No more "crappy" games, promises EA

By Robert Purchese Published 5 August, 2008

Saying goodbye to licensed rubbish.

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.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (55) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • myiagros #1 4 years ago

    i actually think he is partially right. EA do seems to have an interesting lineup of games this year, and even put out a few good titles last year.

    I think Mirror's Edge might be the game i'm most excited about at the moment, so they must be doing something right.

  • dahsif #2 4 years ago

    Mirror's Edge seems to agree.

  • Skurmedel #3 4 years ago

    How about quality over quantity?

  • penhalion #4 4 years ago

    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?

  • louyfitz #5 4 years ago

    EA should make a FPS game, that'd be the test for me.

  • Colin8703 #6 4 years ago

    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 #7 4 years ago

    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?).

  • mkreku #8 4 years ago

    I wonder if EA will start making RPG's again..? I mean, they still have Origin and Westwood baked in there somewhere..

  • DFawkes #9 4 years ago

    Poor games will always exist for the simple reason people like differnent things. Flight Sims may not be everyones cup of tea, but some people like them (including me).

    On the licences issue, I've been fairly happy with EAs output lately.

  • Zomoniac #10 4 years ago

    And as for the sports games, who can blame them. People lap them up. Im sure I heard they are improving slightly though (Fifa?).

    If by slightly you mean exponentially, then yes.

  • des #11 4 years ago

    EAlol

  • McBradders #12 4 years ago

    Well Activision sure as hell seem happy to pick up the licsensed game slack EA have left behind.

    Yay Activision.

    :/

  • rudedudejude #13 4 years ago

    did he actually say the word 'crappy'?

  • FFS #14 4 years ago

    My Sims. Bit shit wasn't it?

  • MasterNameless #15 4 years ago

    @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 by 2 at 05/08/08 @ 13:04

  • Derblington #16 4 years ago

    "even the guy demoing it kept falling off ledges because he couldn't see the floor!"
    Maybe he was just crap?

  • DB2k #17 4 years ago

    All EA games are ruined by very annoying animated menus which you can't skip, annoying voice overs especially on the likes of Burnout, lack of things like "quick retry" options, and annoying menus which fuck me off.

  • chicknstu #18 4 years ago

    duh

  • AusFreelancer #19 4 years ago

    @ DB2k

    So you'd prefer boring souless pes style menus. Oooookay.

  • oreillymj #20 4 years ago

    EA while your busy improving quality, please add an option to allow me to turn off all the EA Trax gangsta rap bollix with 1 selection.

  • themorganator #21 4 years ago

    EA's charging for additional in-game content in BFBC still makes them scum in my book.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #22 4 years ago

    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.

    :)

  • Nocturne #23 4 years ago

    No more "crappy" games? Why? Are they getting out of the games industry to make crappy movies instead?

  • Doctor_What #24 4 years ago

    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.

  • jack_klugman #25 4 years ago

    Wolf!

  • agparrot #26 4 years ago

    @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 #27 4 years ago

    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.

  • MattyD #28 4 years ago

    I'll believe him if - IF - any of their forthcoming games actually live up to the hype. Army of Two didn't. If Dead Space doesn't I'll be extremely disappointed.

  • Garulon #29 4 years ago

    "EA while your busy improving quality, please add an option to allow me to turn off all the EA Trax gangsta rap bollix with 1 selection."

    Custom soundtracks? Even the lowly PS3 has support for that in some games these days.

  • Duke_Red #30 4 years ago

    I reawrd good games with my money, remember that EA!

  • Silvervein #31 4 years ago

    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'.

  • defdaz #32 4 years ago

    We want Fight Night Round 4, goddamnit!

  • jonthepymm #33 4 years ago

    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 #34 4 years ago

    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.

  • some1 #35 4 years ago

    Get rid of NFS, please.

  • triforce23 #36 4 years ago

    So EA are going to stop making games.

  • Darren #37 4 years ago

    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! ;)

  • dahsif #38 4 years ago

    defdaz "We want Fight Night Round 4, goddamnit!"


    No, we don't.

  • jonthepymm #39 4 years ago

    Oh yes we do

  • illusiondance #40 4 years ago

    we want EA Biiig Exxxtreme Sport Stadium '09!!
    ...with ea trax of course.

  • Madafunkola #41 4 years ago

    @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 #42 4 years ago

    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.

  • Pulsar_t #43 4 years ago

    Urban Strike was the best of the lot. Metropolitan Strike ftw!

  • Oh-Bollox #44 4 years ago

    Eurogamer - "Riccitiello says EA line-up is 'like porn'."

  • Pulsar_t #45 4 years ago

    Urabn wasn't "balls".. It was bigger and meaner than Jungle, but the on-foot sections were iffy I'll give you that!

  • smelly #46 4 years ago

    > How about quality over quantity?

    Well nintendo (the biggest games publisher in the world) do that.. but everyone then complains they dont release enough titles...

    damned if you do...

  • smelly #47 4 years ago

    >40 titles for the Wii... How many of those are party game compilations?

    I'm guessing not many.. remember at LEAST half will be sports games..

  • ronuds #48 4 years ago

    I think EA strives to be "The Producers" of the VG industry.

    The Producers, of course, being a famous Mel Brooks musical...

  • jdhaigh #49 4 years ago

    i'll believe it when i see it

  • orenishii #50 4 years ago

    Bring back the innovation they showed during the 16bit era! That's what I say:

    Road Rash
    Desert Strike
    Battle Squadron
    The Immortal
    Populous
    Lynx Attack Chopper
    EA Hockey (Still the most fun hockey game I've ever played)

    Loved them all! Now days it's all nigh on identical sequels of sports sims!

  • m0thr4 #51 4 years ago

    @evilfoxhound

    Bring back the Desert Strike franchise!

    +1 to that...

  • m0thr4 #52 4 years ago

    Bring back the innovation they showed during the 16bit era! That's what I say:

    Road Rash
    Desert Strike
    Battle Squadron
    The Immortal
    Populous
    Lynx Attack Chopper
    EA Hockey (Still the most fun hockey game I've ever played)

    Loved them all! Now days it's all nigh on identical sequels of sports sims!

    There was supposed to be a PS3/Xbox 360 version of Road Rash, but it got canned. No idea why, but it's a crying shame.

    I'd love to see modern sequels to Desert Strike and The Immortal (probably one of the most atmospheric games I ever played on the Megadrive) and of course Syndicate, which EA published. I loved Syndicate Wars and Nuclear Strike on the PlayStation and would like to see the same but with PS3 graphics. In fact, a modern version of The Immortal could be done in a similar way. It'll never happen though... :-(

  • wingzerosys #53 4 years ago

    Nuclear Strike ftw.

    My Fave Strike's:

    Nuclear, Jungle, Soviet, Urban, Desert.

    I was looking forward to Future Strike, which was later turned into Future Cop:LAPD.

    Syndicate Wars was pretty good too.

  • timberwolf #54 4 years ago

    ha, ha, HA! it would suit me fine if EA ceased to be. i can do without their odd good game if it meant the removal of all others.

  • Ryze #55 4 years ago

    One of those 40 Wii games better be Road Rash...

    With the best controls so far & online play for battering random Yanks!

  • Redeye #56 4 years ago

    Breath.

    Holding.

    Not.