Author Topic: Loss Drives EA to Increase Wii Support (Read 9427 times)

Chessa · « **on:** February 10, 2009, 05:36:28 PM »

After losing $641 million over the holiday shopping season, EA's CEO discussed plans to bring Dead Space to the Wii along with 50 percent of their games "in terms of title counts."
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=17742

The holiday season is usually a jolly one for video game companies, but not this year, and not for EA. The gaming giant just reported a loss of $641 million during their fiscal third quarter. Following the release of this information, EA CEO John Riccitiello stated that in order to increase profits and decrease loss the company would restructure their business plan and bring more publishing support to the Wii.

One way EA plans to gain Wii marketshare is by bringing over "core intellectual property" to the Wii, notably their Dead Space franchise. They will also be creating titles dedicated to what they see as a consumer "fascination with fitness," an effort spearheaded by a new EA tennis franchise within the EA Sports brand.

Riccitiello stated that EA's ultimate goal is to bring titles to the Wii that "rival Nintendo" themselves, aiming to become noticed on the Wii in a way that no other third-party publisher has. Since the Wii is regarded as the market leader, he promised that the Wii would receive "half [EA's] emphasis in terms of title counts."

Riccitiello ended his statement saying, "You live, you learn, you adjust and improve." With their plans to bring more support and titles to the Wii he stated that "this year's title slate is a significant improvement from last year."

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #1 on:** February 11, 2009, 12:16:39 PM »

owned so bad.

Plugabugz · « **Reply #2 on:** February 11, 2009, 12:33:32 PM »

Some games justify their existence on the 3/360 tho, like Burnout Paradise/Little Big Planet for instance. What they had in mind just wouldn't be possible on Wii. Which is fair enough. I wouldn't want them to water down a game (features, content) to make it fit when the idea they had in mind only would work on those platforms.

They shouldn't set themselves up by saying they want to rival Nintendo. Ubi said it and that trainwreck is still ongoing..

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #3 on:** February 11, 2009, 12:51:18 PM »

That might be one of the longest trainwrecks in the industry thus far, starting at the tip of Spain and reaching the Ukraine to this date, and growing.

King of Twitch · « **Reply #4 on:** February 11, 2009, 01:06:02 PM »

Thats... GOTTA HURT

"They will also be creating titles dedicated to what they see as a consumer "fascination with fitness," an effort spearheaded by a new EA tennis franchise within the EA Sports brand."

$10 says EA puts Richard Simmons on a Wii game box by the end of this gen

vudu · « **Reply #5 on:** February 11, 2009, 01:50:19 PM »

Quote from: Chessa on February 10, 2009, 05:36:28 PM

Riccitiello stated that EA's ultimate goal is to bring titles to the Wii that "rival Nintendo" themselves, aiming to become noticed on the Wii in a way that no other third-party publisher has. Since the Wii is regarded as the market leader, he promised that the Wii would receive "half [EA's] emphasis in terms of title counts."

I'm still unclear on what exactly this means.

If a multiplatform game comes both Wii, PS3 and 360 does that mean that the Wii needs another exclusive in order to bring it back up to 50%?

Or does it mean that EA can release another PS3/360 exclusive in order to bump the Wii's share of titles back down to 50%?

Spak-Spang · « **Reply #6 on:** February 11, 2009, 02:09:59 PM »

To me this isn't good news. EA basically said they are not backing the Wii out of a belief and desire that the Wii is the market leader and the best system to create games for...but because they lost too much money and need the Wii to hopefully help correct the loses.

That means if the Wii games do not bring EA profit, they will not blame it on the product but blame it solely on the Wii...it also doesn't mean that the Wii will be getting top developers designing for the system either.

I will wait and see what truly happens with this new direction, but I am more worried than excited.

nickmitch · « **Reply #7 on:** February 11, 2009, 02:34:23 PM »

I hope they realize that they can't just flood the market with crap for the Wii and expect a sharp change in revenue. I really do.

