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Posted
Jul 25 2008, 12:43 AM
Neither fish nor fowl.
That is the predicament that E3 now finds itself in as the dust settles from last week’s summit. There was a palpable sense of frustration at the structure and logistics from all participants, from publishers like ourselves to the working press and financial analysts. Soulless and lacking an epicenter, the fragmented layout gave no indication whatsoever that we are the fastest growing entertainment medium in the world. While I am not sure I want to revert back to the old days of excess and one-upmanship, I do know that this format isn’t working…
Looking ahead to the future of E3, here’s what I do know:
• We’re confident that we can work with the ESA to make this right. There are important meetings ahead that we think will be substantive and be productive in finding the right path forward.
• Let’s invite the community. With the right planning, involving our biggest fans in E3 would bring back some of the raw passion the event has lost.
Whether it’s E3, or whether it’s in our forums, my belief is bringing in the fans helps us to create better games and bring new ideas to the market. On the
EA SPORTS World forums, our producers are now regularly interacting with consumers – our games are better for it, and it improves the fan experience. We’d love it if every game was perfect, but in all my years in the industry I’ve never seen a game with zero bugs. Because of the fans, we’ve already addressed a handful of issues in NCAA Football and NASCAR, and if we can create an environment to continue to get our games in the hands of you, our fans, sooner, then I’m all for it.
Cheers,
Peter
P.S. Random thought – do you think we might have to do a running change on the Madden packaging this year??
Posted
Jul 17 2008, 10:15 PM
Apologies for the lag time between posts - here in LA for E3,
where it's been a busy, but enjoyable, week for us here at EA.
I had a blast at our E3 press conference on Monday,
showcasing NBA LIVE 09 and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR All-Play in front of more than
1,000 media and analysts at the Orpheum Theater here in LA. Click here to check out the
webcast on G4 if you missed it.
It was a real treat to welcome NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton
and LPGA pro Natalie Gulbis on stage to help with the demos.
With Dynamic DNA in NBA LIVE - an innovation that helps us
integrate authentic behavior and tendencies of every NBA player and team by
using the real-world data used by NBA teams in game ... and then updating it daily
via online updates - we're investing heavily developing connected experiences
for the online gamer as well as delivering unparalleled quality and authenticity
in gameplay.
For those of you that have not seen the press conference,
seeing Bill Walton in full swing is a sight to behold, and well worth your time
to watch and enjoy. As you will see from the footage, Bill really got animated
about such diverse issues as Spore, anti-smoking, Kobe, Phoenix Suns, Grateful
Dead, the unpredictability of sports - all in about 90 seconds. He was a blast
to be on stage with, and even more fun down in the Green Room, where he regaled
us with stories of his time under the great John Wooden at UCLA .
Our Tiger Woods game is probably the best example of our new
direction on the Wii with All-Play, with games that are built from the ground up
with unique controls, presentations and modes. With the help of PGA Tour pro
Natalie Gulbis, we showed how a duffer like me and a pro like Natalie can
compete on an even playing field.
Here's a taste of the scene backstage from our green rooms
with Natalie and Bill, where we talked basketball and golf, as well as rehearsed
our presentation.
And then in front of the bright lights of the Orpheum Theatre.
