After a 31% decrease in revenue from the last quarter of 2005, EA has announced a cutback of about 5% on its developer workforce in the US, as part of a "global re-evaluation", implying possibly more cuts. They've also cut prices on a range of fairly recent big-name games, including NFS:MW, in response to slow sales.
Just some trimming, the start of the decline for EA, or just a result of a general slowdown in the market?
I think some consumers have finally begun to grow bored with the endless rehashes that EA pumps out, and their list of titles for the end of last year didn't really have anything particularly stand-out in there. Games like Pro Evo have also begun to seriously eat away at the sales on the FIFA series too. A couple of titles ago, PES was a distinct second, but both games are now neck-and-neck in the charts, with PES even having the slightest of advantages. It might be time for EA to actually get down and really analyse each title to see where it's going wrong. That, and advertise the crap out of them like they used to.
Although they're hardly likely to go bust any time soon, a games industry without EA isn't neccesarily as great as many of you might think. As much as a lot of people dislike the company, they control nearly a quarter of the western games market, especially console wise, employ a hell of a lot of people, and are an excellent choice for small company developers who need a large-scale, well-funded publisher with a good distribution base. Nearly every publisher was willing to do a deal with Valve after the success of Half-Life 2, and they chose EA for a reason. they're a big part of the industry, and contribute a hell of a lot to the growth that games have undergone. The poor sales on the Gamecube over here were often (quite fairly) attributed to the lack of third-party support by the likes of EA, and they still hold a lot of sway, especially in the eyes of casual gamers who buy only the odd game here and there.
Thoughts?
Just some trimming, the start of the decline for EA, or just a result of a general slowdown in the market?
I think some consumers have finally begun to grow bored with the endless rehashes that EA pumps out, and their list of titles for the end of last year didn't really have anything particularly stand-out in there. Games like Pro Evo have also begun to seriously eat away at the sales on the FIFA series too. A couple of titles ago, PES was a distinct second, but both games are now neck-and-neck in the charts, with PES even having the slightest of advantages. It might be time for EA to actually get down and really analyse each title to see where it's going wrong. That, and advertise the crap out of them like they used to.
Although they're hardly likely to go bust any time soon, a games industry without EA isn't neccesarily as great as many of you might think. As much as a lot of people dislike the company, they control nearly a quarter of the western games market, especially console wise, employ a hell of a lot of people, and are an excellent choice for small company developers who need a large-scale, well-funded publisher with a good distribution base. Nearly every publisher was willing to do a deal with Valve after the success of Half-Life 2, and they chose EA for a reason. they're a big part of the industry, and contribute a hell of a lot to the growth that games have undergone. The poor sales on the Gamecube over here were often (quite fairly) attributed to the lack of third-party support by the likes of EA, and they still hold a lot of sway, especially in the eyes of casual gamers who buy only the odd game here and there.
Thoughts?
