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EA Banking On The Future
CNET has a good look at the financial plans for gaming giant Electronic Arts. They've spent big money preparing for the shift to next-generation systems, as well as their exclusivity contracts with major sports leagues. An interesting commentary on one of the movers and shakers in the industry. From the article: "The stakes for EA and the entire game industry will be huge in the coming months. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all intend to deliver new game consoles over the next year, forcing game makers to spend big to prepare their titles for the new platforms. EA spent $633 million on research and development in fiscal 2005, which ended June 30. That's 20.2 percent of its total revenue, 24.1 percent more than it spent the year before on R&D, and 57.8 percent more than it spent two years ago. In the current fiscal year, some analysts estimate the company's R&D spending could go as high as $725 million."
The amount of money spent on strong-arming and trust-building.
EA wil be the death of the video game industry. Mark my words.
I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
EA has some amazing tools for cross-platform development and code reuse. Their R&D spending is no doubt focused on expanding those tools to include the next-gen consoles, handhelds and advances in PC tech.
(This does not stop them being wankers of the first order. But, hey, burnout is pretty good.)