Outside of a few things (frustration with fifa and madden's online passes, simcity) i don't really have a ton of issue with what EA does (i'm okay with micro-transactions if they aren't prohibitive to my experience or a pay-to-win setup). However, the statements the now former CEO of EA said about paying money to reload after being "invested into a game" does scare me.
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John Riccitiello steps down as CEO of Electronic Arts. [Resignation/Farewell Letters]
- Thread starter Wario64
- Start date
It was great while it lasted, but it also ensured that EA will never, ever try that again. He should have reined in those projects a bit more to ensure that they were making products that were marketable to the wider audience.
Leaving a lower position and coming back in a higher position isn't totally uncommon, but leaving as CEO, especially when he didn't move on to the board, suggests he's gone for good.
Technosteve
Banned
it was a matter of time, i liked him when he took chances in making mass effect mirror's edge and dead space. But god damn everything else about EA's online services to there PC strategy was shit.
I think The Who made a song about this situation.
Mirror's Edge, yes.
Bad Company, no. Bad Company made bank. I don't see them throwing that away outside of chasing the BF3 dollars. Something most people don't want EA to really do.
grimshawish
Banned
One big positive: EA are obviously not a company in a position to go leveraging their content to get anti-used game controls or other shenanigans. Activision/Ubisoft are obviously very unsure of the future as well, so I suspect there will be little flavour for someone playing with the industries fundamentals.
That was a well known fact.
lol
Yep. That's me haha
Well, part of THAT are the hurdles to get through. But then those hurdles are probably also why they want to target as large an audience as possible: if they have to go through that kind of trouble it should ideally be for something BIG or at least medium+ sized, if it's lower budget and especially with a more niche appeal then it's better to hit a platform like PC, at least in NA and Europe.
And this is why I'm cynical: his arrival is THE reason for EA's temporary rise. Unless they get someone who had his earlier idealism plus the ability to make that profitable THEN we could have great times ahead, but most likely it'd go to being like before he came on board.
Nope. The uproar over Sim City wasn't pleasant for EA and could have a negative effect in the future, but the game has sold very well so far. The download version is still the top seller on Amazon and the limited edition is number 7. The fiscal year is almost over and it looks like EA didn't meet projected revenues. They had a modest profit last year, but the losses during the previous three years were pretty ugly and Riccitello needed substantial profits to hold onto his job.
clutch.as.it.gets.
Member
His idea of nickel and diming the gamer by taking advantage of his emotional investment won`t change,.... so it wont make a difference.
They changed their minds and now they'll be charging by the clip.
Trogdor1123
Member
So does this mean we will see an even greater push to make more money then? Are we going to see more "micro" transactions and such? Im not certain I like where this is going.
grimshawish
Banned
I disagree actually. Compared to other PC releases SimCity looks lacking.
For LMG's. For every other gun the magazine is completely fine. >_>
This is amazing.
They're actually planning to use Obama's high capacity magazine ban to justify more bullet focused microtransactions. DICE will of course have to adjust their game to accommodate for this, since the ban only applies to private citizens. But EA developers are used to that so it's no biggy.
ProfessorMoran
Member
I'm surprised the bullet didn't go through both of them, it was perfectly lined up.
Fudgepuppy
Banned
Would be funny if EA blamed Dead Space 3's sales on "gamers don't want horror anymore".
The more diluted and focus-tested AAA-gaming gets, the more demand for games like Minecraft, LoL, Amnesia etc etc.
The more diluted and focus-tested AAA-gaming gets, the more demand for games like Minecraft, LoL, Amnesia etc etc.
I believe it dropped to $300 by the holidays, but you still had that bad first impression, sore retailer relations, and as noted shit like the 32X was making everything look murky. If they avoided all of that and just launched at $300 in the fall it'd probably have stayed modestly competitive.
semiconscious
Member
speculawyer
Member
John's head is too thick.
It makes perfect sense if you just imagine Bioware's head as being filled mostly with concrete.
EDIT: Oh I thought it was Riccietello shooting Bioware shooting Pandemic. Obviously not, though.
clutch.as.it.gets.
Member
I agree. Peter Moore appeared to be a good guy back in the days, but he changed and his vision for the future is everthing that´s responsible of driving gamers away from their hobby.
