"EA Montreal General Manager Alain Tascan has told us that EA Montreal — as part of the EA Games label — is to refocus the studio on "action titles and HD-quality products" compared to its recent history of Wii titles such as Boogie Superstar and Skate It.
It's more evidence of the restructuring plan EA announced with its recent decision to make 1500 layoffs and purchase of Playfish.
"The Wii market is a little bit unpredictable these days," said Tascan, "We’re going to see how Christmas is going to do and while with the Wii we have had very successful titles, we are going to focus on big, blockbuster-type titles. It doesn't mean that we are going to abandon the Wii, but as a studio we want to be ready for new challenges."
Army of Two — an Xbox 360 and PS3 title developed at EA Montreal which is to be joined by sequel The 40th Day in January — is reportedly one of the driving factors for this change, as "the most successful original IP EA has had in the last few years" according to Tascan, arguing that EA as a whole isn't turning away from big-budget titles but "adjusting their direction."
"This studio — our mobile division as well — is going to be very nimble and able to adapt to the market; I feel right now our label wants to focus on fewer and bigger things, and the market is going through this soft transition where people want these very high value productions on one side, which is our specialty within the games label, but also this casual, but high quality, product that they can play quickly, of which mobile is one part and Playfish is another. We’re just trying to adapt to the reality of today. I think the market is showing that if you don’t adapt fast enough then you’ll be in trouble."
Tascan was unwilling to discuss if EA Montreal had been directly affected by the publisher's cuts, but stated "we have several positions open here at EA Montreal and we are planning on continuing investment. That doesn't mean there might not be more readjustments, but there are many different factors that come into a decision about how to grow and where to grow. We feel good about where we are and the local talent; the games that we've shipped and the games we are going to ship. In our division I think we play a major role in the future."
EA has constantly been reorganizing itself over the past few years, so i don't know that this will actually mean anything other than EA's Wii games coming from a different EA studio. Either way, they don't really develop any games i'm all that interested in.
ea i was gonna buy dead space wii but not now those jerks i knew it thats why ima buy a capcom game instead OWNED AND THEY ONLY SWITCHED CAUSE THEY CAN ONLY MAKE SHOOTERS CAUSE THOSE R EASY lots of caps
[anomalous[i know spelled wrong] member] so feenie bet you never got lucky in chat [feenie] ya [tbd] green gabe [feenie] yup i almost drowned in the shower afterwards
[anomalous[i know spelled wrong] member] so feenie bet you never got lucky in chat [feenie] ya [tbd] green gabe [feenie] yup i almost drowned in the shower afterwards
No big loss. There are enough sports games as it is, and MySims sucks. They have been doing a few big changes lately........ I swear if they do anything to BioWare I will KICK THEIR...............................................
The Game.
Is it after 9PM EST? You should probably ignore the above post.
ea i was gonna buy dead space wii but not now those jerks i knew it thats why ima buy a capcom game instead OWNED AND THEY ONLY SWITCHED CAUSE THEY CAN ONLY MAKE SHOOTERS CAUSE THOSE R EASY lots of caps
Actually, no. They mostly make shooters because shooters are extremely popular this gen and they do what every other company is doing. Try to make money. Money is the reason that they switched.
The Game.
Is it after 9PM EST? You should probably ignore the above post.
I've been a fan of them since Madden on the Nintendo 64 and this is what they do to there loyal fans.
They have betrayed us and don't go blaming Nintendo for this.
Looks like that means no more superior versions of Tiger Wood PGA Tour. They said they would put more focus on the Wii and they blantantly lied.
In a way, it IS Nintendo's fault though. Not 100%, heck not even 75%, but if they hadn't gone the route of "casual" then the games would actually sell well.
The Game.
Is it after 9PM EST? You should probably ignore the above post.
No surprises there. It's too hard to develop a popular Wii game. People looking to buy casual games stick to Nintendo releases and only own a few games (the Wii has the lowest games sold/ console of the three big ones), so third party casual games don't sell as well as the Wii install base would suggest, and hardcore games can't find an audience on the Wii.
In a way, it IS Nintendo's fault though. Not 100%, heck not even 75%, but if they hadn't gone the route of "casual" then the games would actually sell well.
Actually, the fault is the so called "hardcore gamers" on the Wii that won't buy a thing but Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Pokemon........ basically everything but good 3rd party games. Blaming the "casual" crowd it's just an excuse.
Flandre Scarlet, she's cute, she's colorful, she can blow up entire cities, she's also a vampire. Start running sparklepants.
Uh-huh...yeah...godspeed EA Montreal. Ya know? I am tired of Third parties and their whining. Don't want to make games for the wii? fine. Is not that we don't have good games and we won't have in the future. And keep blaming Nintendo is getting old and absurd. Is their lost, not ours. It would be awesome to have a huge 3d party support as the loser consoles but hey, as I said, we still have good quality games from Nintendo and other companies.
Actually, the fault is the so called "hardcore gamers" on the Wii that won't buy a thing but Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Pokemon........ basically everything but good 3rd party games. Blaming the "casual" crowd it's just an excuse.
First ask what "good 3d party games" you are talking about? Niche games like Madworld? Crappy ports like Dead Rising? Insulting "core" games like Dead space?
There's a reason why Wii users prefer those games. And is because we know they will deliver good quality while with 3d parties is always "take these crumbs and be happy with it" games.
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Topic: EA Montreal no longer focusing on Wii, switching to HD systems
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