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March 26th

So it’s 6am Sunday and I’m here in the office at Redwood Shores. Why? Workaholic? Nope. Stupid? It has been said. No, I’m watching my Mighty Reds vs. Man U on Setanta Sports in the EA SPORTS Bar…
And I wish I had never bothered. Down to 10 men after Mascherano’s completely avoidable red card (never get in the referee’s face while you already have a yellow card), Liverpool look second-rate in the face of the United onslaught, and any dreams of a Premier League title this year are now dashed once-and-for-all.

On a more positive note, as you probably know, all of our development work and brand and product marketing is conducted in our studios in Vancouver (EAC) and Orlando (Tiburon).  I spend a lot of time at both studios, and this past Thursday was a particularly fun trip for me up to EAC in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby. Purpose of my trip was to spend a day with our very talented FIFA team. It was both an educational as well as motivating day for me. I got to visit with many of the team at their workstations, and get a deeper understanding of the work we doing to maintain our positive momentum in the very competitive soccer category. It was also personally fulfilling to me to interact with so many teammates that are supremely passionate about their work (as well as “the beautiful game”).

While I can’t divulge much about what I saw as we prepare for a busy soccer year, with our Euro 2008 game shipping in advance of the tournament being held in Austria and Switzerland, and then of course our FIFA game later in the year, I can tell you that the team continues to do stellar work. Anyone that is a fan of the franchise has every reason to feel excited about what is on tap for 2008.  I also should mention that one of the best moments of my day was getting out on the pitch and playing some soccer at lunch time with the team.  Here’s a picture of the team.

You’ve also heard me start to talk about what a special year this is going to be for EA SPORTS with the 20th anniversary of Madden upon us.  As our planning and development continues to kick into high gear, I can promise you this is going to be a year to remember.  Even though I have people starting to stop me in the halls even at EA trying to get the latest scoop on this year’s game — who’s going to be on the cover, what bands are on the soundtrack, what are Tom Brady’s ratings going to be, etc. — I’m sworn  to secrecy to not divulge too many details until next month.  But I can tell you this, we do have some news to announce in the next day or two.  Keep an eye out for the first in what will be a series of announcements over the next few months about the Madden 20th anniversary...

As a preview to my next posting take a look at the following web site: http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk/index

For the princely sum of £35 (about $75), I am an part “owner” of the club. It is a fascinating experiment in social networking applied to sports. Stay tuned for a interview with Will Brooks, a UK sports journalist who is the creator of the concept.

I'd be remiss if I didn’t mention the start of the NCAA Tournament last weekend.  If only I had put a little more faith into the simulation we ran with our NCAA March Madness 08 game engine, which correctly predicted 13 of the Sweet 16, I wouldn’t be bringing up the rear in our friendly EA office pool.  That’s right, I’m in DEAD LAST.  I have to say, kind of an embarrassing.  But, what do I know about college basketball?  

-    Peter