of the other platforms are listed.  If only a year is listed, that is the year the game released on both Genesis and SNES.

John Madden Football ’92 (1991) (titled John Madden Football on SNES)
Desert Strike (1992 Genesis) (also on SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear; 1993: Lynx; 1994: PC; 2002: Game Boy Advance) – Helicopter Action/Sim
Jungle Strike (1993 Genesis) (also on 1994: Amiga, CD32; 1995: PC, SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear) – Helicopter Action/Sim
B.O.B. (1993) – Platformer
FIFA International Soccer (Genesis 1993, SNES and Sega CD 1994; Sega CD is upgraded Genesis port))
David Crane’s Amazing Tennis (1993, EA was the EU SNES publisher only — Absolute published the game for both platforms in the US.)
Urban Strike (1994 Genesis) (also on 1995: SNES, Game Gear; 1996: Game Boy) – Helicopter Action/Sim
Bill Walsh College Football (1994) (Genesis, SNES, and Sega CD)
NBA Showdown (1993 SNES, 1994 Genesis) (title is NBA Showdown ’94 on Genesis)
NBA Live ’95 (1994)
NBA Live ’96 (1995)
FIFA Soccer ’96 (1995) (Genesis, SNES, 32X (EU only); 32X version is a downgraded but impressive port of the PC/PSX/Saturn game, not a Genesis port.)
FIFA Soccer ’97 Gold (1996)
NBA Live ’97 (1996)
College Football USA ’97 (1996) (SNES, Genesis)
FIFA: Road to the World Cup ’98 (1997) (EU only on SNES/Genesis; in all regions on 5th gen systems)

Genesis+SNES Multiplatform Titles where while they have the same title on Genesis and SNES, the two versions are not the same exact game; they have design differences, sometimes major ones, and often different developers as well.  Most of these games are also on handhelds and some on PC as well.  Sega CD and 32X versions mentioned as well.

PGA Tour Golf (1991 Genesis, 1992 SNES)
John Madden Football ’93 (1992)
NHLPA Hockey ’93 (1992)
NHL ’94 (1993) (Genesis, Sega CD, and SNES; Sega CD is upgraded Genesis port)
Madden NFL ’94 (1993)
Bulls versus Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (1993)
Shaq-Fu (1994) – Fighting (the SNES version is supposed to be slightly better)
NHL ’95 (1994)
Madden NFL ’95 (1994)
PGA European Tour (1994 Genesis, 1996 SNES)
NHL ’96 (1995)
Madden NFL ’96 (1995)
PGA Tour ’96 (1995 Genesis, 1996 SNES)
Madden NFL ’97 (1996)
NHL ’97 (1996)
Madden NFL ’98 (1997)
NBA Live ’98 (1997)
NHL ’98 (1997)

EA Subsidiaries’ 4th-Gen Console Releases

Origin Systems – Origin was purchased by EA in 1992.  They mostly made computer games, but some had (mostly externally developed) console ports, and a few original console games were developed based on their franchises.  These are console games based on Origin Systems properties released in 1992 or later.

SNES ports of Origin Systems computer games that were ported and released on consoles by other publishers

Ultima: The False Prophet (Ultima VI) (1992 JP, 1994 US) (developed by Infinity.  JP publisher: Pony Canyon.  US: FCI.)
Ultima: Kyouryuu Teikoku – Savage Empire (original US PC title: Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire) (1995 JP only) (JP publisher: Pony Canyon)
Wing Commander: The Secret Missions (1993, US/EU only) (dev. and pub. by Mindscape)

SNES and Sega CD ports of Origin Systems computer games that were ported by other studios, but published by EA in some regions

Wing Commander (SNES: 1992 US, 1993 JP; Sega CD: 1994 (US/JP)) (SNES: developed by Mindscape.  US publisher Mindscape.  JP publisher ASCII.  Sega CD: Developed by Game Arts.  US publisher EA.  JP publisher Sega.)

SNES ports of EA-published Computer Games ported by Origin Systems Itself

Ultima: The Black Gate (Ultima VII) (1994) (developed by Origin.  Published by Pony Canyon in JP, FCI in the US.)

SNES/Game Boy Titles By Origin Systems itself

Ultima: Runes of Virtue (1991 JP/1992 US) (Game Boy)
Ultima: Runes of Virtue II (1993 JP/1994 US on GB, 1994 on SNES) (Game Boy and SNES — yes, it’s the same game on both)

Bullfrog Productions – Bullfrog games were published by EA from the beginning, but were only purchased by EA in 1995.  Like Origin, Bullfrog mostly focused on the PC versions of their games, but did do some console ports later on.

SNES / TurboGrafx-16 (externally ported and published)

Populous (1991 on both) (TG16 publisher: Hudson Soft; SNES publisher: Acclaim)

SNES (externally ported and published)

Populous II (1993, Japan only) (ported by Infinity, published by Imagineer)

Computer games ported to SNES, Sega CD, Genesis, and others as noted

Theme Park (1994 PC, 1995 SNES (JP/EU only), Genesis (US only), SCD (EU only)) (Developed by Bullfrog.  EA published on Genesis.  EA Victor published on SNES (JP).  Domark published on SNES (EU) and SCD (EU only release on SCD, EU and JP only on SNES).) (Originally for PC.  Also on other computers, 3DO, CD32, Jaguar, DS, PS1, PS3/PSP (PS1 DDL), Saturn)
PowerMonger (1990 PC, 1992 Genesis, 1993 SNES, 1994 SCD) (Developed by Bullfrog. EA published on Genesis and Sega CD; Imagineer published on SNES.) (Originally for PC, also on other computers)

Titles Licensed by EA and Externally Developed and Published based on EA Properties

 

TurboGrafx CD

John Madden Duo CD Football (1993 Turbo CD; developed by Hudson Soft and published by NEC USA)

About Brian

Computer and video game lover
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