Distinctive Software

Distinctive Software, Inc. (DSI) was a Canadian software house established in Burnaby, British Columbia, by Don Mattrick and Jeff Sember. It is the predecessor to EA Canada.

Distinctive Software was best known in the late 1980s for their ports, racing and sports games, distributed in most part by Accolade, with whom they worked closely.

DSI became known for various titles. It is synonymous with racing games in the late '80s and early '90s, including the Test Drive series and Stunts. The base coding for 1987's Test Drive was replicated for not only Test Drive II: The Duel, but 1989's The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing and 1988's Grand Prix Circuit.

DSI also made sports games like 4D Boxing, and the second title in the Hardball series.

In 1991, DSI was acquired by Electronic Arts, and became EA Canada (and a major component on the future EA Sports studios), in a deal worth US$11 M. This also meant a significant blow on Accolade, which lost credibility and market share in the following years.

Trade-named as Unlimited Software, Inc., and lawsuit
In 1989, programmers Pete Gardner and the "Old Kid" (Amory Wong) of DSI, under the pseudonym USI (Unlimited Software, Inc.), converted Sega's arcade game Out Run into a PC-DOS version.

Consequently, Accolade charged that DSI violated a working agreement, and sued.