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EA Aiming For 50% Innovation

Talking to 'The Street.com' EA Worldwide Studios president Paul Lee gets grilled on game delays and industry stagnation, and reaffirms EA's commitment to new IP. From the article: "There [have] been countless games in our industry that have looked great and didn't play particularly well. Going forward, there's going to be a lot of me-too products that look great -- because they all look great -- that aren't necessarily going to do great. But if you take a look at what we have -- you know, Spore is innovative game-play, and at the same time it's got great graphics. And I think that's what really knocks it out of the park. Innovative game-play helps drive [the cause] of gaming. And if you can do that, and you can have great graphics, I think that the market is bigger than just having one of the two."

7 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. You had me reading at Spore by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 4, Interesting

    but when I RTFA I found he mostly talked about how he was sinking a lot of resources into Sony and Microsoft, which means they may have missed the boat since all of my peeps are buying the Wii when it comes out.

    It's the games. Seriously, I don't care how the investors think about it. I was looking at investing in EA or Nintendo, but after reading this I just don't think they get it and will miss the wave that will dominate gaming for the next two years.

    I'll still buy Spore and other Will Wright projects, of course.

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    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  2. yeah ok Spore's knocking it out of the park by BitterAndDrunk · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Right. Spore's a megahit. Oops, it's not out yet.

    And it has a very great danger of doing a whole bunch of stuff Not Very Well. Sort of reminds me of City of Heroes, in everything I've seen about it - great costume designer (creature creator) but the gameplay doesn't live up to it.

    Naturally, this speculation isn't that valid as I haven't played it either. But I'm not asserting it's "knocking it out of the park" or even that it will fail. I am simply skeptical that it's going to be the Only Game I Ever Play because of all the uniquely combined elements.

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    You better watch out, there may be dogs about . . .
  3. An innovation quota! by rjung2k · · Score: 4, Funny

    What will they think of next!

    "Johnson, you're not innovating enough! You gotta get your innovation up another 8% by the end of the month, or I'm kicking you back down to playtesting!"

  4. Did anyone else... by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 4, Funny

    Burst into laughter when they read the headline? Thought not.

    It's not just seeing "EA" and "innovation" in the same sentence, it's the fact they seem to be aiming for a specific percentage of "innovation" in their games. It all seems very accountanty.

    Developer: I've got this great new idea for our game! It'll be revolutionary!
    Boss: Sorry, I'm not sure if we've got enough innovation left in our budget for revolutionary, can you scale it down to a neat twist on an existing idea?

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    10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
    20 GOTO 10
  5. EA's upcoming innovative titles by spyrochaete · · Score: 5, Funny
    Look forward to the following titles this year!
    • American Mcgee's NHL 2007
    • Madden 007 2007: Goldenpunt
    • Lord Of the Sims: Hobbit Date
    • Harry Potter and the Milking of Franchise
    • Need for Medal of Honor: Third Reich Racing
    • The Burbz: Virtual Emo
    • Burnout Soviet Russia: Cars Blow Up You!
    • Lord of the Rings: Street
    • Command and Conquer: Dubya vs. Everybody
    And of course,
    • Unskippable EA Logo Challenge 2007
    1. Re:EA's upcoming innovative titles by AuMatar · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would so buy Lord of the Rings:Street. I can see the bridge scene now.

      Original version
      Gandalf: I am the servant of the scret flame... (yeah, I don't know the whole quote, so sue me)
      Gandalf: Thou shalt not pass!

      Street Version
      Gandalf: Yo I am one nasty nigga. I'm OG foo'. You don wan nonna dis
      Gandalf: Now get to steppin biyatch.

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      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
  6. Spore is going to suck by monopole · · Score: 4, Funny

    As will all future releases by him.

    It's very simple, he appeared on the cover of Wired.

    Push technology, SEGA, Smell-o-Vision over IP, the New Economy, Newt Gingritch, all cratered after appearing on the cover of Wired. It's sort of a Karmic slashdotting effect.