EA regrets supporting Xbox 360 & PlayStation so strongly
John Riccitiello took over as the current Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Arts back in 2007 and has managed to life the Third Party giant out of its rut by reorganising the company’s product lines, bringing in fresh management and mixing up its development duties, choosing to focus more on game quality, rather than pure quantity. But Riccitiello does have some major regrets that he openly talked about in a recent interview.
Speaking with Mercury News he pointed out that development resources are now being shifted over to Nintendo’s Wii, as well as the company choosing to make wise purchases, picking up a few game studios that Riccitiello himself ran prior to joining EA. Unfortunately, though, in part due to misplaced loyalty in supporting the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 so heavily and not getting much back, EA has struggled financially lately, posting a US$454 million net loss in the last fiscal year that ended on 31st March this year. Riccitiello had this to say on the matter:
Mercury News: How would you assess how this console cycle has gone so far from EA’s standpoint? Is there anything you would like to see the console makers doing that they’re not doing right now?
John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts: The cycle is a lot like the past. There is a lot of innovation, probably more this cycle than even the last cycle; a lot of growth; a lot of exciting things. And we can choose to take advantage of those things.
One thing that’s different is we typically figured out who the market leader was going to be before the start of the cycle and bet with our development resources on that platform. We made the wrong call there (by betting on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), which made this transition harder than it would otherwise be. But now we’re catching up, and I think we’re fine. We’ve got some incredibly innovative Wii titles, incredibly innovative DS titles coming. And so I think that issue’s sort of behind us. I am very happy that (the console makers) continue to drive an expanded install base, so I’ve got a bigger universe to sell into. But we’ve also transcended them a little bit. We’ve got a big mobile business, a big PC business, a big direct to consumer business, increasing advertising business, microtransaction business, subscription business - all things that live outside the world of (selling console games).
Mercury News: But given your investment in developing games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 - and the relatively slow sales of both of those consoles to date - isn’t it in your interest that Sony and Microsoft do something to juice sales of those boxes?
John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts: No, it’s not. It’s in my best interest that more consumers buy consoles. My job is to make sure that against the consoles and platforms that matter, we’ve got the right content. I can wish for there to be more PS3s or Xbox 360s in the marketplace. Wishing doesn’t make me an effective CEO or EA a successful company. Right now, you’re seeing an increased emphasis on Wii and DS titles, so we can drive a market on Wii and DS that’s similar to what we have on the Xbox 360 and PS3. If we are successful there - and we will be - over the course of this and next year, it doesn’t matter to me which platform prevails. This cycle is like every other cycle before it: There’s been a dominant player (in this case, the Wii). Unusual in this cycle is there’s a second and third place that is meaningful, against which we can build a profitable business. That’s a good and positive thing.
He continued by stating that he believes that EA can eventually gain as large a market share on the Wii console in the near future as it did previously on the PlayStation consoles and other formats, stating “Yes. Tomorrow? No. Can I make a big step in that direction this year? Yes. Can I continue to make steps in that pattern? Yes. Does Nintendo want us to do it? Yes. Does the platform set itself up for that to be possible? Yes. So, it requires focus.”
But do you agree that Electronic Arts was betting on the wrong horse(s) right from the start, or was it perfectly right to keeping churning out its titles on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 whilst giving Wii ‘casual’ scraps like Smarty Pants and Ninja Reflex? Be sure to share your opinions on the matter by posting below…
Oh yeah, all the wonderfull support EA has provided for consoles. What a crock of ****.
How about listen to the gaming community and actually provide real support which includes patches and updates to fix the bugs that were created from EA strong arming the devs to meet a deadline.
I think EA is right, that developing for the wii is important, especially given the wii’s market share. However, if you look at attach rates (ratio of games/accessories sold per console) then you notice that the Xbox 360 has a much higher attach rate than either the wii or Ps3.
So for EA, maybe the 360 install base isn’t as big, but that install base buys more games.
Like he said though, the game industry itself is experiencing so much growth that everyone is making money, whether they’re supporting the wii, ps3, or 360.
