EA's support for Nintendo platforms is pretty lacking in general right now, but the 3DS and Wii U aren't the only systems the publisher is turning its back on — it has all but retreated from the dedicated portable console market, instead choosing to put its efforts into the burgeoning smartphone and tablet sector.
Speaking to Gamesindustry International, EA's Peter Moore tried to explain the reasoning behind the move:
We were supportive of both of those platforms (3DS/Vita), but then you've got finite resources and you've got teams that say, 'We really think that two or three years from now, these are the platforms that people are going to be consuming games on.' And you look at the quality of what you can do on phones and tablets... Sometimes strategy is not about what you do but what you don't do, and you have to make some hard calls when you've got only so many people. To my point, we've got to be planning for FY 17 and 18. Do you think the Vita and 3DS are going to be around in some shape or fashion by then on a scale level?
Moore has a point on one level — dedicated consoles are seeing tough competition from phones and tablets, which offer cheap games with impressive visuals that people can play everywhere. These devices also offer a massive potential audience which comfortably dwarfs anything the 3DS or Vita can muster.
However, Moore seems to have missed the point here; while the 3DS certainly won't be a big system in 2017 or 2018, Nintendo's next handheld console will be available by then, and could very well swing the pendulum back in the favour of dedicated portable gaming devices, which seasoned players tend to favour over phones and tablets.
What do you think about Moore's comments? Is EA right for going where the money is, or do its recent mistakes — such as the catastrophic free-to-play Dungeon Keeper, which it has effectively disowned — prove that mobile and smartphone gaming isn't all it is cracked up to be? Is it worth catering for a bigger potential market when only a certain percentage of those people are actually going to be interested in games, or should EA focus on the 3DS and Vita, both of which are owned by more passionate players with willing wallets? Leave a comment below to share your feelings on the topic.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 151
It's amusing that they are trying to cotton wool this as a 'long term strategy'. I might be wrong but I get the impression things aren't as rosy at EA as they would have us believe.
I believe EA would still support handhelds if Sony didn't outright abandon the PS Vita.
That said, I do hope they fail badly in the mobile sector, considering their practices there.
My long-term strategy is to keep playing on dedicated devices.
Let them be. They belong to a market where it's overrun by free to play model. They are the masters of micro transactions.
I'll be interested to see what FIFA, the NFL and all the other sports think of this. Because now it will be impossible to market to 50 million or so hand held players.
As for Nintendo gamers, do many of us really care about EA any more?
I think Moore is missing part of the bigger call than just going mobile. EA have been swabbing at the bloated phone industry for quite some time, and it isn't beneficial to throw out Free To Play which forces the user into a wall. Their design philosophy for F2P has really gotten me to disregard the Mobile platform (Except for the valued Mahjong games which are as a last resort due to not finding a proper version on the 3DS)
Remember, Business is about RISK, and if you're not going to take risks, then you're missing a large amount of potential in your fanbase. I'm talking to both of you, SEGA and EA.
We'll see how far this goes.
EA are doing both pay to win and the normal kind of apps.
Knights of the Old Republic at £7 is better than a NES game at £4.50.
@unrandomsam Kotor without real buttons for £7 compared to an NES classic with real buttons for £4.50...I'll go for the latter, thanks.
I predict 100+ comments with 90% consisting of hate.
@KeeperBvK It supports real buttons perfectly. (Dunno about keyboard and mouse which I would probably prefer).
EA is being run on short term greed, not long term business sense.
Kotor is still better on Pc and cheaper thanks to almighty GabeN!
I'm just glad EA didn't get a chance to stain nintendo's consoles this generation with microtransactions! When we look back at the industry, years in advance, I'm sure we'll see microtransactions as a great faux pas!
Ah leave them be. It's their loss in the end. The pubic are a fickle bunch and can drop the flavour of the month at any time. Leaves more room for better games
Didn't Capcom do a similar thing and then crash and burn to the point it's now under buyout?
Doesn't matter. After how they screwed Nintendo and then completely screwed up SimCity, then lied, backpedaled, lied again, and backpedaled again (and I am sure the next SimCity lie is around the corner), I am never going to buy another EA game ever again!
