Advertisement
No more "crappy" games, promises EA News
PC
PlayStation 2
PSP
DS
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
Wii
News
by
Robert Purchese
Silver-haired fox John Riccitiello believes EA has "the best title plan of any company in the industry".
This, he feels, happened as a result of letting the core creative teams run free and dream up new IP, rather than churn out licensed sequels.
"Frankly I think that a lot of the intellectual property we create are better than the licenses. That doesn't mean there isn't room for great licenses. There's room for both," Riccitiello told MTV Multiplayer.
"I think what you're noticing is that in years gone by we haven't had as many great, original intellectual properties. There's a lot more of that this year from EA and I think from here forward.
"I think what redeems our industry is quality, and I think we take a step back every time we take a license and exploit it with a crappy game. That's not what we're about," he said.
Riccitiello recently said EA quality has been rising "sharply" since developer administrative burdens were shifted so they can focus on creating games.
He also said EA was wrong to assume Xbox 360 and PS3 will lead the current generation, and promised as many as 40 games are in development for Wii and DS.
Advertisement
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
Poster
|
0
I'll praise mirrors edge when I'm sure it doesn't give me motion sickness and that the sewer levels were not as dark as the demo suggested i.e. even the guy demoing it kept falling off ledges because he couldn't see the floor!
Dead space looks promising though. Let's hope that EA don't simply go back to their old ways....Incidentally anyone know if the cagney patch for paradise worked? |
|
0
Mirror's Edge looks good, as does Dead Space and Left 4 Dead.
I know all their sports titles will be updated but if you're investing in original IP, the money has to come from somewhere. I'd say they've got miles better with regards to quality. There was a time when i would not buy anything with EA on it but they're turning it around. |
|
PinkSpider
05/08/08 @ 11:38
0
I'd say EA are getting better. Perhaps they've got some people who realise they where coming off as one the worst companies in the industy (for churning out crap and ruining the brand) and are trying to change things.
And as for the sports games, who can blame them. People lap them up. Im sure I heard they are improving slightly though (Fifa?). |
|
McBradders
05/08/08 @ 11:49
0
Well Activision sure as hell seem happy to pick up the licsensed game slack EA have left behind.
Yay Activision. :/ |
|
MasterNameless
05/08/08 @ 12:03
0
@Adam T
Yup. He did. "John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts: I think what redeems our industry is quality, and I think we take a step back every time we take a license and exploit it with a crappy game. That’s not what we’re about." Source: MTV Multiplayer.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 05/08/08 @ 13:04
|
|
Derblington
05/08/08 @ 12:04
0
"even the guy demoing it kept falling off ledges because he couldn't see the floor!"
Maybe he was just crap? |
|
themorganator
05/08/08 @ 12:14
0
EA's charging for additional in-game content in BFBC still makes them scum in my book.
|
|
Mentalist(air)
05/08/08 @ 12:16
0
I wonder if EA will start making RPG's again
Yeah, maybe they could make one with Sonic the Hedgehog in. Then a MMORPG based in the Star Wars Universe. :) |
|
Doctor_What
05/08/08 @ 12:42
0
40 titles for the Wii... How many of those are party game compilations?
I remember Mr R saying in 2007 that there was no way to make money from 'art house games', and now PSN has the likes of PixelJunk Eden, Linger in Shadows, and Echochrome, so I think I'll wait and see how EA does in the future before trusting his opinions on what's a great long-term strategy. |
|
0
@penhaliion
....Incidentally anyone know if the cagney patch for paradise worked? Oh yes brother, had it up and running in glorious burnout-o-vision last night, and it is righteously good fun, with a bunch of friends-list players. The new online modes are a testament to how much fun online gaming can be when somebody has thought about what makes the product fun. Whether it is timed challenges, online stunt runs or the addictive randomly-selected online marked man, they all left a grin on my face that was still there when I woke up bleary eyed this morning. |
|
kingdumpalot
05/08/08 @ 13:12
0
louyfitz: EA are making a lot of FPSs. Tiberium, Crysis Warhead (as well as the original) are both EA games.
EA want to shake their soulless image and this is something I applaud. However, I think they've already cracked the quality issue. I can't think of a recent EA game that wasn't polished so well I could see my face in it. They do really need to sort themselves out if they want to win my heart though. EA downloader would be a great starting point. Make it more like steam; ditch having to re-buy the game each download, add community features and make it as slimline as possible. Preferably ditch it and use Steam instead, but that isn't going to happen. |
|
Silvervein
05/08/08 @ 13:44
0
That's very touching words. J. R. It almost made me cry.
So they finally saw the light, denounced chasing maximum profit at any cost, as well as their strategy to become the only publisher which would allow them to dictate any prices they see fit for games. But then I woke up. And in the real world all this PR spin stems from the simple fact that 'our sales remain lower than predicted, requiring us to pursue aggressive marketing campaign aimed at target consumer audiences in order to satisfy our shareholder financial performance demands'. |
|
jonthepymm
05/08/08 @ 13:51
0
Any chance they might fix EA Online Servers in their drive for improved quality? I've lost count of the times in Command & Conquer Kane's Wrath 360 I've got the message "Unable to contact to EA Online Servers" and that's just the tip of the iceberg...
|
|
kangarootoo
05/08/08 @ 14:03
0
Well I bet the dev teams that have worked on EA's many franchise based titles are delighted to hear their work is held in such high regard by their CEO :)
This is really just a new business direction for EA. They used to be able to turn out poorly invested sequels based on franchises, and they would still sell, and they knew it. Now the tide is turning and sales of shite-but-hyped games are falling, the focus has moved to quality, because that is how they can maintain profits. They didn't just have some kind of epiphany. They used to knowingly turn out sequeled bobbins because that is where the fat profits were. Now the tide is turning because gamers have finally stopped buying tat in large numbers. About time says I. |
|
0
If EA are striving to improve the quality of their games, can they please do the same for their appallingly cheap and frequently erroneous wafer-thin black and white manuals too please. They look as if they were thrown together last minute by the work experience person during their tea break! If people don't read manuals any more then I'd put the blame for that solely at EA's feet! ;)
|
|
illusiondance
05/08/08 @ 14:27
0
we want EA Biiig Exxxtreme Sport Stadium '09!!
...with ea trax of course. |
|
Madafunkola
05/08/08 @ 14:43
0
@evilfoxhound
+1 for Desert Strike, after the fun I had in a chopper in GTAIV i think that idea has potential. Also, new SSX please! |
|
illusiondance
05/08/08 @ 14:45
0
yes its true, this is not a commitment to genuine high quality games, (even though the last years worth of new IP is pleasantly suprising) it sounds suspiciously like Mr Ricinaloni is massaging the public image of this consistantly unpopular corperation and desperately trying to sound like a rehabilitated drug dealer.
Certainly they have a incredible amount of polish as stated, but at the expense of character (from each studio under their control) which gives us this tasteless fluff that we have all grown to instantly recognise. This slimey little man is simply towing the new '09 party-line on PR rhetoric, and in this fashionable all-new chummy buddy way thats going round. |
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
