He's the guy who gave Apple II owners a taste of arcade games with clones such as Bug Attack and Star Thief. He's also the guy who figured out how to reverse engineer the Sega Genesis when Electronic Arts wanted to make cartridges for the system (Steve Hayes was the other guy). Sega wouldn't budge on a more accommodating licensing deal, so Trip Hawkins of EA decided to have two of his top engineers take a "crack" at reverse engineering the system.
Once the Genesis was figured out, EA took action and made a bunch of games. In fact, if it wasn't for Jim, EA may not have entered the cartridge market at all! Nintendo's licensing deals were extremely one-sided, and Sega wanted to follow suit by offering EA a highly unfavorable deal.
It wasn't until the Consumer Electronics Show in 1990 that changed Sega's mind about allowing EA to create games for the system under a much more desirable agreement. Trip told Sega execs that EA had reverse engineered the Genesis, and were ready to come out with cartridges without Sega's blessing. After an all night meeting, Sega backed down on their original licensing demands and agreed to terms that would keep Sega in the loop of all new EA games for the Genesis. The deal allowed for EA to license as many games as they wanted for the system, yet still allow both companies to profit.
What both companies didn't realize however is that EA really wasn't holding all the cards. It turned out that Sega still could have locked out unlicensed EA cartridges, due to an oversight during the reverse engineering phase. It's true that Jim and Steve figured out how to run games on the Genesis, but there were still security measures Sega put in place that weren't found at the time. EA figured this out late in the game, after their CES meeting with Sega. And by then, if Sega didn't agree, EA would have been back-pedaling to get out of the muck and empty promises they made.
Fortunately, when Sega and EA came to an agreement, EA didn't have to worry about using a not-fully-reverse engineered system, and Sega provided them with all they needed to make games for their system. It worked out quite profitably for both companies in the end, but funny how what turned out to be a bluff by EA (in hindsight), helped both companies succeed.
Jim played a pivotal role at EA, helping them gain ground in the cartridge market (something EA initially thought would be a step backwards in video gaming). This was just a small chapter in his life, but one that shifted an entire segment of the gaming public. After all, ever heard of the John Madden football series of video games? It all started as an EA cartridge on the Sega Genesis.
See Jim Nitchal's bio and gameography here
Once the Genesis was figured out, EA took action and made a bunch of games. In fact, if it wasn't for Jim, EA may not have entered the cartridge market at all! Nintendo's licensing deals were extremely one-sided, and Sega wanted to follow suit by offering EA a highly unfavorable deal.
It wasn't until the Consumer Electronics Show in 1990 that changed Sega's mind about allowing EA to create games for the system under a much more desirable agreement. Trip told Sega execs that EA had reverse engineered the Genesis, and were ready to come out with cartridges without Sega's blessing. After an all night meeting, Sega backed down on their original licensing demands and agreed to terms that would keep Sega in the loop of all new EA games for the Genesis. The deal allowed for EA to license as many games as they wanted for the system, yet still allow both companies to profit.
What both companies didn't realize however is that EA really wasn't holding all the cards. It turned out that Sega still could have locked out unlicensed EA cartridges, due to an oversight during the reverse engineering phase. It's true that Jim and Steve figured out how to run games on the Genesis, but there were still security measures Sega put in place that weren't found at the time. EA figured this out late in the game, after their CES meeting with Sega. And by then, if Sega didn't agree, EA would have been back-pedaling to get out of the muck and empty promises they made.
Fortunately, when Sega and EA came to an agreement, EA didn't have to worry about using a not-fully-reverse engineered system, and Sega provided them with all they needed to make games for their system. It worked out quite profitably for both companies in the end, but funny how what turned out to be a bluff by EA (in hindsight), helped both companies succeed.
Jim played a pivotal role at EA, helping them gain ground in the cartridge market (something EA initially thought would be a step backwards in video gaming). This was just a small chapter in his life, but one that shifted an entire segment of the gaming public. After all, ever heard of the John Madden football series of video games? It all started as an EA cartridge on the Sega Genesis.
See Jim Nitchal's bio and gameography here
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