EA overstepping their bounds...?

These segments are taken from C&Vidgames.com concerning the EA and X-Box deal.  The questions are asked to EA by an interviewer. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/story.cfm?sid=1915

How does EA evaluate a console?

We use four general criteria:

1.  Will the console deliver a great experience for the consumer?
2.  Can our studios master the system in an efficient way?
3.  Can we make money on the games?
4.  Does the manufacturer have philosophy and business plan that demonstrates a sustained commitment to growing this industry.

Interesting criteria... let\'s move on especially since this is about to get a whole hell of a lot ironic...

Is Xbox easier to develop for than PS2?

We don\'t anticipate any problems developing for either system. Companies that that take the time to learn the system don\'t have problems. The ones who try and cut corners do.

Interesting, sounds like a crack at Oddworld inhabitants to me... let\'s move on even further...

Will they all meet their hardware goals?

We think that competition among next generation consoles is going to spark unprecedented growth and attract people who never considered themselves gamers. They [Microsoft] could sell between 100 to 120 million units in the next five years.

WOW, talk about optimistic, 100-120 million units in five years?  uh huh... interesting indeed...

Who will make the dominant console?

We predict there will be three winners. Microsoft and Sony will slug it out for the number one position, Nintendo will continue to hold a profitable niche in children\'s games. All three are going to see sustained profitability.

What about Sega?

We think there will be three winners.

Why don\'t you make games for Dreamcast?

We like Sega and think they\'ve got great game franchises. However, we have chosen to focus our studios on those platforms that were going to show sustained market leadership.

Double standards for Sega.  This is the ironic part... They go about all that criteria and amazingly enough, Sega meets EVERY one of those ideas, yet EA refuses to develop for them based on a different reason.  Logic would dictate that Sega would have been an ideal choice for EA\'s success yet it has been avoided like a dead skunk on the information superhighway.  Crap like this makes me dislike EA even more.  Like any typical fanboy, they deny the success of a different console because of their own personal opinions based on that magical crystal ball they keep in their shed that sees into the future. :rolleyes: Bunch of hypocrites if you ask me.  No offense to the x-box, but I hope EA chokes on it, releases 3 sub-par titles and loses a ton of cash.

I agree with Ryu.  Now when they choose a system they are taking a risk, because they have no clue how anything will sell, but if it was popular on another system it will probably be just as popular on the next one...  There\'s one thing I need to know though, what do you mean by double standards?  EA has always proven to improve their games, while keeping it simple...

EA doesn\'t develop, they publish.  I remind people of that so that they don\'t hate the guys at Tiburon (Madden) or NuFX (Live series).  EA just publishes the games.  As far as the Dreamcast, heres some food for thought: the PC gaming market is smaller than the DC\'s userbase.  Yet EA still develops PC games (do you know how inexpensive a port of PC Madden would be on Dreamcast?)  Why has EA chosen to ignore DC then?  Is it Sega\'s lack of marketing?

I think EA buys into hype too easily.  Firstly, they assumed the PS2 would be king (PS2 fans laughed at Dreamcast).  Then they jump on the XBox bandwagon (PS2 fans are outraged, XBox fans laugh at PS2).  What gives?  Better yet, if EA can "make or break" a console, then why didn\'t 3DO and Saturn succeed?   EA must have "broke" them by developing for them.

Will they all meet their hardware goals?

We think that competition among next generation consoles is going to spark unprecedented growth and attract people who never considered themselves gamers. They [Microsoft] could sell between 100 to 120 million units in the next five years.

Who are they kidding? No game console has sold those kinds of numbers except the GB, but that has been out for ever. Unless Microsoft plans to sell the thing dirt cheap they probobly won\'t get over 25,000,000.

[Living-In-Clip]

EA has an ego just like the founder of it Trip Hawkins. They think they can make or break any system, its truly disgusting. I don\'t like EA personally. They just rehash things now\'a\'days.

LOL!!!!!!

I never laughed so hard at an interview.  But what they said about sega, now that was damn funny..

But hey, as long as they make games, I don\'t care...  

But it was still funny.

EA doesn\'t rehash - they publish the rehashes.  And speaking as a Madden fan (who prefers NFL2k1), this years Madden did offer some nice innovations to the genre (particularly the ability to audible your defensive backs coverage scheme).

I don\'t know bassetball well enough to comment on Live.  But after 10 years of working on a football game, what else can you change?  They have so many options it\'s ridiculous.  But they still managed to "invent" hot routes (well, last year), individual defender audibles, madden cards, the 2 minute drill mini-game, etc.

Um, am I gonna get spit at for saying I still like EA? I think they make some great games. But the DC thing is a bit .... weird. Why not get some fast cash by porting PC games for DC? I thought any company would get all they could possibly get.