Electronic Arts boss labels games industry as 'boring'
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By Stevie Smith Jul 10, 2007, 13:15 GMT
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When EA can produce something brilliant like Psychonauts, Shadow Of The Colussus or Okami, then maybe the CEO can talk smack.
'We're boring people to death and making games that are harder and harder to play,' Riccitiello commented in a Wall Street Journal interview. 'For the most part, the industry has been rinse-and-repeat. There's been lots of product that looked like last year's product, that looked a lot like the year before.'
It seems more like he's referring to EA, and not the game industry as a whole. Anyone who has played an EA game in last 2 years knows this all too well (except maybe the Sims, although they have milked that for all it's worth with their dozen or so add-on packs, costing about $15 apice for probably what amounted to 200 man-hours of programming and development).
I can't help but think of the Battlefield series. Sure, bf1942 was amazing, but they didn't hesitate to release 3 expansion packs, costing nearly $25 each at the time of release. BF2 was also good, and I would say SF was worth the addon cost, but EF/AF addons for $10 each was a complete scam. Nobody even ran the maps on their servers, they were so bad. 2142 is a complete scam. Buggy beyond belief at release, it was simply BF2, with modified unit skins, and a completely imbalanced weapon system (LMG sniping and all).
On top of all the gameplay issues, EA is the worst company for support. BF2, dispite its continued problems has yet to see a patch this year. Most people anticipate it will never move beyond the current version, still riddled with exploits, hack vulnerabilities, and memory leaks. Personally, I believe this is a deliberate move to intice people to move on to 2142, which is virtually the same game (doesn't even use a new engine).
-BF2/SF/2142 server admin
Hello, Mr Kettle? I have a pot returning your call on line 2.
When it comes to milking a product, EA are prime offenders numeo uno. Even their Maxis subdivision, which face it, is the only one that comes up with unique new ideas (thanks purely to Will Wright, Spore is looking fantastic), is still flooded with expansions which, lets face it, resemble the end of that simpsons episode where Lisa makes a new doll to compete with Malibu Stacey (But its Malibu Stacey, and she has a new hat!!), is Spore delayed because they cant think of any expansion ideas? Considering it was supposedly almost done at christmas, and its been pushed back to 2008, it seems the only explanation.
Its a great shame, because if you look at the individual components that make up EA, you have a great history of Innovation. I'm thinking especialy of Origin (We Create Worlds was there motto after all! Although they shut em down) who defined the Space-based flight sim and the CRPG for about a decade (Wing Commander and Ultima, amongst others.
What we're realy sick of though, is buggy games that need a billion patches before they work. Its probably this alone that pushes people from PC to console. How about spending money in QA for a change?
This from the publisher of 450 madden games - 750 nba and nfl games - and 1000 sim texture changes... oops EXPANSION packs
Yes, you're right - your games are boring. Thank you for giving us all a good laugh!
FYI to the guy who said patches are what push people to console games - uhhh patches are probably one of the best thing about computer games - because unlike a console game you have the ability to fix the problem - once you have a console game you're screwed usually for company support of small issues.
Actually LOL@EA, with newer consoles (XBOX 360 specifically), you can get patches for games...
Get a life you geek-heads! Sheesh. Making something and being obsessed with it is one thing, but playing video games? You're actually arguing with each other over video games?!? Do you even know how to properly socialize with others? I bet not. Go build something USEFUL, like a car that gets better gas mileage, a house for Habitat for Humanity, or even a song that makes people happy--but PLAYING VIDEO GAMES? Our world is forgetting what it's like to be human, truly human. I usually don't post, I read what others have to say, it's interesting. But this really boggles my mind. They're video games people! No wonder there aren't many intellectuals left in America.
actually I said support for small issues - console patches are accumulative for large scale issues as a general rule of thumb - PC patches more generally trickle out even small patches at a regular intervual.
and to the person complaining about the 'waste of time' arguing about games.. guess what, you just wasted your time arguing about people arguing about games - Ignorant hypocrit FTW.
'ignorant'? 'hypocrite'? Prove your insults child. At 56 years old, a member of Mensa, and a master craftsman, neither one is possible. Go out and DO something instead of obsessing on MORE machinery and games. How about machines that don't use as much energy? Some of you sound very intelligent. USE that intelligence, you could do something for this world. But more games? We don't need them, we need to stop killing our planet.
I'm 31, Ph.D., married -- and both my wife and I play games because we enjoy it. W enjoy the social aspects of multiplayer gaming, the mental stimulation, and the ability to explore strange new worlds from the comfort of my computer room.
To the MENSA member: what has MENSA done for 'humanity' other than self-aggrandizement?