The problem with EA and SEGA entering the mobile/tablet space is that they think they can reap everything using the same model as the console market, i.e. big budgets and big IP. But those things impress mainly us "gamers", which would buy those same games on a console paying ten times their price, while the mass market is mainly concerned with the last trendy social game and couldn't care less for the next iteration of Dead Space or Crazy Taxi.
I abandoned EA long ago. Let them do whatever they think they need to do to keep their dudebro customer base happy.
EA needs to do what it thinks is best for it's business. Only time will tell if they are making the right decision but mobile seems like the easy cash grab these days. Free to play with micro transactions & ads plus a few $7 games add up. I just wonder how profitable it is for most companies. Seems to be very few successful ventures and a ton of failure.
@Mercy_Lost Yeah but it doesn't support none widescreen resolutions without hacking about. Even something like the DSiware Shantae looks miles nicer on iOS and also supports physical controls. (The screen fuzziness you get on the 3DS is not acceptable either).
"You have to make some hard calls" choosing extortion every time is a real tough call xD
@Gnoll Dunno about EA (I played a few of the Xperia Play games they made and thought they were pretty good they certainly annoyed me less than many 3DS games) but Sega is not spending loads of money.
@unrandomsam Oh boy up for 10 mins and already met with a troll for the day. Yawn go back to bed or whatever the day hasn't even started and you look silly.
Short answer: Money.
I don't really think it's that massive install base they're chasing, at least not entirely. It's that people are typically way more accepting of micro-transactions on smart devices. No one is in love with the free-to-play model, but just from what I've seen people are more willing to shrug it off when it's not on a dedicated gaming device.
That said:
"you have to make some hard calls..."
OF.
DUTY.
@unrandomsam That depends on who you are asking. Knight's was a good game for its time but it has aged badly. Only fans of the first game would enjoy a nostalgic replay.
I my opinion many of the NES games are timeless classics that comes from a time when gaming culture was completely different.
He actually makes a pretty good point. They only have so much staff. Might as well take the risks in a sector that has a better chance of still standing on its feet in 4 years.
@Guybrush20X6 What??? Capcom is potentially being bought out because the shareholders did not accept the proposed buyout prevention plan at their AGM. As far as I know they are not in any financial trouble and they did not abandon the 3DS?
Mobile is for the most part, a land of shovelware.
EA, for the most part, creates shovelware.
Therefore, they are a match made in heaven.
I'm sure the fact that you can produce a mobile / tablet game for less and push it towards people who will buy it (or fund their play) out of pure curiosity / blind faith rather than do some research like many more dedicated gamers would, played some role in the decision process.
Makes business sense, and I won't miss EA games at all. So, really, nothing to see here.
Luckily Nintendo doesn't need EA.
I can't even remember the last time EA did something to impress me....
@XCWarrior That's true.
But mobile has indies...which EA is going to start snapping up sooner or later.
I wonder if they'd start putting games on the Windows Store, though. Complete with XBL certification. Now, that is a carrot I'm willing to fall for.
Kingdom of Amalur is great, but they just published it, it was not made by them.
Let them rott. I want physical buttons. Smart devices are sloppy, clumsy controls. They cheapen the experience. Soccer moms and inexperienced kids may not know the difference because they're easily amused/convinced. I need a machine capable of and that was made to pull me in to another world. I've spent wayyyy more on my games than they have on theirs I promise.
@MrGawain I still care about EA. :/
EA is trash
Didn't a similar strategy not work out to well for another company, I'm thinking it was either CapCom or SquareEnix?
@Link41x My friend's trying to get me into Dragon Age and I'm trying not to but am captivated by Mirror's Edge.
When I think of 3DS and Vita, I think Nintendo, Sony, and Indie games. Maybe a little Ubisoft since they're on everything. I can't recall any big name portable EA games since their licensed tie-ins to The Lord of the Rings. I wouldn't think that their $30 Plants vs. Zombies packages did well in sales.
It's probably simpler (and therefore cheaper, which means more profitable) for them to develop for mobile. Their driving games have been pretty fun and they have Popcap and Bioware. I don't hate them as much as many people do. Unlike many other game studios, at least they are still in business, and much of that is probably because of what we see as duck moves.
YES!!!! No more EA polluting our handheld devices (meaning the 3DS...)
