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EA As The Next Disney

Posted by timothy on from the gosh-walt dept.

ducomputergeek writes "There is an article over at Business2.0.com about how EA may just surpass Disney as the number #1 media company in the world. Considering that EA has turned out some great games over the years, including Wing Commander, many sports games for consoles, and the SIMS, it wouldn't surprise me."

6 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. EA is that big? by Cirvam · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is EA really that big? I mean disney seems to own or have their fingers in just about all media. EA just doesn't seem as prevalent.

    Also does anyone know how much the Sim's helped EA out? or did Maxis make most of the money off that?

  2. When did it stop being EOA? by The+Tyro · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Electronic Arts always had great games... except it used to be EOA, dunno when it changed.

    Ah, those fond memories of my youth... 2AM, sitting in front of my C-64, watching that EOA title screen come up... gaming all night long (in between using a 300 baud modem to contact BBS's in germany, Japan...)

    I almost didn't survive the beating that resulted from one month's phone bill... almost 400$ of overseas long-distance. Twenty years ago, 400$ was, as they say, real money.

    Yep, I can hear the L33T K1dd13Z now... "Shut up, pops. Go take some Bayer for yer arthritis."

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
    1. Re:When did it stop being EOA? by John+Miles · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually the 'O' was just a stylized sphere interposed between the cube ('E') and pyramid ('A') symbols that comprised the EA logo. It made for a memorable if misleading trademark.

      The cube, sphere, and pyramid objects in Ultima VIII were originally supposed to be evil artifacts in Ultima VI, if I remember correctly. Richard Garriott had a bit of a grudge against Trip Hawkins ("Pirt Snikwah") back in those days, as Origin was less than thrilled with their treatment as an EA affiliated label in the late Eighties. Richard had painstakingly planned a whole boatload of EA-as-the-embodiment-of-ultimate-evil allusions for the Ultimas beyond V, but EA skillfully dodged his wrath by offering to buy the company. :)

      --
      Dahlmann tightly grips the knife, which he may have no idea how to use, and steps out into the plain.
  3. They work their employees like dogs... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have two friends who work at EA (two completely different locations, and neither of these people know each other).

    EA works you like a dog. Everyone there hates their job. Big sexist corporate culture too. Both of my friends are women, and BOTH have had ideas stolen from them by their male manager. Fuckers.

    So in that respect, yes, they are just like Disney.

    1. Re:They work their employees like dogs... by Quarters · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I worked for EA.COM/EA Virginia for about 12-18 months.

      Worst work experience I've ever had. At one point they wanted us to dumb our game down to the point where the users could hit a key to have his vehicle automatically follow an enemy. Then all the user would have to do is click the mouse button to fire their weapons.

      Yes, the clueless, khaki/t-shirt/black sweater management core from Redwood Shores that such an idea would make the game, "more accessable". It never dawned on them that it also removed all interactivity from an interactive entertainment product.

      But, what do you expect when their CEO is from Sara Lee and gives motivational speeches with such phrases as, "Making an online game is a lot like making a quiche.".

      (I am so glad I'm out of that environment.)

  4. Electronic Arts no longer artists... by Jace+of+Fuse! · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I once read a very well respected Japanese developer said (I think it was Yuji Naka) [Some companies]"...make games at the desk." He was refering to game companies making games to make money, not to create something fun to play.

    Electronic Arts is in the video game industry making sound business moves and producing disposable rubbish for an eager consumer base. They are no longer Electronic Artists and they no longer make great video games. This shows in the huge amount of crap they spew out each year.

    Other companies were getting to be guilty of the same thing, but they seem to have realized it and are trying to make a turn for the better. Capcom, for instance, has pledged a shift towards quality and innovation, and shortly afterwards announced 6 new fairly unique looking titles.

    3DO claims to be making a similar shift, and has cancelled many projects to focus on a few unique titles. Trip Hawkins even forked over his own personal money to help fund the company further along. How many CEOs do you know of who would do that? (Well, the President of Sega did that, too, then died shortly afterwards.)

    Many of the more respectable publishers and developers are making this shift towards quality, but Electronic Arts openly clings to "tried and true" titles, even if it means saturating the market with crap.

    I don't rant about it like I used to. I just stopped buying the shit. After all, there are other great video game developers out there.

    --

    "Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"

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