What happened to Microsoft Encarta and why the legendary digital encyclopedia disappeared?

Microsoft Encarta was much more than an encyclopedia. It was the benchmark for digital knowledge for millions of students and curious users around the world for more than a decade. Launched in 1993 and officially discontinued in 2009, Encarta revolutionized the way we accessed information, just as personal computers were beginning to become commonplace in homes.

During its heyday, Encarta was synonymous with homework, term papers, and afternoons of multimedia exploration. However, its success faded as quickly as it emerged, a victim of its inability to adapt to the rapid rise of the Internet and the emergence of free alternatives like Wikipedia. Comparisons with Microsoft Encarta are inevitable when analyzing the fate of the digital information giants.

The birth of Encarta: a risky bet by Microsoft

By the late 80s, Microsoft was already exploring ways to digitize knowledge. Bill Gates was aware of the potential that the CD-ROM offered as a means of storage for multimedia information. The initial idea was to partner with Encyclopædia Britannica, then considered the gold standard in the encyclopedic field, but the attempt failed. Britannica refused to digitize its content for fear of cannibalizing its lucrative print volume business, which cost between $1500 and $2200 with a considerable profit margin.

Britannica's refusal did not discourage Microsoft. Instead, it opted to acquire the rights to the Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. To strengthen Encarta's content base, texts from other sources such as Collier's Encyclopedia and the New Merit Scholar's Encyclopedia, all from the Macmillan Group, were later integrated. This combination of funds allowed Microsoft to create A multimedia digital encyclopedia that included articles, photos, videos, audios, interactive maps, animations, and timelines.

The first edition was released in 1993 under the name Encarta 1993, for Windows 3.x. It featured around 25.000 articles, 7.000 images, 30 videos, and 9 hours of audio content. Its codename during development was "Project Gandalf," and it quickly became "Encarta" thanks to an advertising agency that suggested this original and resonant name.

A difficult start: the price error

Encarta did not shine from the beginning. Its launch was hampered by a particularly high initial price: nearly $400. Considering that at the time, few families had a personal computer at home, much less could afford to pay that amount for educational software, no matter how revolutionary it was. In those years, Microsoft had to learn from its mistakes to better position its product in a competitive market.

Microsoft was able to quickly correct course. It launched promotions that reduced its price to just $99 and even began bundling the software with Windows packages or with new computers that came pre-installed. This distribution strategy helped make it a ubiquitous product in homes during the second half of the 90s.

The Spanish version did not arrive until 1997, published by Santillana. It contained some 43.000 translated and adapted articles and cost 24.900 pesetas (about 150 euros), much more affordable than any traditional printed encyclopedia. It was like having 29 volumes on a single CD-ROM, and on top of that, with multimedia support. This approach helped the encyclopedia become an educational reference for many students.

The golden age of Microsoft Encarta

Between 1995 and 2005, Encarta experienced its moment of maximum splendor. New editions were released each year, and packages with different versions were offered. The Standard Edition contained the basics, while the "Premium" included extras such as Discovery Channel videos, interactive atlases, 3D maps, historical timelines, and academic tools.

In addition, Microsoft developed specific versions for different audiences:

• My first Encarta (Encarta Kids): designed for children under 7 years old.
• Encarta Mathematics: aimed at reinforcing the learning of mathematics.
• Microsoft Student: an educational suite that included Encarta, templates for Become and a graphing calculator.

Encarta also expanded internationally. Microsoft published localized editions in languages ​​such as English (US and UK), Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Dutch, and Brazilian Portuguese. Some versions incorporated content from regional encyclopedias. For example, the Dutch edition included texts from the Winkler Prins encyclopedia.

The 2008 Encarta Premium edition included up to 68.000 articles in English. Its rise to prominence was such that it managed to corner giants like Britannica, whose print edition became unprofitable in the late 90s, to the point of being sold at a loss in 1996.

Interactivity, offline access and technological advances

One of the aspects that users valued most was Encarta's interactivity. Each article was enriched with illustrations, audio and video clips, interactive maps, and timelines. It also featured a powerful search engine that made it extremely easy to navigate and locate content.

Furthermore, in the pre-Internet or pre-slow connection era, offline access was an unmatched competitive advantage. Encarta was distributed on CD-ROM, then DVD-ROM, and allowed users to update some of its content for a limited period after installation, using Internet Explorer as the default browser. This approach guaranteed users continuous access to information.

It also included additional tools such as the Encarta Dictionary, a translator, and a 3D globe based on Microsoft MapPoint.These added educational features were very useful for school and academic work. The combination of technologies allowed Encarta to stand out in a market that was beginning to diversify.

Encarta even experimented with the Artificial Intelligence of the time. Through a bot on Windows Live Messenger Called “Encarta Instant Answers,” it was possible to ask questions directly from the chat and receive snippets of information taken from the encyclopedia, in addition to solving basic mathematical calculations.

The beginning of the end: the arrival of Wikipedia

In 2001, Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales launched Wikipedia. This collaborative online encyclopedia completely transformed the landscape of access to knowledge. Its open, free, and constantly growing nature quickly attracted millions of users.

Encarta did not know how to react in time. Although Microsoft launched an online version of Encarta in 2000 with limited access to certain articles and a subscription model, the offering wasn't competitive enough against Wikipedia, which offered free and unrestricted content. The rise of Wikipedia marked a turning point in the way we access information.

In 2005, Microsoft implemented a suggestion system called the Encarta Feedback System, where users could propose updates and new texts, but they were subject to editorial review. It was an attempt to approach Wikipedia's collaborative model, but it failed to capture the public's attention, especially because contributors received no compensation.

Meanwhile, Wikipedia grew unstoppably. By 2006, the English version already had over a million articles, and the Spanish version had over a hundred thousand. In contrast, Encarta Premium 2009 saw its content reduced: articles like "Veganism," "Bullfight," and "MTV" disappeared completely without explanation. This sparked criticism and confusion among users.

The closure of Encarta and its legacy

In March 2009, Microsoft officially announced the end of Encarta. Starting June 30 of that year, new copies of the software would no longer be sold, although updates would continue until October 31. The website remained online until December 2009 only in Japan, a country where it still held a certain market share.

MSN Premium paying subscribers received financial compensation, and Microsoft also removed the “Microsoft Student” software included in many packages with Encarta.

The Wikimedia Foundation is interested in reusing some of Encarta's content., even approached Microsoft about releasing its files under an open license. However, the deal fell through. Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, considered that "although the content was limited compared to Wikipedia's, the images could be useful."

Thus came to an end one of the most beloved educational platforms for an entire generation. Encarta failed to adapt to the era of free and collaborative information, but no one can deny its pioneering role in bringing the encyclopedia into the digital age. Today, many people who grew up using Encarta still remember it with nostalgia. It witnessed an era in which access to knowledge began to radically change, paving the way for what we understand today as digital culture. Encarta marked a before and after, demonstrating that major technological transformations often begin with projects as seemingly simple as an encyclopedia on a CD.