@HeroOfCybertron Probably Capcom, and probably for financial reasons. Maybe just maybe they're finding that selling v.3 of an arcade fighting game for $40/unit doesn't fly in this market. In other words, they're probably shrinking out of desperation, not just greed or stupidity. All speculation on my part but that's what internet comments are all about.
Bye bye EA, you won't be missed lol.
Actually, this is good news for Nintendo 3rd party developers giving them back a share of the market so they can produce better games.
It works for me because I never buy mobile games, so not a single chance I will be buying another EA game.
" and you have to make some hard calls when you've got only so many people"
Are you an indie studio? You are a huge dinosaur of a company, buying smaller devs, so I don't believe that at all. Stop making games with obscene budgets and the human resource will always be there.
@HeroOfCybertron Capcom. (They have decided to not support physical controls up to this point). If they do I will take all of them. Square Enix always have two or three games in the highest grossing list on Android so I cannot imagine they are doing badly out of it. (So does Sega).
@cfgk24 They will still release the roster updated Fifa. (Which sucks because as a game Konami's is loads better at least '13).
Besides FIFA, I didn't knew Nintendo had EA games...
It's going to be a big loss trying to compete in a market were half the games are free, and the other half is not bought by so many people, while losing the handheld profits... their loss in the end
Honestly it's a perfect fit for EA. They're main target market is the casual crowd, and they're all on mobile today. What disappoints me more is that industry veterans like Mistwalker are now going mobile only because the dedicated gaming market in Japan is dead.
No big loss for the 3DS. Would have been nice, but eh.
Sony has abandoned the Vita being an independent gaming platform, now its just a remote PS4 player, so no point in EA being the omly company making games for it.
EA and Nintendo still have issues over the Wii U, so no point in them making games for the 3DS.
So basically EA doesn't want to make Vita or 3DS games and they are just using phones as an excuse so they don't have to bad mouth Sony and Nintendo so they can do business with them. Who knows, maybe Wii U sells this holuday and next year gets a Madden game.
And a 3DS successor should be out by 2016 - relegating the 3DS to cheap DS status while the new handheld builds a base - so maybe EA will be back.
Mobile games are here to stay, but as long as dedicated handheld gaming devices exist, mobile games will only be watered-down experiences comparatively.
Who cares they only make rubbish anyway
Translation: We found that scamming people and making some somewhat good games only for the i Phone is much more profitable than what we were doing.
I don't own a smartphone or tablet but a great Dungeon Keeper game (episodical if need be) on the 3DS or Wii U would be something i'd be very interested in.
@Kodeen You've totally misunderstood what I was saying - EA is acting like the dedicated handheld console market won't even exist in a few years.
Awwww, and i have such good memories of EA, from back when PC screens had 256 colours max and were 320x200 pixels... :3
I'm sitting here, trying really hard to think of anything EA did in the past 10 years that i gave a toss about, and i'm coming up blank, and seeing what they did to "Dungeon keeper" (I used to love that game, you know, the PC-version) really makes me angry, thanks for reinforcing the bad stereotype of mobile games there, EA!
He has a point about 3DS and Vita (By then we'll know what the 3DS follow-up will be and Vita is pretty much dead right now), but it's all overshadowed by the series of cluster*BEEP* EA has been pulling recently.
EA screwed the pooch a long time ago in my eyes. If you're not a sports fan, nothing to love from this dev. Get yer shovels ready iOS and Android folks...
I was warned many years ago never to work for EA when i was in college and this is a example why. they rather make shovelware games for 99 cents rather than create a great game and support actual gamers... EA worst company in the world.
"Over the years EA has gained a reputation for making garbage games, so we have decided to shift our portable focus to the one platform where garbage games not only thrive, but dominate."
Just one more platform on which I won't buy their games.
The only game that I still play from EA is Mass Effect, because I love Bioware.
I have downloaded a lot of free games on my iPad — and deleted the majority of them.
The only good ones from EA were the ones made by studios it bought after they had done a game.
Many of the games become glitchy, are really just seeking microtransaction monies, or have too many interrupting ads to be enjoyable. That is why they are deleted.
Well that just makes it easier for me to avoid EA games, so I'm not complaining. Seriously this company should start listening to what people are complaining about
I don't think I even own an EA game any more since I burnt out on all the major sports games and sold my PS2 in favor of a Wii
I'm not going to lose any sleep over this one.
