Thyroid

EA drops new IP

Recommended Posts

Not Hatsworth!!!! I need more Hatsworth!!!!!! (except for the final boss, what a piece of garbo)

ps. listening to the ballad again, what a ridiculously awesome thing!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I just hope getting their fingers burnt doesn't make them completely retreat from supporting original IP. Returning to sequel churning would be very sad.

Would also be 2000 all over again, but this time, we aim at casuals who don't know shit about games, so they'll buy their 10th edition remastered version of the same game.

*Looks at dead space extraction sales*

Or, it went out on a console that not a lot of gamer have, and not all gamer are interested in rail shooters, niche you say ?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Would also be 2000 all over again, but this time, we aim at casuals who don't know shit about games, so they'll buy their 10th edition remastered version of the same game.

In other words, people whose purchasing habits are fairly similar to non-casual gamers.

Or, it went out on a console that not a lot of gamer have, and not all gamer are interested in rail shooters, niche you say ?

This almost makes sense, except that the Wii is the best-selling console of this generation by enormous margins and at least one rail shooter - Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - has done quite well.

Here's a thought: Maybe the problem here isn't EA. Maybe the problem is that PEOPLE DON'T BUY ORIGINAL GAMES AND THUS IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL CENTERED AROUND "ORIGINAL IP."

EA is behaving completely rationally here. It's better to layoff *some* of your workforce and stay profitable, than to go bankrupt and end up laying off your *entire* workforce. If you're upset about the direction that games are headed, then encourage your friends to buy better games.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
EA is behaving completely rationally here. It's better to layoff *some* of your workforce and stay profitable, than to go bankrupt and end up laying off your *entire* workforce. If you're upset about the direction that games are headed, then encourage your friends to buy better games.

Pretty much this.

I fucking hate gamers :oldman:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At this point I am starting to blame gamers more than publishers for shitty sequel bonanzas.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That makes me really pissed :

Riccitiello ADMITED it was just a business move. That means they are NOT in danger in any way, the video gaming world went pretty much untouched through the financial debacle and is still fucking huge.

I don't agree. Obviously when you cut 1,500 jobs you are doing it to save money, but that's the reason EA (and every other company in the free world) exists. I don't know the full details of the decisions involved, but it seems unlikely to me that the fat cats are sitting in a board room somewhere cigars aloft, cheering at all the millions they earned for themselves. The decision was part of a large internal reorganization, which may or may not prove to be the right thing to do.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The video gaming world went pretty much untouched through the financial debacle and is still fucking huge.

Where have you been the last 24 months ?

f5a0388607b727b99cd8e04ca6d04.jpg

I don't know what these means for the overall market or if these amazing drops are due to something else than the crisis, but let's not say the game industry as remained untouched in thelast two years when evidence such as this one exists to prove the contrary.

Edited by vimes

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Where have you been the last 24 months ?

gif&s=16

I don't know what these means for the overall market or if these amazing drops are due to something else than the crisis, but let's not say the game industry as remained untouched in thelast two years when evidence such as this one exists to prove the contrary.

What numbers are these? Sales? Revenue? Profit?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Now I just feel bad for neglecting to purchase Dead Space Extraction. I have a Wii, and love rail shooters. I need to get on that. It's probably been discounted already.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
wtf is that fish thing?

That's the image that was released after EA acquired "Playfish" for 750 million. It's so cute and friendly! Afterwards: layoffs before the holidays! Sorry, no money ;(:getmecoat

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
What numbers are these? Sales? Revenue? Profit?

Woops, I thought the caption was in there, those are histories of the relative normalized stock price relatively to November 14, 2007.

More data

Edit : changed image by a screengrab since the site I took it from only stores charts for a little while.

Edit2 : let's be clear, it's a very depressing and daunting news; and I find it pretty extreme and unjustifiable, but I think it's better if we can actually discuss facts rather than pulling statements out of our asses.

Edited by vimes

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At this point I also agree with lobotomy42, SignorSuperdouche and Thrik.

Maybe it's the fault of the big publishers (and developers) for shaping the current gaming audience and their expectations by churning out big vapid games and sequel after sequel of the same, but when they make an effort to do something different for a change and put their marketing dollars and expertise behind it, I would guess there's not much else you can expect of them.

Still sucks they had to lay off so many people.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
At this point I also agree with lobotomy42, SignorSuperdouche and Thrik.

Maybe it's the fault of the big publishers (and developers) for shaping the current gaming audience and their expectations by churning out big vapid games and sequel after sequel of the same, but when they make an effort to do something different for a change and put their marketing dollars and expertise behind it, I would guess there's not much else you can expect of them.

Still sucks they had to lay off so many people.

Yeah I agree, the majority of gamers only buy games on the 2nd iteration or greater, which is truly a shame.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
At this point I also agree with lobotomy42, SignorSuperdouche and Thrik.

Maybe it's the fault of the big publishers (and developers) for shaping the current gaming audience and their expectations by churning out big vapid games and sequel after sequel of the same, but when they make an effort to do something different for a change and put their marketing dollars and expertise behind it, I would guess there's not much else you can expect of them.

Still sucks they had to lay off so many people.

