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[Grecco]

So does this mean the Sandbox Marvel Fighter is canceled?

 

[speculawyer]

Within the EA Games Label, we are committed to running each franchise and facility as a city/state, teams with unique creative identities as well as responsibility for product quality, ship dates and profitability. We recognize that games require large investments and extended development cycles. We're willing to take risks, make long-term investments, and to support teams and individuals between launches. But each team is responsible for staying on a reasonable path to profitability. Sticking to that strategy is what gives us the financial resources and flexibility to take risks on new projects.

Unfortunately, EA Chicago hasn't been able to meet that standard. The location has grown dramatically in the past three years while revenue from the games developed there has not. The number of employees has grown from 49 in 2004 to 146 people currently in the new facility in downtown Chicago. As it stands, EA Chicago has no expectation of hitting our profitability targets until FY2011 or later.

So is EA going to close down Pandemic & Bioware tomorrow? I want to see how they are going to be considered profitable before FY2011 considering that EA just paid close to a billion dollars for them.

 

[Eggo]

i thought the naming of the other franchises as ads at the end of the formal letter was a bit out of taste.

I agree wholeheartedly. I understand he was trying to put a positive spin at the end of the memo, but it sounded like a commercial spot rather than a rah rah pep talk. Probably would have been better to say "our holiday lineup is promising" rather than hyping/plugging individual titles like a marketing shill.

 

[speculawyer]

I love him taking credit for Mass Effect. That is SOOOOO EA.

They own it; it's theirs and they can talk about the property as they please.
EA kneejerk hate is more than getting old. If the contents of that memo are accurate, then the closing is justified.

Yeah, they own it NOW. But they are not the publisher nor did they own the developer until a few weeks ago . . . taking credit for Mass Effect is pathetic.

 

[RiotPelaaja]

Well after the failure of ICON, and that was a bad game with a lot of style, this is not the biggest of surprises.

What I do feel I have to point out is that Chicago worked on genre's that were not global sellers. HIp hop games such as Icon have a very, very limited market. They sell in the US, maybe UK and Germany, but not in great numbers and I'm sure it was an expensive game to make. So the odds were against Chicago already. In most markets in Europe, gamers couldn't give a fuck about a "rap game" so the market for that product was incredibly limited. I hope EA understood that. I think Fight Night is much the same, it's a brilliant product, but I'm not sure if it has enough of an audience.

 

[Snaku]

So is EA going to close down Pandemic & Bioware tomorrow? I want to see how they are going to be considered profitable before FY2011 considering that EA just paid close to a billion dollars for them.

After Mass Effect, they may aswell. They're dead to me now.

 

[Rodeo Clown]

So is EA going to close down Pandemic & Bioware tomorrow? I want to see how they are going to be considered profitable before FY2011 considering that EA just paid close to a billion dollars for them.

Give it time. They'll be shut down or merged into some other branch soon enough.

 

[speculawyer]

EA has gone MMO ker-raaaazy.
They pay over $800 million for Bioware just for their upcoming MMO.
Mythic gets all the money in the world to finish Warhammer sometime in 20XX.

And that is kinda weird considering that they pretty much killed one of the original MMORPGs, Ultima Online. They also had a flop with The Sims Online. And didn't they have a MMO CaRPG game? (I forget the name of it.) So despite those disappointments, they continue trying.

I guess the lure of monthly subscription fees and the massive success of WoW is tempting. But I think it is a tough market . . . there is a limited amount of demand for such MMORPGs and though there is some organic growth, I think a lot of the growth is from stealing subscribers from other MMORPGs. Tough biz.

 

[speculawyer]

i thought the naming of the other franchises as ads at the end of the formal letter was a bit out of taste.

Especially since it named two franchises of studios they just bought . . . . it was kind of a slap in the face at all the existing internal studios.

 

[DJ Crimson]

Yea

 

[monchi-kun]

you have to wonder what long term effect these studio closures and "routine" layoffs will have on future game developers. would they even consider EA as their first pick for a job? i think we'll see more talent shying away from EA moving forward.

 

[titiklabingapat]

Another Wii Fit casualty.

 

[The Faceless Master]

So does this mean the Sandbox Marvel Fighter is canceled?

hopefully it is.

or being completely redone.

 

[Pachinko]

This studio only made 1-2 games a year and I'm sure we'll still have a boxing game franchise from EA , it'll just be made by a currently existing studio within EA. I expect this won't be the only studio closure either. Bioware may well be left to it's own devices but it wouldn't suprise me if pandemic becomes another EA 'insert city' within a year.

The EA of today is aiming for increasing profitability so by 2011 when the next set of consoles release they are sitting better then they were when say the 360 and ps3 launched.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

It's a shame that so many people are losing their jobs but with that said, as far as Kudo Tsunoda...can't say I'm broken up over him being out on the sidewalk. Maybe he can get a job at Akklaim?

 

[svenuce]

There were 3-4 teams in that studio as far as I'm aware. Pretty significant hit.

 

[Domino Theory]

So does this mean the Sandbox Marvel Fighter is canceled?