We only need monetary numbers to rise, so we fired some guys and said we only have finite sources, so we move on to lower cost development. Hey, good news, now we don't need all the poeple we still employ, and quality is no longer a requirement to satisfy our consumers. Go fire some other low cost employees, (Timmy), you'll get a bonus of one year's salery for every five guys you fire without losing output. Nothing personal, JUST business as usual.
This is also a forerunner for all the home consoles. When the major third parties think they will make more money in tablets then you'll see a drop off in all console support. Eventually that's going to hit Sony and MSFT harder than Nintendo. The annual franchises will saturate the consoles - if they haven't already - and profits will drop. Developers like EA will claim it's because the market is shifting to mobile where they will then focus attention. To a degree they are right, but the annual releases - with not much extra - for £40 is a huge part of the shift. The home consoles will then either be faced with a sub-par experience, or they will subsidise the publishers to get something on their platform. It might not look good for Nintendo now, but they have such a golden stack of IP, and a nice pile of cash, I think the long term looks very different. I do however wish Nintendo would make some decent sports games!
What exactly is FY?
F@#k EA and everybody down with them. They're a nonfactor at this point.
@ModestFan93
How is him a troll??
Both statements were true: games look a lot better on iOS or Android, and support for physical buttons is on the rise.
Some very excellent games can be found on smartphones that easily rival the best on the 3DS.
Still, 3DS for me!!!
I think EA is too focused on "install bases" just because there are Millions of Smart Phone users doesn't mean 100% of them are potential customers. With 3DS/Vita 100% of their install base is buying games for more than a dollar. The only Big Publisher games I have ever had on my phone were free. They made no money off me. So I don't see how they will make much more on Smart Devices than Gaming Devices... just my opinion
@unrandomsam Hold the start or select buttons when you launch DS/DSi/VC games. They will launch in the proper resolution. They won't be fuzzy anymore. They will be acceptable again.
The mobile market is so volatile that for a big company to focus on it makes me question his sanity. Thousands of companies try to break into the mobile market. Maybe 10 of them will still exist next year. EA is big enough to not go out of business when they fail on mobile platforms, but they still have odds heavily in favour of losing every dime they invest here.
It's so dumb too. Madden 13 for Vita was a legitimate console-style Madden game on the go. It had a few flaws, but the system was still new to them. I figured by the time Madden 25 rolled around, they'd have ironed out the bugs. Then they go: "We're only releasing on HURRDDCOORRE SISSTEMS liek teh 360, PS3, Xbone, and PS4! Who gives a crap about Nintendo, or handhelds for that matter? Oh I know, let's release a horrible freemium version of Madden on tablets that looks like it came out on the N64!"
Go play in traffic, EA.
I wonder how Sony feels since, they were more dependent on portable versions of EA's games than Nintendo was. For the DS, Madden and Fifa were side versions, while the PSP versions of Madden were heavily promoted by Sony as system sellers.
But now, the Vita has lost a major selling point over the 3DS, which would have been having the best version of EA's sports games on a portable console.
I know Sony has dropped the ball with the Vita, but I get the impression that they were banking on big Third-Party developers to support the system, and put out games on the platform. When that failed to happen, Sony was left holding the bag trying to support the Vita on their own, while getting indies and niche Japanese developers to fill the void.
Losing Madden won't hurt the 3DS that much, since sports game never sold Nintendo handhelds anyway. But I wonder how much of an impact this will have on the Vita, since Sony made sports games a major selling point of the PSP.
This is just EA running scared again, knowing full well, they cannot match Nintendo's quality output on their handheld console.
@flojomojo Capcom, too!
It's their choice, but I won't touch a thing of theirs on mobile anymore. I was burned by Plants vs. Zombies 2 being changed from an enjoyable game to a grindfest that punished you for not spending money. Then there was the wonderful gem Dungeon Keeper that EA produced.
So yeah, good luck with that. I believe your game quality and bad reputation will burn you a who lot quicker on the platform that shows user feedback reviews on the download screen. Well, unless you manipulate it like you did with Dungeon Keeper.
Money.....there is no other reason for a business to make a decision. (and i'm not saying it in a hateful way)
Gee this will obviously turn out well for EA just like any other company that moves to mobile for a broader audience. [I'm being sarcastic]
They need an engine that can run on almost everything (or at least nintendo a next gen handheld). It's bad business to abandon a large portion of paying customers. They just need to figure out the best way to market to both.
