EA Digital Illusions CE

Type	Subsidiary of Electronic Arts
Founded	1988
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden
Key people	Fredrik Liljegren (Founder), Andreas Axelsson (Founder), Patrick Söderlund, General Manager
Industry	Computer and Video game
Revenue	147 million SEK
Employees	200+
Parent	Electronic Arts, Inc
Website	http://www.dice.se

For other uses of "DICE", see Dice (disambiguation).

EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment AB (EA DICE) is a Swedish video game developer, wholly owned by Electronic Arts, best known for the Battlefield video game series.

History

DICE was started by Fredrik Liliegren (a.k.a. Animal / TSL) and Andreas Axelsson (a.k.a. Goofy / TSL), members of the former demo group The Silents. All original members came from the small town of Alvesta in Sweden. The Silents' work is still visible in some DICE games. For example, The Silents used the acronym TSL; this acronym is visible in Motorhead on banners and signs. According to the Motorhead manual, TSL is said to stand for "Trans-atlantic Speed League", a case of a backronym.

For an extended period of time, while the employees were also students at Växjö University, the company's office consisted of a small dorm room. During those days the company developed popular pinball games for the Amiga computers, such as Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions.

In 1998 the company was registered on the Swedish stock exchange and has since experienced tremendous growth. Although Codename Eagle received a small cult following, the biggest break for DICE was the release of Battlefield 1942 and its sequels and expansions. The Battlefield series jumpstarted their popularity. In 2004 the total value of the company was estimated at approximately USD$55 million.

Expansion

In January 2000, the company bought Refraction Games and 90% of Synergenix Interactive. This was followed in March 2001 by the acquisition of Sandbox Studios in London, Ontario, Canada.

EA's acquisition

In November 2004, Electronic Arts announced their intent to purchase all outstanding shares in Digital Illusions CE at a price of 61 SEK per share. The board of directors of Digital Illusions CE recommended that the company's shareholders accept the offer. Electronic Arts owned 62 percent of Digital Illusions CE on March 31, 2005.

On October 2 2006 EA completed the acquisition for 67.50 SEK per share for 2.6 million shares, for a total of 175.5 million SEK. Digital Illusions CE was renamed EA Digital Illusions CE, and CEO Patrick Söderlund became an EA Studio General Manager. DICE Canada was closed down immediately upon acquisition.

Games

Amiga

Benefactor
Pinball Dreams
Pinball Fantasies
Pinball Illusions

Microsoft Xbox

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Midtown Madness 3
Rallisport Challenge
Rallisport Challenge 2
Shrek

Microsoft Xbox 360

Battlefield: Bad Company (in development)
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Mirror's Edge (in development)

Nintendo Game Cube

Shrek: Extra Large

Nintendo Game Boy Advance

Barbie Groovy Games
Secret Agent Barbie: Royal Jewels Mission

Nintendo Game Boy Color

Diva Starz: Mall Mania
JumpStart Dino Adventure Field Trip

PC (DOS and Microsoft Windows)

Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942: Road to Rome
Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2142
Battlefield 2142 Northern Strike
Battlefield Heroes (in development)
Battlefield Vietnam
Codename Eagle
EA Sports V8 Challenge
Legacy of Rosemond Hill
Matchbox Emergency Patrol
Mirror's Edge (in development)
Motorhead
Pinball Illusions
Pinball Fantasies
RalliSport Challenge
Rally Masters
S40 Racing
STCC
STCC 2

Sony PlayStation

Land Before Time: Big Water Adventure
JumpStart Wildlife Safari Field Trip
Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions
Motorhead
Test Drive Rally
True Pinball

Sony PlayStation 2

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Pryzm Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn

Sony PlayStation 3

Battlefield: Bad Company (In development)
Mirror's Edge (in development)

Sega Saturn

True Pinball

References

^ The Silents (TSL). Amiga Music Preservation. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Digital Illusions. 4Sceners.de. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Digital Illusions CE. TeamXbox (2006-10-02). Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
^ Graft, Kris (2006-10-02). EA Officially Picks Up DICE. Next-Gen.biz. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Boyer, Brandon (2006-10-05). EA Closes DICE Canada Offices. Gamasutra. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.

External links

DICE's Official Homepage
Digital Illusions profile on MobyGames
The Silents Official Homepage
Interview with DICE co-founder Andreas Axelsson regarding the early Amiga years (1992-1995).
Category at ODP

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