How Microsoft’s Multimedia Giant Encarta Lost the War Against a Collaborative Internet
In short: Before Wikipedia became the world's default reference, Microsoft dominated the digital landscape with Encarta. Launched in 1993, this multimedia encyclopedia defined an era of CD-ROM learning. Yet, by 2009, the tech giant shuttered the project, signaling a permanent shift in how humanity creates and consumes collective knowledge.
Encarta began as a bold experiment in multimedia, officially launching in 1993 under the internal codename Gandalf. Initially sold on CD-ROM for $395, it eventually became a staple of home computing, often bundled with new PCs. By 2008, the premium version boasted over 62,000 articles, supplemented by thousands of images, videos, and interactive tools like an atlas containing 1.8 million locations.
The project’s foundation relied on traditional editorial rigor, incorporating content from established print references like the Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. This centralized, expert-led model stood in stark contrast to the rise of Wikipedia, which launched in 2001. While Encarta provided summarized overviews, Wikipedia utilized an open-source, wiki-based management style that allowed for rapid, community-driven expansion.
By 2006, the English-language Wikipedia had already surpassed 1,000,000 articles, dwarfing Encarta’s curated library. The shift in the information market was undeniable. In April 2009, Microsoft announced it would cease all Encarta sales, citing fundamental changes in how people sought information. The MSN Encarta site was officially closed on October 31, 2009, marking the end of a decade-long transition from static, proprietary digital encyclopedias to the dynamic, user-generated web.
The demise of Encarta highlights the tension between two philosophies: the controlled, professional curation of the 1990s and the egalitarian, community-policed model of Web 2.0. While Wikipedia faced its own controversies—such as the 2005 Seigenthaler incident where false information persisted for 132 days—its ability to scale and adapt proved more resilient than the traditional model, ultimately rendering the multimedia disc obsolete.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Encarta | Encyclopedia, Microsoft, CD-ROM, History, & Facts | Britannica
- Also: Encarta
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