"To my point, we've got to be planning for FY 17 and 18. Do you think the Vita and 3DS are going to be around in some shape or fashion by then on a scale level?"
Kudos to NL for calling them out on that. Obviously, we'll have our next handheld by then. Maybe even that home console/handheld hybrid people are talking about. Whatever EA, I won't miss you. Enjoy making games that get lost in a heap of garbage, or in other words, the App Store.
They care about money more than making great games now. The last basketball game they made after years off was bad. Titanfall is not a full game and I feel cheated buying it on 360 even though I got it on sale for almost half off. There quality is going down hill in the favor of making money now. So even though they are not making games of nintendo systems it is probably for the best.
You have to put more effort in your porting to handhelds, the console version obviously do better because you always make watered down ports of popular games cheating out gamers. Like the EA Sports titles while I don't play them I know every system that isn't "next gen" just receives the same game as last year just with an updated roster and features.Like Fifa 14 was released on PS2 I have no idea why anyone would buy that
Wow, EA must have built a time machine and old pete must have travelled back to the future.
What if, EA did make time machines. They would rush it out for it's year-round release and then you program in some place/thing nice to witness. Then you end up on some battle field in 1066....
and within 3 months, we'll see them put something on some kind of handheld. They tend to say a lot of things and do the opposite.
I haven't bought an ea game for years and don't plan too for many to come
You're telling me there will be no more Nintendo-related whining from EA? Aww yiss.
Now EA will start blaming smartphone manufacturers for the fact that nobody is buying their games.
I'd actually be cool if the 3DS remained the standard till 2017, though by 2018 I may have worn the battery down to a nub :3 (good riddance EA, though I DID like the mysims games...)
shivers dungeon keeper. Ewwww
Eh, I don't see what the big deal with smartphones, and tablets are, or why some companies think they're more important then actual dedicated game systems. Sure they're good for casual/brief gaming, (which is what most of those "cheaper" games are, just mini-games, which this article fails to regard) but playing more "hardcore/dedicated" games along the lines of Final Fantasy, or Zelda on them are kinda annoying to me without buttons, and such. I love my 3DS personally, so I'll stick with that, and just use phones to talk on, like they originally were meant to be. (Seriously, they put so many features on cellphones nowadays, do people even use them to talk on? Are they really phones anymore?)
Can't say I'll miss EA though, as most of their games don't interest me... Aside from Sim City, but that was originally made by Maxis. (Which EA bought unfortunately, which is probably why the SNES Sim City is no longer available on Virtual Console... Shame, 'cause Miyamoto & Will Wright are good friends, and worked on the SNES game together.)
He might have a point about 2018. I'm not sure if Nintendo will make another handheld or how it will penetrate the market by then, and of course, Sony's is DOA. But the overall behavior of EA is so pathetic, so revolting, so lousy and poor, that they can't really bring themselves to do anything bold or creative. Obviously there's money to make now and in the near future on the 3DS. You can release a Bravely Default or a Prof. Layton competitor on the 3DS which will be awesome, if you had any imagination or boldness.
The money is in the mobile market and return to handhelds when the market dries up. How else will they shower.
I'm sorry, but after the recent "Dungeon Keeper", I refuse to believe this is a matter of limited resources, and what they think will still be around in the future.
To me it looks like an open and close case of "the cheapest way to make the most money".
No one would ever give that unspeakable horror a glance on a DS or PS-anything, but on mobiles, not only is it accepted, but it's the norm, it even flourishes! It was the editors choice at some point.
But it was utterly awful, with no thought put into making the game fun, only how to make money.
And it does. That is the worst thing of all. As much as people are saying "let them rot", mobile games are going to make EA a huge amount of capital. Probably more than they'd make if they made games for the DS and PSV. Probably more than they'll make on their AAA titles, or even all their console and PC games combined. As the games are cheap, yes, but they're a lot cheaper to produce, and people spend money on them CONTINUALLY.
There is no way that there won't be a dedicated Ninny portable still in the far future, baring some apocalypse of some sort, as while some mobile games can actually be fun, there are still limitations that come from the device not being designed for games in mind, and a lack of first party games; plus the fact the publishers/developers don't treat it like a proper games platform most of the time, especially the publishers. And why should they, when there are larger profits in treating it like they do? And as long as they do, there will always be a need for dedicated portable gaming.