King of Twitch · « **Reply #8 on:** February 11, 2009, 02:46:45 PM »

HOPE and CHANGE sounds familiar

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #9 on:** February 11, 2009, 02:55:15 PM »

"That means if the Wii games do not bring EA profit, they will not blame it on the product but blame it solely on the Wii...it also doesn't mean that the Wii will be getting top developers designing for the system either.

I will wait and see what truly happens with this new direction, but I am more worried than excited."

If we see that, it probably means MORE dev houses will get closed. If Wii's not getting these top developers, no one will. =D

"HOPE and CHANGE sounds familiar."

Indeed!

CHANGE is what we've seen in the market.
HOPE is what was lost during E3's.

Michael8983 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 12, 2009, 03:47:27 AM »

It's trends like these that could lead to Nintendo becoming the market leader

*note sarcasm*

It may sound bad that they're supporting the Wii because it's cheaper to make games for but this isn't anything new.
The PSX got all the third-party support over the N64 for just that reason and it changed the face of the industry.
Besides "cheap" games can be far more innovative and fun than the big-budget ones. Take EA's own Boom Blox for an example - a game which rivals even Nintendo's own titles.

Chozo Ghost · « **Reply #11 on:** February 13, 2009, 02:58:12 AM »

I'd rather EA support the Wii with quality rather than quantity. I'm sure they're serious when they say they are going to bring a lot of titles to the Wii, but how many of those titles are actually going to be worth owning?

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #12 on:** February 13, 2009, 03:47:42 AM »

Quote from: Chozo Ghost on February 13, 2009, 02:58:12 AM

I'd rather EA support the Wii with quality rather than quantity. I'm sure they're serious when they say they are going to bring a lot of titles to the Wii, but how many of those titles are actually going to be worth owning?

Well, some notable games (at least IMO) that are good from EA so far have been Godfather, Boom Blox, MoH 2, Madden 08 and 09, Smarty Pants, Monopoly (yes it is a good version of the game), SSX Blur, MySims 1/ 2, and Tiger Woods 09. Besides Boom Blox I will admit they aren’t “must own” titles (Though I think if you like trivia games Smarty Pants is the best one available on the market) they still are solid in the quality department. There aren’t many games that come to mind that are truly poor quality that EA has released besides things like Celebrity Sports, or whatever that was.

Stratos · « **Reply #13 on:** February 13, 2009, 04:48:25 AM »

Well we already know of Boom Blox 2, the Beatles game, Dead Space and a number of sports games.

I'm really hoping for Godfather 2.

What other games will they bring out? 50% is a lot.

Chozo Ghost · « **Reply #14 on:** February 13, 2009, 05:02:18 AM »

I was pleased with Godfather on the Wii, but guess what... Godfather 2 is coming to the PS3 and 360 but not to the Wii. Trivia games and fitness games seem to be all we're getting from third parties anymore, and I for one am sick of it.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #15 on:** February 13, 2009, 05:07:53 AM »

Quote from: Chozo Ghost on February 13, 2009, 05:02:18 AM

I was pleased with Godfather on the Wii, but guess what... Godfather 2 is coming to the PS3 and 360 but not to the Wii. Trivia games and fitness games seem to be all we're getting from third parties anymore, and I for one am sick of it.

What other trivia games? I can only think of a couple. Also where are all the fitness games for Wii? Now I'd agree if you said there are too many mini-game collections, but I really don't see too many of the examples you gave (I for one would love a good trivia game like Smarty Pants, which was packed with over 20k in questions). There are FAR FAR more crappy shovelware in other categories. Then again there are some great 3rd party games in there as well, not to mention the future looks really bright in regards to that.

Stratos · « **Reply #16 on:** February 13, 2009, 06:11:31 AM »

Quote from: Chozo Ghost on February 13, 2009, 05:02:18 AM

I was pleased with Godfather on the Wii, but guess what... Godfather 2 is coming to the PS3 and 360 but not to the Wii. Trivia games and fitness games seem to be all we're getting from third parties anymore, and I for one am sick of it.

I really think that with this EA announcement there is a strong possibility we will be getting GF2. I mean, were getting Dead Space and I would imagine that game requires a new engine possibly. So since Godfather already has an engine and a framework set up from the first one that would make it easier to develop theoretically.

