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In a call with investors, EA’s revealing CEO John Riccitiello let it be known that the company has not hit holiday sales figures despite releasing a load of quality titles. Games such as Dead Space and Valve’s Left 4 Dead did well, but others such as Mirror’s Edge suffered greatly in spite of critical acclaim. As such, EA is looking to streamline their product lines and make their business more profitable. Nevertheless, Mirror’s Edge will get a sequel, but specific critiques of the IP will be part of the next game’s design to make it a best-seller. Mr. Riccitiello stated, “Many times with a new intellectual property, the first edition doesn’t generate the units that subsequent editions could generate. Mirror’s Edge is one that was very strongly reviewed, that one’s going to go forward. We’re probably going to look into some issues around the design to make sure strong IP is married with strong business.” This adjustment to the business model is certainly gamer-friendly and will undoubtedly generate more sales. However, maybe EA could also try to spread out the AAA love over the course of the year. As one IGN poster astutely pointed out: “Maybe the slow sales are due to the fact that in roughly 6-8 weeks we had: Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, Motorstorm 2, Dead Space, Little Big Planet, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Call of Duty: World at War, Mirror’s Edge, Valkyria Chronicles, Left 4 Dead” Four of which were published by EA! We’re not sure that the holiday is the best time for every publisher to put out their best games. |