On the earnings call today, EA noted that they were moving a new social game from a scheduled Q4 release into Q1 of fiscal year 2013 (meaning it will debut sometime between April and June). COO Peter Moore also noted that EA plans to release 5 new social games based on Electronic Arts brands in FY 2013, which would include this previously mentioned game. When queried for details about the games, EA declined to give any information. Why? CEO John Riccitiello did not hesitate to say that he felt it was important for EA not to reveal information about these titles just yet. He went so far as to say that even when EA discusses its launch of a new social game for Q4 during the next earnings call, they will still be coy about upcoming games.
Riccitiello explained why: “We have to deal with the reality that, I won't call it copying, but mimicry is common in this industry, and fast iteration and mimicry is something we have to guard against, so we don't put out a lot of information on the individual titles.” After watching what Zynga has been enduring in the press the past week, and other highly public spats over who copied what in the mobile and social game space, you can't really blame EA for not wanting to risk a PR problem.