Though VGChartz places Godfather Wii at only 120,000 sales. That may be a major hurdle.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #17 on:** February 13, 2009, 06:12:29 AM »

Didn't the PS3 version of Godfather sell pretty poorly as well?

Mop it up · « **Reply #18 on:** February 13, 2009, 08:02:40 PM »

Once again, I find myself spitting in the face of popular opinion with my feelings that Boom Blox is mediocre and should have been a budget title.

I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with me...

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #19 on:** February 13, 2009, 08:04:08 PM »

Quote from: Mop_it_up on February 13, 2009, 08:02:40 PM

Once again, I find myself spitting in the face of popular opinion with my feelings that Boom Blox is mediocre and should have been a budget title.

I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with me...

Yes, yes there is.

Mop it up · « **Reply #20 on:** February 13, 2009, 08:08:33 PM »

You can be so cruel sometimes...

Well, I'm willing to give the concept another chance. If the sequel is polished up and doesn't have any components which simply don't work, I'd like the game. When the original game does hit the bargain bin, I might actually buy it again.

Does that help make things right?

Stratos · « **Reply #21 on:** February 13, 2009, 08:34:12 PM »

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix on February 13, 2009, 06:12:29 AM

Didn't the PS3 version of Godfather sell pretty poorly as well?

I don't know why VGChartz lists multiple versions for some systems but none of them did an overly astounding job.

The Godfather: The Game       PS2    87,000
The Godfather            PS2    42,000
The Godfather            X360 350,000
The Godfather: The Game      XBox    340,000
The Godfather: Dons Edition    PS3    200,000
The Godfather: Blackhand Edition    Wii    120,000
The Godfather: Mob Wars       PSP    90,000
The Godfather: The Game       X360 10,000

Quote from: Mop_it_up on February 13, 2009, 08:08:33 PM

You can be so cruel sometimes...

Well, I'm willing to give the concept another chance. If the sequel is polished up and doesn't have any components which simply don't work, I'd like the game. When the original game does hit the bargain bin, I might actually buy it again.

Does that help make things right?

Only if there is cake

KDR_11k · « **Reply #22 on:** February 14, 2009, 04:25:48 AM »

Quote from: Mop_it_up on February 13, 2009, 08:02:40 PM

Once again, I find myself spitting in the face of popular opinion with my feelings that Boom Blox is mediocre and should have been a budget title.

I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with me...

I ordered it for ~9€ from Amazon along with Sonic Riders ZG (13€ but effectively 10 because without it I'd have paid 3€ shipping)...

Stratos · « **Reply #23 on:** February 14, 2009, 04:31:26 AM »

Quote from: KDR_11k on February 14, 2009, 04:25:48 AM

Quote from: Mop_it_up on February 13, 2009, 08:02:40 PM
Once again, I find myself spitting in the face of popular opinion with my feelings that Boom Blox is mediocre and should have been a budget title.

I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with me...

I ordered it for ~9€ from Amazon along with Sonic Riders ZG (13€ but effectively 10 because without it I'd have paid 3€ shipping)...

Is that the Euro symbol? I can't remember. Though whatever currency that is it looks like you got a pretty sweet deal on it.

Mop it up · « **Reply #24 on:** February 14, 2009, 05:24:34 PM »

Quote from: Stratos on February 13, 2009, 08:34:12 PM

Only if there is cake

I'll share with you the cake I got for not liking SSBBrawl. If I play my cards right, I might be able to get people to bake me another pity cake for thinking Boom Blox is mediocre.

Quote from: KDR_11k on February 14, 2009, 04:25:48 AM

I ordered it for ~9€ from Amazon along with Sonic Riders ZG (13€ but effectively 10 because without it I'd have paid 3€ shipping)...

At what point did you buy it, and was it new?
I bought Boom Blox the day it was released, and I sold it a couple of weeks later for close to what I paid for it. Because of that, I'm not bitter about it, and that is partly why I am willing to give the sequel a chance and will probably buy the original when it is cheap. It was sort of like a rental.

News:

Author Topic: Loss Drives EA to Increase Wii Support (Read 9427 times)