So yeah, EA, don't mask your true reasons with stuff you scooped off a cow field. It just makes us dislike you more. Here's a preemptive congrats for winning that worst company award again this year, bar another company causing that previously mentioned apocalypse.
@MrGawain
considering that I never had an EA game on my GB, GBC,GBA, NDS or 3DS can't say that I care what EA dose.
Either EA's bad habits are catching up with them and they can't manage console level games. Or they realized the App market has a larger pool of people less likely to be industry savvy and thus easier to soak for dollars than the other gamers
Do you want to know what my last EA game purchase was? [Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge - Red Alert 2: Expansion Pak] from when PC games were on CD's 13 years ago in 2001. Good riddance, crash and burn EA, CRASH AND BURN HARD...
Good riddance. They'll be much more at home there.
The REAL Reason
1. Vita is dead.
2. Nintendo's stance: You can't support 3DS after publicly abandoning the Wii U.
EA: @#%$ it, were're mobile only then.
FACT.
EA is garbage. Their games stink. They are the worst company ever. I rarely buy games on my iPad and iPhone if I do it's SquareEnix. I will boycott them. I have a Ps4, ps3, xbox360, Wii U and 3ds xl, and Vita. They will not get one scent of my money and everybody here should do the same. Sure they have FIFA, I like it but I won't never get it. They decimated the Ultima series, SIm series, mass effect one of the nice but I will pass.
What EA really means is that they couldn't create "games" such as Dungeon Keeper on the 3DS or Vita because they know no real gamer would ever, ever touch it and invest all their hard earned cash on the endless number of micro transactions they love to put in their free to play titles. Am I right?
Ugh. I just wish that the video game sports industry isn't monopolized by EA. The only deviation is from Mario and rare retail releases and eshop releases.
MONEY MONEY MONEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETxmCCsMoD0
I wonder if EA would have won the worst company in america again this year had they dropped this bomb before the vote? Meh, it means not a lot to me, I only like burnout which they don't seem to want to make anymore and battlefield which has been steadily r@ped of all identity since bad company 2 so wasn't looking forward to the next one.
I liked some of their games (SimCity, the Sims 3, NfS Most Wanted, etc), so I think it's sad they are shifting to mobile.
I guess if they think the money is there, okay...
They keep saying "consoles will cease to exist" basically and the year keeps being pushed forward. Remember "EA says consoles wont exist by 2015" well it's 5 months away and looks like they're not going anywhere. Not to mention the 3DS is nearly always #1 sold game unit in JP, NA and EU over and over, month after month. They try and fuel the doom train, and for what? For the games that fail to run on the computer or that micro charge you $10,000 on your free app for your phone.
The only ea game i'm waiting for is star wars battlefront and that won't be on a nintendo console anyway (really hope they don't screw that game up)
@Jorzha I want it to be good, but I will hold off until they show actual gameplay footage. Plus I am in two minds over DICE being developer.
Still, things may well still look up. It maybe free to play, full of wonderful micro transactions just begging you to pay to buy extra ammo, guns, characters, levels, textures, music, sound, controller support etc. Not a bad deal really, just cost you your life savings and four mortgages on your home, sell your car and max out nine credit cards.
sure Phone games LOOK prity... but allot of the time thay play like utter crap (im yet to get a controler for my phone so i can not comment on that side I mean the tochscreen only... iv had about 3 Decent games and all 3 were more or less identical all swipe slash controls like Dragon slayer i think the name was)
@FalconPunch FY = Financial Year, but in the case of EA it might as well be what most of us wish to say to them...
@TheRealThanos Thanks for clearing that up. If everybody hates EA, just do what I do: ignore their line of products!
@Bizzyb Surprised you're the only one who saw this!
I mean seriously, making game for phones? Come on dawg, those people don't even know who EA freaking is. Your name is not going to make you succeed, look at Crapcom. But again, it's not like they have any choice. The Vita is pretty much dead and they probably did not receive full support from Nintendo to release games on the 3DS. All they have left in the portable section is phones. Poor EA.
