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EA going stale in the creativity department? - 9.8.05

Although this article shouldn't really be all too surprising, I still can't help but be taken back by it. The new York Times are reporting that out of the 26 games EA is releasing this year, a staggering 25 of them are not new games at all, rather just continuations of aging franchises.

By year's end, Electronic Arts plans to release 26 new games, all but one of them a sequel, including the 16th version of N.H.L. Hockey, the 11th of the racing game Need for Speed and the 13th of the P.G.A. Tour golf game. The company also relies heavily on creating games based on movies like the James Bond and Lord of the Rings series, rather than developing original brands.

Gamers appear to be coming less and less interested in EA's game make-overs. I guess there really is only so much innovation you can throw into the same product, and that really seems to be enticing less and less fans to pick up the 'new' game each year that they have already paid for six times over.

Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, Calif., recently lowered its full-year revenue estimates to $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion, from $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion, in part blaming a delay in the release of its game The Godfather, which will not be sold until next spring. The eagerly awaited game, based on the mobster movies, was supposed to be out over the holidays, when the game industry makes about 50 percent of its annual sales. But the company said it was still making improvements. The sizable financial effect of that delay is precisely the kind of trouble Electronic Arts avoids by putting out sequels. The company has been profitable over the years because it has been able to smooth out the volatility of its business with games that sell year after year.

Relying on Video Game Sequels

By Gary (Email: Gary at igniq dot com)

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