In a matter of time, it would hardly be surprising to see Electronic Arts next move on the game industry: a fully fledged game console. The evidence is staggering. Look at this list of companies they have bought (and attempted to buy) over the past few months:
Criterion
NFL
DICE
Studio 33
Part of Ubi Soft
And then this week, an initial attempt at the NBA (and they'll likely try again)
Now, think about how scary this is. EA gets themselves some of the top developers/games. EA creates a new game console. EA keeps all of their major franchises on their own console. Instant winner in the console wars.
Don't think so? Think about a game system that plays Madden exclusively. On that title alone, the console will sell because the masses seem to have some sort of obsession with the title. Add in the fact that it's the only pro football game in town, and you have an instant success. If they can a make a competitive game console, get a profit, and have a slew of recognizable games (regardless of quality) made exclusive for it, which of the three console makers will be next to go?
On a side note, how much money can this company possibly have to throw around? The NFL deal alone would be enough to break most publishers, but now they tossed out an offer to the NBA? Never mind the Lord of the Rings and James Bond. Could this be a company soon to be bigger than Microsoft?
Article comments
1 - Mario Rosales
I have to disagree with Matt on the prospect of EA's success. By removing the Madden franchise from other consoles, they would severely limit themselves to marketshare. Believe it or not, their offerings of games pale by comparison to the number of games offered by other three console players. Sports games alone will not sustain a console maker. One has to realize that EA, like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are global, and US sports games are not the main breadwinner.
2 - another matt
ummm...i'll disagree with Mario. As far as I know, EA is the #1 money-maker as far as 3rd party console titles go. at least in the US. It's true that there are far more abundant offerings from other developers, but few other companies have EA's frightening ability to draw in the casual and hardcore gamers.