Platinumstorm
Member
I'm glad he was able to get the push for new IPs in EA, but holy cow is it nice to be rid of him after Sim City.
Devilgunman
Member
Justice has been done.
scytherage
Member
Maybe he's collecting on that stock value before it crashes down, hence the retirement
Yeah, CEOs are NOT the kind of person I'll be concerned about doing OK, financially anyway. I'll worry about other aspects (direction of the company, maybe how they and others feel if this person was doing a really good job but not in a financial way), but they almost always come away with a fat sack of money. They could easily just retire on the spot and live nicely for the rest of their lives.thinkin' he'll be just fine...
"Ya know, stocks fall."
At most SimCity would have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
Paracelsus
Member
This was taken as a troll given the questionable source but
http://www.abload.de/img/eaisfinishedy6jd0.png
Check the date it was posted.
http://www.abload.de/img/eaisfinishedy6jd0.png
Check the date it was posted.
Ah, so EA just got a better deal from Ubisoft over licensing. Still Ubisoft is supporting Steam despite being all in on UPlay.
When Stolar was in charge of SCEA, he was the one to nix any RPGs on the PlayStation 1 until he left to handle the Saturn. He completely misjudged the market considering the success that Final Fantasy VII would later obtain for the PlayStation brand. Bernie Stolar was just plain horrible at judging the market.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
Dude, seriously? You're better than that.
I mean, for all the shit Johnny gets from everyone, at least he greenlit Mirror's Edge and got Need for Speed back on track. That's gotta count for something.
That being said, there's one graphic in the Kotaku article that's telling, and it's the stock performance of the company during Johnny's reign. Even when you take the Great Crash Of '08 into account, since the Dow is reaching new record highs now, shouldn't EA's stock be back into the 40s now? You gotta be accountable to the investors, that's capitalism for ya. The bath EA took over the Star Wars MMO didn't help, and the disastrous Sim City launch had to be the last straw.
I hope Peter Moore takes over, I liked him since the days he ran Sega of America.
Aquamarine
Member
Time for a new direction...a chance to really shake things up at EA.
Maybe now EA will finally restore some of the goodwill it has lost over the years. They ALMOST had it early this gen, but they screwed that up royally.
In a way it's kind of sad when a CEO leaves. Riccitiello stepping down really means an end of an era. But on the other hand, it's a chance to see the company evolve and adapt in ways the previous guy couldn't even dream of. Let's hope this pushes EA in the RIGHT direction.
Imagine a new CEO walking in, and his first announcement being that SimCity will have an offline mode. That would be a great start, honestly.
ON THE OTHER HAND, a new guy could COMPLETELY fuck up the things that Riccitiello has done right and push EA into an unprecedented world of milking. A change of leadership could be extremely dangerous if we don't get a guy who protects the interests of the core gamer at heart.
Imagine a new CEO declaring that all future EA games will be online-only + free to play + micro-transaction heavy. Yeah...
CEOs have SO much fucking power in this business. In a way, they are the company.
Maybe now EA will finally restore some of the goodwill it has lost over the years. They ALMOST had it early this gen, but they screwed that up royally.
In a way it's kind of sad when a CEO leaves. Riccitiello stepping down really means an end of an era. But on the other hand, it's a chance to see the company evolve and adapt in ways the previous guy couldn't even dream of. Let's hope this pushes EA in the RIGHT direction.
Imagine a new CEO walking in, and his first announcement being that SimCity will have an offline mode. That would be a great start, honestly.
ON THE OTHER HAND, a new guy could COMPLETELY fuck up the things that Riccitiello has done right and push EA into an unprecedented world of milking. A change of leadership could be extremely dangerous if we don't get a guy who protects the interests of the core gamer at heart.
Imagine a new CEO declaring that all future EA games will be online-only + free to play + micro-transaction heavy. Yeah...
CEOs have SO much fucking power in this business. In a way, they are the company.
Look at my avatar. Not even I believe that shit.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Shaanyboi said:
Yup.
Its easy to forget that Bobby Kotick is the gold standard for CEO's in a capitalistic sense. Compared to him and the rest of upper management at Activision, Johnny R was pretty cuddly and gamer-friendly.
Any replacement is likely to be cut from the same cloth, because their approach provides the best ROI.
speculawyer
Member
Yeah, that is bullshit still.