@FragRed Spot on amigo. People are already raging at Nintendo for the Mario Golf DLC. Imagine the chaos if mobile micro-transaction games are on the 3DS
Does not affect me since I have not bought an EA game in 7 years. Theme Park DS was it.
I would of bought that Shonen Kininden Tsumuji game they made but EA chose not to bring it out.
Makes perfect business sense, though it does nothing to satisfy core Nintendo gamers, though they burned that bridge quite some time ago.
I hope EA sink soon, Capcom did the same thing and now is hanging on a thread, Square Enix may soon follow as well.
Well, EA has to prepare for when they become a full time shovelware company, so this sounds like an excellent move for them /sarcasm
Maxis would do better to be un-affiliated with EA.
The CEO is a hypocrite
Damn there goes Fifa 16 Legacy Legacy edition for the 3ds.
Or is it because 3ds & Vita owners arent stupid & wont spend £30 on a game they can get for a £1 on their phone.
Ea just should look at all the big gaming names that exist no more
Go home, EA, you're drunk.
Well that bode well for the next Fifa on 3DS...
EA joins the party of half ass'd broken, bug ridden games. Maybe that's right where EA needs to be. I'm not usually one for EA bashing. They have done so much for video gaming. It seems to be a what have you done for me lately treatment. No doubt that Phones and Tablets are doing very well. Nintendo really has their work cut out for them. Well I guess that ends my dream of an NHL hockey game on 3ds
Well, even if they were doing more dedicated handheld games, wouldn't they resemble mobile games anyways? Not sure if we're missing out.
Everyone just continue to boycott EA, we have the power!
@HeroOfCybertron @kereke12
Change that or to an and then you have it right. Both got burned hard thought to my knowledge only one "learned" from it.
I cant really blame them. There's an infinite install base with phones and that demographic buys 3rd party games unlike Nintendo fans.
@FragRed lol soooo true.. that and EA forgot how to make GOOD games.. just cash grabs.
The problem with making games for 3DS and Vita is that they can't bloat them to the hilt with microtransactions anwhere near as easily as they can with games on mobile devices.
So in typical recent EA fashion, they're scumming for cash rather than aiming for quality.
Yeah, I get that they're a business who are there to make money, not entertain a small userbase of people but it's just sad to see what they've become considering how prolific and high quality they were most of the time in the past.
And as has been pointed out, they may not necessarily make as much money from the mobile market as they think. It's massively competitive and overcrowded now, and most people go for free apps or only buy them when they're practically being given away.
Good riddance. Only game I want from EA is Star Wars Battlefront. Unfotunately, I don't have a PS4 or XB1, and the game has a 0% chance of coming to Wii U. My PC probably couldn't run it either.
They're not going to be very successful in the mobile market, at least not in the long term. Go ask Capcom and Square Enix.
I feel like this is a good time to bring this up: Do you guys think we are heading towards another industry crash?
The problem is not that there are more people who own a smartphone/tablet compared to those who own 3DS/Vita, but that EA has been crap since the end of the 5th gen and making little app games is a lot cheaper, quicker and easier to pump out low quality dreg instead of focusing on a game that is actually 'fun'.
I agree with the above poster about Battlefront, but I don't really consider that EA since it's mostly DICE (which yes is a subsidiary of EA, but they have a bit more of my respect.)
Companies like EA that are pro mobile and anti- handheld are the worst thing to happen to the videogame industry since the day Sony brought out the Playstation ( and thus edged SEGA out, the whole industry has been the worse for it, thanks Sony).
@Guybrush20X6 Capcom is not under buyout. They are changing their stock policy. Please read more than a headline on the matter. But yes, they aren't doing well due to mobile.
The last time EA did anything worth while was back on the PS1. They've been on a money sloop downwards ever since.
@Nomad I hate Sony for creating cancer and world hunger too.
That he picks the phrasing "consuming games", is all I need to see the perspective on this.
Electronic Arts have no intention of even again producing electronic art pieces, but are content merely manufacturing digitally distributed consumer goods.
@Deathgaze Did I say sony created cancer and world hunger? No, I said they edged SEGA, an actual video game developer and not an electronics manufacturer, out of the games industry as a console maker to become a third party software developer only, and in the process lost a very interesting and talented console game company for what? Tekken and Ridge Racer and some FMV sequences.
