Editorial:Electronic Arts - Are they turning over a new leaf?

From Wikia Gaming

by Dcman007

EA - It's in the name!

I used to think that EA stood for Everything Average as almost all of their games were below par, but just good enough to be entertaining.

As the largest developer and publisher in the world they've relied on annual updates to their existing franchises that date back to the 16-bit era to provide them with enormous income for what seems like not very much work on their part.

However, recently the company seems to have had a shake up, re-organised themselves and are now producing better quality titles.

Let's take a look at some games in their future line-up:

Need for Speed Pro Street

When the trailers for this game first appeared online I clicked on the link with the thought that we'd see another selection of very shiny cars racing along nicely, then a corner pops up and BAM - framerate issues. But wait, what's this? That car just went round that corner and the game didn't jerk!!! Hang on - must have been a fluke....wait...no....it did it again on that corner. My god, have they finally developed an engine capable of presenting smooth gameplay for this flagship racing series? It seems so. Couple that with the fact that graphics overall look really nice (awesome smoke effects on the wheelspin) and a new host of gameplay features for the series and you've got what looks to be a promising racer!

Crysis

Surely having what is set to be one of the biggest FPS games on PC ever in your publishing portfolio can only be a good thing? This game looks awesome and although EA haven't actually developed it their name and branding will be all over it as they're the publisher. Another quality title.

Skate

Taking on the mighty Tony Hawks series EA are set to release their first ever skateboarding title, Skate, this fall. Previews from various gaming sites who've had a 'hands on' session with the game offer favourable comments on it and say it shows promise. Could EA become the dominant company in another genre???

Burnout Paradise

Again this game is only being publised by EA, not developed by them, but its nice to have one of the world's most popular arcade racers with your name stamped on it. This game is set to open up the world of Burnout to online play and offer a far less restrictive experience than other games in the series.

Another important point about it is that PS3 is the lead development platform for this title. Again, EA showing its support of a new platform when other companies are primarily developing on 360 as their lead platform and then porting to the PS3.

Madden 08

Some critics have said that the 08 version of Madden doesn't look that different to the 07 version. However, it does now include (finally) all of the features that were missing from previous next-gen versions, a whole host of brand new animations and it runs at a gorgeously smooth 60fps (Something EA have said they are committed to getting all of their 08 sports line up running at - at least on 360). I live in the UK and I'm picking it up when its released here. I didn't even entertain the idea of Madden 07, but this new version looks too good to pass up.

Ok - I know the PS3 version isn't as good as the 360 version and plays at half the speed, but they did point out they'd not had PS3 dev kits anywhere near as long as 360 kits.

Wii Only Development Studio

The Wii is selling like hot cakes around the world. EA are aware of this and have now set up a new studio dedicated to development of titles only for Wii. Provided they can think of entertaining and new ways to use the unique controller this could yield some positive results. Irrespective of this, EA are (to my knowledge) the only developer who have such offered so much commitment exclusively to Nintendo's new console.

Peter Moore

Peter Moore has been the face of Microsoft at the industry's various gaming conventions for many years and now he's heading up the EA Sports brand. Not only is this a postive move for EA on a PR front, acquiring the skills of one of the industry's leading figures from the biggest software company in the world, but it should also help ensure that the EA sports titles improve in quality.

With all of these positives for the company my interest in their titles has been renewed and I now look forward to seeing what they have to offer. Of course I'm not naive enough to think that there won't be the endless updates still (More sims anyone?) , but at the end of the day they do make money for EA.

Summary The key point of my article is to illustrate that EA do now actually seem to be making an effort to improve their existing franchises as well as creating new ones. Something I consider to be a postive move.

Comments are welcome.

Agree or disagree - I'd like to hear your opinions.