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Sierra On-Line Games History: What's In a Name, Anyway?

This article is a continuation of the History of Sierra series presented by magisterrex.  Part One can be found here: How It All Fits Together

Packaging was not the only aspect of Sierra that was in a state of flux throughout their history; their very name and identity have changed over the years.  

As most old-school gamers know, the company was founded by the power-gaming couple of Ken and Roberta Williams in 1980.  Back then it was known  On-Line Systems.  The games Mystery House and Time Zone were first released under this label.  

By 1982, the company changed its name to Sierra On-Line, but used two other labels to sell some of their product line.  SierraVenture was created to sell the company's re-released software that once sold under the On-Line Systems brand, while the company's action/arcade games were to be produced under the SierraVision label.  Both logos were discontinued in 1984, and the company published all their titles under the Sierra On-Line label.

As revenues increased, so did buying opportunities for Sierra, which had become a software juggernaut.  The company acquired other software companies, often including both logos on subsequent products.  Purchases included:

1990 Dynamix
1992 Bright Star Technology
1993 Coktel Vision
1995 Arion Software, Green Thumb Software, Impressions, Papyrus Design Group, Pixellite Group, subLOGIC
1997 Berkeley Systems, Books That Work, Headgate, Pyrotechnix

However, in 1996 Sierra On-Line itself was sold to CUC International, and ceased to be an independent company.  Shortly thereafter, in 1997, CUC International merged with HFS Incorporated, creating a new company named Cendant Corporation, which itself was purchased by Havas in 1998, which was then purchased by Vivendi that same year.  A veritable whirlwind of stock acquisition!

In 1998 Sierra reorganized themselves, and went with five internal divisions:

• Sierra Attractions, home the Hoyle and You Don't Know Jack franchises
• Sierra Home, where various "home improvement" software was housed, such as Master Cook and Print Artist
• Sierra Sports, home of the Nascar, Trophy Bass and other sports-related titles
• Sierra Studios, the logo under which all the mainstream titles such as King's Quest would be published
• Dynamix, A Sierra Company, which continued to produce all the 3D combat simulations (such as Red Baron) 

All seemed well -

or well enough - until 1999, when the downsizing axe fell on Sierra in a day known as Black Monday among Sierra collectors.  If the company had only seemed a shadow of its former self prior to Black Monday, in the aftermath the Sierra that everyone had come to know and love was gone forever, replaced by a soulless corporate entity that looked only to what market share could be found for the least amount of expenditure.  For the next few years Sierra would lay off hundreds of employees by closing entire divisions.  Gone were Dynamix (R.I.P., 2001), Impressions (R.I.P., 2004), Papyrus Design (R.I.P., 2004), Berkeley Systems (R.I.P., 2000), and others.  Sierra itself would change its name once again, this time to Sierra Entertainment, Inc., a name which it has kept to the present day.

But there's hope!

Sierra was injected with new life in 2006 and has released several hot new products, which include new additions to the Police Quest SWAT, Caesar, and Trophy Bass lines.  Although it will never recapture its past glory, Sierra continues to be a vibrant software company, with many more "hot" titles to come!