Key point: Relax -- 'Gamers' also do other things. Some people enjoy watching sports on TV, watching movies, making lawn gnomes, etc. None of these improve humanity either, and I'd wager that gaming is much more 'beneficial' to the individual than the above hobbies. Like all things, gaming should be done in moderation. I play for 5-6 hours a week.
Hey 56 year old MENSA putz. It real easy for you to sit back and generalize about people with your narrow minded little insults. Truth is a very large portion of entirely constructive, enterprising, and yes intelegent people play video games. Just because your generation screwed up the world doesn't mean every member of my generation has to spend every waking hour trying to fix it. There is a place in this world for recreation of all sorts and playing vidoe games is an entirly valid form. Stop imposing your world view on me and everyone else. The future may be scary and confusing to you but it has been to every passing generation. Maybe you should read by firelight and kill your own food while your being a craftsman and joining MENSA.
Did it ever occur to you that 'tinker' is short for 'stinker'. I'm 20, I'm bored, it's 105 degrees outside, and I'm not old enough to buy beer! But I AM going to to junior year of college next Fall. You fell right into my thesis. Thanks for the sociology input, it's going to make interesting writing. Now, go back to playing your games, hopefully your blood pressure didn't get to high. hahahahahaha
I used to like playing video games but I just don't have the patience to sit at a game for 300-400 hours to complete or have to go on-line and have to play against people who spend 80 hours a week playing video games.
It seems that the industry has been stuck on 1st person shooters for over a decade now. They were cool when it was Duke Nukem and Doom, and even kotr but every one after is the same game with a different backgroud.
All sports games a exactlly the same Baseball, Soccer, Football, Hockey.
They just change the jerseys and players names every year.
Finally to RPGs I loved playing FF and Dragon Warrior on NES and PS1
But FFVII finally broke me, it takes close to 100 hours to complete this game.
the original FF and Dragon Wrrior games could be completed within a week or 2 tops playing a few hours a day and they still had time to write and tell a story. Games like World Of Warcraft I like the idea but it is still just the same old RPG game but now you can talk to each other people on the web and colaberate, and to top it off you can't beat the game it just keeps going and going while you pay you monthly junkie rate to Blizzard to play.
In conclusion the video game industry for the most part has taken the same route as the movie industry and uses calculas to determine what they will sell and only build on existing ideas i.e. the Madden series, Movie Games, or the 10th or 12 expansion for an existing game, or 5 or 6 versions of a WWII fps made by different developers but is essentially the same game.
It's time to come out with something new and the WII and the new thought based controllers are a great strat but will it just be Spiderman 4 with a defferent input device.
tinker, stinker? yea it was obvious you meant stinker, well,
thats the fist thing i thought of; no wait, i figured
tinker was a fine enough name, esp for a craftsman.
hey wait what did you win?
studying sociology at college is like studying quantum
mechanics in a special needs classroom.
you wont end up an actual sociologist, you will likely
end up a attendant at a nursing home, or a social worker
if you are smarter than that. decent pay social work.
as for a thesis in college? you might as well right it
down on a starbucks napkin as long as its over 500 words
and and somewhat realistic, you'll graduate.
enjoy your 2k a year tuition, plenty of value to be
found in college, prescious little wisdom.
ag.
-props to bliz for high lvls of support and innovation,
balance and q/a. nintendo for innovation, rockstar for hot
cofee.
@tinker, you came to the website to do a sociology degree?
I bet you edit Wikipedia pages in your spare time as well and constantly surf news articles to comment on them and be provocative.
You might even respond to this comment.
Regardless, video games are a leisure time activity. What do you do for leisure? Write thesises that help humanity? Write the thesis that will styop global warming?
Anyway...To the article, I'd agree with the big EA man somewhat. I am a video gamer and there has been no game that has thrilled me or that I have waited for in anticipation since the announcement for the Wii came about. Granted, I like the sequels (I'm currently waiting for Smash Bros Brawl), but aside from that, I've grown to no longer care about games. I spend more time on old SNES, SEGA or Gamecube classics than I do waiting for the next gen games to come out.
Oh, and there's way to many first-gen shooters out that all sound the same.
'boring and lacking in innovation.'
There have been less and less original games hitting our shelves over the last year, and this goes for almost every game creator!
I for one am sick of the following (HUGE) genres:
1) Football/Soccer games
2) Hockey Games
3) First Person Shooters (way way way over done)
4) Third person Tomb Raider rip-offs
5) Real Time Strategy games (i.e. the over done C&C series)
6) Basic, boring, annoying and crap racing games.
Come on! Where is all the originality?!?!
(exceptions: Darwinia, Uplink)
:)
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Quiet DesperationJul 10th, 2007 - 14:26:36
Well, *Electronic Arts* is boring the gaming world, so what the CEO says is true for his own outift. How's that 100th iteration of Madden coming there, sport?
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