In the light of my earlier bizarre confusion in the face of the same-old: I think it finally dawned on me that publishers very seldom have the same goals as developers. They really have never thought of themselves as necessarily parts of the same business. They are not in the business to make games, they are in the business to make money, games be damned. Looking at this situation (the fishy acquisitions and the fishier dumping of people) and looking at whatever Kotick has been saying as of late, it becomes apparent these people are even less invested in making games than book publishers are in getting books out.

Thinking of them as good when they do something we like (new IP! Yay!), and evil when they don't (EA Spouse, yearly cash-in sequels, pandering to an established male cromagnon demographic, Bobby Kotik, constant anti-union FUD/agitprop, etc.) is really counter-productive.

Publishers are a completely separate, semi-parasitic entity that farms developers. Just like cows and sheep get to have a relatively boring life, get protected and fed by the farmer and in return give milk and wool, so do developers. When some shit strikes the farm, the cows and sheep get slaughtered and sold to relieve the burden on the farmer.

The problem seems to be that developers think the publishers are on their side, when in fact they don't really give a shit. They have a farm to run. And obviously EA is not a mom-and-pop farm that cares for each and every animal, it is some sort of industrialized abomination, the sight of which turns people into vegetarians.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hmm... I was actually sort of pussy-footing around what I said because I was thinking of EA as a developer and a publisher, but it seems I may have been somewhat wrong about my sentiment. I always seemed to have thought EA made many games, but maybe I was just confused and they were publishers only more often than not.

Maybe I'm not understanding this right, but looking at Mobygames, it seems the company called Electronic Arts hasn't really developed anything substantial since the mid 90s and earlier. Maybe they've been only involved in the wheeling and dealing of the publishing world since then (or more)?

If these 1,500 people are 17 percent of EA's workforce and not actively developing anything, only publishing, keeping track of money, and marketing, then I think they'll be alright. There's always many things to publish. Also if this is a worldwide number, it changes things even more, as EA's tentacles reach very far across the globe. And does this count the developers that they publishe for at all?

If it's just publishing people fired, then I guess it wouldn't mean the games industry is not really in that much trouble, since maybe factors like direct buy, self publishing, and digital distribution could really be making way for undercutting publishers for developers now.

I have no idea, I have no facts, numbers or inside info.

Maybe the thumbs here who all seem to unanimously want weirder games and original IP really do need to get better at word of mouth though and selling games they want to do well with their friends. I should probably make an effort to try harder myself.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have no idea, I have no facts, numbers or inside info.

Maybe the thumbs here who all seem to unanimously want weirder games and original IP really do need to get better at word of mouth though and selling games they want to do well with their friends. I should probably make an effort to try harder myself.

I have a bunch of friends in vancouver and can say developers were hit by it, not just the publishing side.

Also, yeah, I think the community here(which is why I'm lurking around eveyday now) is a bit of a niche community in gaming. As much as we love games and buy them, we're not the market that is paying the bills and to be honest, the people that do pay the bills for big publishers might slowly start picking up other stuff then madden and cod, but really that's all they want and need out of the gaming, it isn't a life style for them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Maybe I'm not understanding this right, but looking at Mobygames, it seems the company called Electronic Arts hasn't really developed anything substantial since the mid 90s and earlier. Maybe they've been only involved in the wheeling and dealing of the publishing world since then (or more)?

EA runs a number of internal namesake studios, such as EA LA which develops Command & Conquer. They have a number of fully-owned subsidiaries too (eg: Criterion, Maxis, BioWare, Pandemic, Mythic).

I'd imagine many of the lay-offs came from at least the former dozen or so studios.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EA_%28video_game_company%29#Studios_and_subsidiaries

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know if the real story here is "EA has problems because gamers don't buy new IP". You really think that because Dead Space and Mirror's Edge didn't sell gazillions they're now firing 1,500 people (following 1,000 layoffs about a year ago)? I think you should be careful not to oversimplify.

Also remember that EA successfully launched Army of Two, Spore, Skate as new IP franchises.

EA is one of those very large oil-tanker-size company that's been trying to re-calibrate itself since around 2007. I don't claim to have the complete picture on why they're not doing so well right now but I strongly suspect the picture is more complex than this thread makes it out to be.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

*fucklot of text edited to nothing*

I'll just go back to this :

When you make things, you are responsible, I still work in architecture from time to time and I can tell you, I fight and fight again against high profitability and for better living for inhabitants.

I could do the same as you do "well, if people don't like it, just don't buy it, I'm only making shitty house, I'm not responsible."

But reality is, people buy what is there and when what is there (and visible) is shit, whatever, some people will buy it. So all I'm saying is: not blaming those who make shitty games and doing so putting all the blame on the gamers is the "they got what they deserve" argument.

It has it's truth, but hey, way to help people and society get better, you win.

Edited by OssK

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
You really think that because Dead Space and Mirror's Edge didn't sell gazillions they're now firing 1,500 people (following 1,000 layoffs about a year ago)? I think you should be careful not to oversimplify.

That is not really how i presented it or what i believe.

Things like that will probably have a impact on major decisions within EA, but it's unknown how much game sales impacts this issue directly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sooo does this affect how EA Partners works or does it mostly affect internal EA stuff like the companies they have bought and swallowed to the corporate entity known as Electronic Arts?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now