The current gaming industry is used to huge, multi-year development cycles for its leading, AAA titles. But according to EA CEO John Riccitiello, that traditional development cycle is “gone forever” and companies need to start adapting sooner rather than later.
"Most of us recognise that the industry has radically changed and the pace of change has accelerated dramatically. Gone forever is the 4 to 5 year console cadence that gave developers ample time to invest and retool for the next big wave," he said to investors at the release of EA’s financial earnings report, echoing remarks he gave to IndustryGamers recently.
"Consider that just 18 months ago, there was no iPad, Google was just experimenting with Android and most big games were limited to a single revenue opportunity at launch. Consider that each of the major consoles now has a controller that encourages users to get off the couch and get into the action.”
"On smartphones and tablets like the iPhone and iPad, the top paid apps are all games. Recognize that the fastest-growing revenue streams for console, PC, smartphones and tablets are all digital, and that EA is partnering with its retail and platform partners to help jointly grow these digital revenue streams. While the game industry has fundamentally changed, games are reaching a far larger audience base than ever before."
Electronic Arts has been busy diversifying itself across multiple platforms using company divisions like Playfish (social), PopCap (mobile) and Origin (digital sales). Riccitiello explained that bringing EA’s IP to a larger audience will be a big part of the publisher’s future.
"We're building the strength of our most important IP," he offered. "And for EA, this means about a dozen very substantial IPs. Each of these will be transformed into year-round businesses with major packaged goods launches, social launches, mobile launches, downloadable content and micro-transactions. Earlier this month we announced the acquisition of PopCap Games and when this transaction closes, this incredibly talented team will further strengthen EA’s already strong portfolio of IP.”
"We believe that Origin will scale quickly with the addition of third parties and with the launch of Battlefield 3 and Star Wars later this year.”
EA previously said that it would welcome third parties onto its digital service, but this is the first concrete mention of that being a part of the plan. Is Origin as another competitor an attractive idea to you developers?