Any gamer out there worth their salt would probably rather have a Dreamcast 3 instead of a Playstation 4. So take your smart ass attitude somewhere else.
If Dungeon Keeper and The Simpsons Tapped Out are anything to go by, then good riddance to bad rubbish. EA know that the general phone crowd will spend hundreds on consumable currency for their games and they just want to abuse that fact until the cows come home. After last year's news of children purchasing virtual cash worth hundreds of pounds in apps, EA would surely want to abuse that in any way they can.
@Nomad
If you think that SEGA went out of the console industry because of Sony alone, and that the PS1 had "Tekken, Ridge Racer, and some FMV sequences", I think you should go back and look at those systems, sorry.
SEGA killed themselves, and the PS1 had hundreds of worthwhile games from hundreds of worthwhile developers.
@8BitSamurai Actually, it was gamers that killed SEGA by voting with their wallets. Long time loyal SEGA and Nintendo gamers suddenly jumed shipped to Sony, a company that had little to no history or experience in the video game industry, with 1st party offerings that were not as good as SEGA's or Nintendo's IP's. it is true that PSX eventually amassed a vast library of quality games, but both Namco's Tekken and RR were instrumental in playstations success in its launch period. As for FMV sequences, lots of gamers back then were wooed by these non playable videos that were not representative of the actual in game graphics, much the same way gamers these days get hyped over videos of new release games that don't show any in game footage.
SEGA did make some mistakes, the Saturn was difficult to program for compared to Playstation, which appealed to many developers and their surprise launch confused a lot of people. Personally, I didn't find those reason enough to jump ship like many gamers did. To me, that would be like not buying a Playstation 4 because Samsung were about to bring out a new console with only a couple of good 3rd party games.
As good as Playstation is, and I'm not saying that their not good, IMHO I think the Video Game industry lost out by jumping ship from SEGA to Sony.
@Nomad
Releasing a system too early with a disastrous launch at a high price point, making it ill-suited for the popular 3D games of the times, making it hard to develop for, mishandling localizations, mismanaging the company's finances, and not even putting a Sonic game (Except Sonic Arrrgh) on it.
If that isn't killing yourself, I don't know what is. I have nothing against the Saturn personally, I prefer the library to the N64's, but gamers should not feel obligated to support a company that feels like burying themselves.
@8BitSamurai Your right about the Saturns launch, it was disasterous and it came at a time when the industry was beginning to transition from 2D to 3D games. Unfortunately, the Saturn wasn't built to develop 3D games like the Playstation was.
Still, if SEGA had sold more Saturns they would have gotten better developer support. It just sucks that since SEGA no longer make consoles many of their IP's have just dissapeared. If they were still making consoles gamers could still enjoy their great games.
And yeah, its library beats the N64's.
they haven't supported the Vita or the 3DS. this announcement of theirs is basically 6 years late.
What a coincidence, my long term strategy is to avoid games made by EA.
@Nomad
I do feel you though on the SEGA IPs.
Where's OutRun 3? What happened to Streets of Rage? Crazy Taxi? Golden Axe (nevermind...), Ristar, etc... It seems like they only make Sonic now, and they do a bad job at it too.
EA reconfirms that they are fools.
@FragRed
I agree, We just have to wait and see I guess. By the way did you see what they showed us at E3? I thought they were longer in the development of the game before i saw the e3 video from DICE. but i could see that they loved working on it =P
Nintendo should buy out the controlling stock for capcom then do MH4 a new resident evil and street fighter and mega man for wiiu would be nice!
@Nomad Excuse the late reply. I bet you forgot all the other great Sony exclusive games. FF7-10, Suikoden 1-5, Star Ocean 2-3, Metal Gear Solid 1-4, Resident Evil 3 (limited), Alundra 1-2, Ghost in the Shell, Castlevania SOTN (English), Parasite Eve 1-2, Tactics Ogre, good Crash Bandicoots, Tombi, etc. You get the point. Stop hating. Sega killed themselves. Their only good consoles are the Mega Drive and the Dreamcast anyways.
@Deathgaze Yeah the PSX has a great library of games, there's no denying that. Look people, I didn't mean to open a can of worms here, especially considering this topics about EA. I'm a SEGA fan, cant deny it, but their gone. Better get in line and buy a PS4 like every one else.
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