For the most part EA has and always will be known for killer sports games. The rest of their lineup is littered with copy cat “clones” of other games. There are only a few instances where their “clone” has been better then the game they copies (RockBand). If EA wants to sell more games quit following others by creating shovel ware and come up with idea’s that actually improve upon others or something new (spore)
Although the 360/PS3 may be a contributing factor in their financial woes, I think a major factor is the stuff they are putting out. Buggy games are really no fun to play and the NCAA series has been really bad for this every year since moving to this gen. Unfortunately VP’s and CEO’s always look at external factors for issues before they begin to look at themselves and by then it is too late.
i think its a stupid move. sure the wii cells consoles like hot cakes, but in terms of software sells its a waste of time. they shoudl really compare teh number of madden, ncaa football, nba(junk) live sells for all consoles and they should use that as a basis to decide. sales for those go xbox360 1st, ps3 2nd, ps2 3rd, wii last….
well maybe by developing heavily for the wii, there other console sales will suffer hugely so that way they cant afford the nfl license and 2k can come back from the grave to rule again. :)
Given how well the Playstation was doing the first 2 iterations, I would have bet on that horse too. Until I was at E3 06 and saw what Nintendo was able to do. Then I would have switched all of my dev resources to the Wii..
Activision is doing Ok supporting the 360 and PS3 so what is EA’s problem?.
Activision posted a Net income of 344 Mill with over 2.8 Billion in Revenue over the same period. 2.1 Billion was from consoles (790 Mill for X360, 310 Mill for PS3, 720 Mill from PS2, and 310 Mill from Wii).
So I don’t think the problem is the consoles which EA supports. The problem is their games and corporate infrastructure IMO.
EA’s problem is that they make the same shit rehashed games that everyone has gotten tired of.
If they are losing money it serves them right for dropping the Dreamcast support and selling the same sports games every year with minor changes.
I don’t buy EA games. Why? because they bore me after a few hours. As others have said..Rehash same tired stuff. So from what I read here its states, “We want to write for the WII because its easy, cheap code and we want to rake in as much profit as fast as we can using our same old tired games already on the other units.”
My response……..Your stupid if you don’t think we as consumers and gamers do not already know the titles. That we will fall for the same garbage with a new packaging. Most of us have a PS3 or Xbox360 or a friend who has the unit that we have played your poor titles on.
Is EA actually getting dumber? How hard is it to google xbox, ps3, wii software sales and see that xbox is making every software developer more money if multiplatform? That WII community cares very little for expanding their video game library even if you produce a great game. Xbox and PS3 gamers generally are more liberal with purchases. In fact I bought EAs C+C knowing it was going to be crap…
Ahh yes the all mighty dollar. These morons think more simple movie games will line ther pockets. Well as they struggle to re define their business Im left wondering just what I ever saw in video games in the first place. Bottom line board room group think is the problem with games not the solution. its time to jump ship and get a high end PC.
EA turns its back on me???? Fine I will take note and spend my cash on companys that support what Im into. These wii gamers are for the most part children and dont have a clue what a new game looks like as their total memory only goes back a few years. Parents and children are suckers and EA has run the numbers and wants to cash in…. Hollywood McGarbage games from EA
So many people that have a Wii regret getting it. So many people that got a PS3 love it. So many people that got a 360 love it - even with the earlier RRod problems.
It would have been very smart if EA would have jumped on the band wagon - and rode the WII fad. The PS3 and 360 are the future of gaming…especially when they announce their wii-like remotes that and start pulling in the younger/casual crowd.
EA needs to concentrate on the future market
360 and PS3
Most wii owners are not like us, reading or commenting on these sites. You have grandparents buying these things to exercise with. They don’t tend to buy many games, but on the other hand, they also aren’t as picky about the games they buy either. EA will happily make those games.
Good point. The simply aren’t educated - or don’t care.
EA is soooo good at taking advantage of the market…they why they’re kicking themselves on not hitting the wave earlier. The way I see EA: They’re about the bottom $$, never about the gamer. It use to not be that way. If the company was about the gamer…the money would follow…
…I hate typos. Guess I should have looked over that post before I hit submit.
The = They
…they = …that’s
use = used
lol - well, I tend not to correct the ones that people can figure out. My beginning typos made the comment extroidinarily painful to read.