Nope. It just means Microsoft is that much closer to acquiring EA.

The pieces fit together so well.

Spoiler

 

[KingJ2002]

if that marvel fighter is not going to happen... marvel should give development to a company worthy... like say... capcom

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

EA has gone MMO ker-raaaazy.
They pay over $800 million for Bioware just for their upcoming MMO.
Mythic gets all the money in the world to finish Warhammer sometime in 20XX.

While someone at EA Chicago forgets to write off McDonalds as a business lunch and the entire studio is kicked to the curb.

A focus on cinematic and epics games and the revenue sustainability of massively multiplayer worlds instead of the mass market pop trash that is Def Jam?

Sounds like a good direction to me if EA wants to try improve both their image as a respected and profitable developer.

 

[TJ Spyke]

It's a shame that so many people are losing their jobs but with that said, as far as Kudo Tsunoda...can't say I'm broken up over him being out on the sidewalk. Maybe he can get a job at Akklaim?

Acclaim, not Akklaim.

 

[KingJ2002]

A focus on cinematic and epics games and the revenue sustainability of massively multiplayer worlds instead of the mass market pop trash that is Def Jam?

Sounds like a good direction to me if EA wants to try improve both their image as a respected and profitable developer.

the def jam titles were criticlally acclaimed and creating games for the mass market is definitely more profitable than creating games for the niche. their image has always been associated with being at the top (sales) of the market and considering their partnerships the only thing thats going to change is that they will crank out more award winning titles.

i dont understand the overall hate of EA when it comes to games... sure they crank out crap every now and then (and their exclusive sports deals is still frowned upon)... but never on a consistant basis as if they flood the market with shelf fillers.

losing ea chicago is a loss for gamers who enjoyed fight night and tolerated dj: icon.

 

[MWS Natural]

They are closing the wrong studio....TIBURON PLEASE EA!

Nope. It just means Microsoft is that much closer to acquiring EA.

The pieces fit together so well.

Spoiler

I know M$ is big time but they have the capital to acquire EA??

 

[Xiaoki]

A focus on cinematic and epics games and the revenue sustainability of massively multiplayer worlds instead of the mass market pop trash that is Def Jam?

MMOs can be huge revenue streams but they can just as easily backfire.
If you have a bad launch you get a Vanguard type situation. Even a great launch isn't a guarantee for success. LotRO basically had a revolving door for it's first month of people getting the game and then quickly leaving complaining of boredom and endgame.
But I think Warhammer will be a big success because of the 2 groups of fans that will flock to it: Warhammer fans and DAoC fans. They just need to release it.
If Bioware's MMO is KotOR then that might not be a slam dunk. It's not being made by the team that made KotOR and people may not keen on a Star Wars MMO after the debacle that was SWG.

the def jam titles were criticlally acclaimed and creating games for the mass market is definitely more profitable than creating games for the niche.

Tell that to Blizzard.

 

[Moderation Unlimited]

Did anyone say WiiFit is to blame for this yet?

 

[McBradders]

What the fuck?

Sympathies to all those effected and I hope the other studios in the Chicago area are smart enough to snap up the talent! All the best to you that were affected by this rotten news

 

[Roat]

Did anyone say WiiFit is to blame for this yet?

Yeah, they did, and it wasn't funny then either

 

[neorej]

I don't know to cheer or cry. I mean...they fucked up Def Jam, but on the other hand...they DID make Fight Night Round 3.

 

[jordan0386]

ICON wasnt that bad, obviously the fighting engine wasnt fleshed out like other fighters...Im sure the studio hit the marks they wanted...but they fucked up royally by not having more moves

I play it some...and I sit there thinking to myself, Im pressing these buttons, but Im not really doing anything all that interactive...QA fucked up, should have told them the lack of actual fighting moves, would hurt this fighting game

But nobody has a job now, so...w/e

And the story mode should have had cutscenes of artists actually producing music...that would've worked...you have me running a label, but I see nothing getting done, bleh

 

[GhaleonQ]

I'm just mad that there's 1 less games studio in Chicago now. Bah.

 

[Lo-Volt]

Last week, we received the slightly depressing news of EA Chicago's closing, including 1UP's eye-opening discussion with an ex-employee of the developer. Not everything surrounding this story is sad, though, as another developer proved this weekend with a heart-warming show of support.

Anyone logging on to Call of Duty 4 this weekend likely saw the following "Message of the Day" from Infinity Ward:

EA Chicago:
Infinity Ward is hiring.
jobs@infinityward.com

As of the time of press, that message remains the CoD4 Message of the Day. Hopefully this means less developers jobless for a long period of time and more talent for the already highly-talented Infinity Ward.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164307

 

[LakeEarth]

On one hand I hate hearing of game developers shutting down. On the other hand, they fucked up Def Jam. So I guess what I'm trying to say is too bad, so sad, bye bye.

 

[JCtheMC]

I don't know to cheer or cry. I mean...they fucked up Def Jam, but on the other hand...they DID make Fight Night Round 3.

I was very much hoping for the Chicago Studio to make another Fight Night. I love boxing and i actually felt like the sport finally got the game it deserved.