The angry whining of teens on the internet should not be mistaken for actual, real-world opinion.
That much is certainly true. Whether it can be applied to arguments surrounding free-to-play gaming is probably slightly more debatable.
There’s no confusion as to which side of the fence EA sits on, however. EA All Play senior VP Nick Earl says that there’s no disputing free-to-play’s victory in the modern games market.
LucasArts is to be disbanded by new owner Disney.
The firm's game publishing and internal development business will close, with Lucas properties such as Star Wars to be licensed to external businesses, Game Informer reports.
DICE veteran: we do innovate, Battlefield 3 is proof
EA's Swedish label boss Patrick Soderlund has defended the publisher's track record of delivering new IP and "innovation" at large, citing Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Battlefield 3 as proof of a commitment to new ideas.
"A lot of people criticise EA for not being innovative", Soderlund commented in an interview with MCV. "But look at what EA has done with Battlefield 3.
EA says that FIFA 13 pre-orders have topped 875,000 units two weeks ahead of launch.
The total, which is based on internal sales data, is up 37 per cent year over year in Europe and up 62 per cent in North America, according to the publisher.
Would you play £20 to be able to own FIFA 13 this Saturday instead of waiting until Thursday?
Though probably quite good value if you're buying Madden and Fifa I guess and regularly purchase DLC...
Benefits Outlined by Title
Madden NFL 13 (Xbox only for Europe)
North America and Mexico Early access date – Friday, August 24, 2012 (6:00pm EST)
Europe, Australia and New Zealand Early access date – Monday, August 27, 2012 (6:00pm CEST)
Included paid DLC – One Legendary and 24 Pro Madden packs – one per week for 24 consecutive weeks - for use in Madden Ultimate Team
20% off additional DLC content purchased for Madden NFL 13
NHL 13
North America and Mexico Early access date – Friday, September 7, 2012 (6:00pm EST)
Europe, Australia and New Zealand Early access date – Saturday, September 8, 2012 (6:00pm CEST)
Included paid DLC – 24 NHL Gold Premium packs for use in Hockey Ultimate Team – one per week for 24 consecutive weeks
20% off additional DLC content purchased for NHL 13
FIFA 13
North America and Mexico Early access date – Friday, September 21, 2012 (6:00pm EST)
Europe, Australia and New Zealand Early access date – Saturday, September 22, 2012 (6:00pm CEST)
Included paid DLC – 24 FIFA Ultimate Team Gold Premium packs —one per week for 24 consecutive weeks—to help build an ultimate team of football superstars
20% off additional DLC content purchased for FIFA 13
Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that anticipation for EA SPORTS™ FIFA 13 has reached record levels—1.99 million people in 73 countries around the world downloaded and played FIFA 13 in the three days after the demo launched earlier this week for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, and PC. This is a 29 percent increase compared to the first three days after the FIFA 12 demo last year. Two weeks from launch, fans around the world have pre-ordered over 875,000* copies of FIFA 13—up 37 percent year over year in Europe and a 62 percent increase year over year in North America.
That's it, i'm going home to play the Fifa 13 demo.
EA are a symbol of churning out lazy releases year after year, whereas the likes of Rockstar Games will only release a game when they are ready - which is why we have still no word of GTA5.
Demos are very important for companies. Now publishers can release a demo on Xbox Live or PSN and get a very good idea on the 'buzz' of their product based on number of downloads.
Back in my day, demos used to appear on computer game magazines - you can imagine how much cheaper this process is.
Some believe EA have a poor reputation in the business regarding value for money - they know people will buy their yearly updates, especially those who wish to play online - numbers online will plummet as they jump ship to playing the newest version. They also have the EA Season Ticket - this is another example of digital distributionm - that gives you early access to the product through a download as well as discounted downloadable content (also known as DLC)
"The market doesn't reward new IP this late in the cycle"
Sucks to be you, Dishonored, Remember Me and Watch Dogs - you're strolling into the commercial equivalent of quicksand. Or at least, that's what EA's president of labels Frank Gibeau would have us believe. Speaking to GI, Gibeau has reiterated the popular view that it's unwise to launch new IPs late in a hardware generation, and advocated innovating within established franchises instead.
