EA once again asked about NX support
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 10 Comments
Yesterday we posted some comments from EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund in response to a question Game Informer asked about NX. Now we have additional statements from another staffer: Peter Moore.
Moore was asked about EA’s stance on NX support, but like Soderlund, he was non-committal. Here’s the exchange between the two sides:
Eurogamer: Nintendo – it also has a new console coming out. EA, like a lot of publishers, were kind of quiet on Wii U. What is EA’s stance on supporting NX?
Peter Moore: I don’t know – obviously a lot of details are still to be unveiled. EA has developed for Nintendo for 30 years and I was famously quoted as saying we’re still good friends. I have lived the console cycle’s ups and downs – I launched the Dreamcast. Some publishers got behind that and some didn’t. But certainly, EA has never come out and said it won’t develop for Nintendo.
Eurogamer: EA had that ‘special relationship’ announcement for Wii U which never really materialised – how do you see NX being different in that regard? It sounds like Nintendo are again choosing a path which is not trying to compete with other consoles EA supports and simply be another Xbox or PlayStation. Does that make Nintendo a more difficult proposition to support?
Peter Moore: Nintendo has always based its success on its first-party games because it is a brilliant first-party developer. If you asked that question to them they’d say they have to launch with first-party software first – that’s where the first dev kits go.
More: EA, interview, Peter Moore
EA praises Nintendo, but quiet on NX support for now
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 28 Comments
We’ve seen a couple of third-parties announce titles for NX even though the system still hasn’t been properly unveiled. We’ve also heard about some publishers who have left the door open to support. With EA though, their intentions are less clear.
Game Informer asked EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund about NX at Gamescom today. While he was quick to praise the big N, he wasn’t willing to come out and comment on the new platform for now.
He said:
“Nintendo is such an instrumental part of our whole industry. They deserve to be successful, and they deserve to be a major player in the business, given their pedigree. It’s not only the machines that they’ve built, but also the IPs they’ve brought to market. There are very few companies like Nintendo. Whenever they bring something to market that we see an addressable market for, we’ll be there. Given that they haven’t announced [a new console] officially or shown it, I can’t comment specifically.”
More: EA, interview, Patrick Soderlund, top
EA will have games on NX “if it makes sense”
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 31 Comments
EA will make games for NX “if it makes sense” for the publisher to do so, according to executive vice president Patrick Soderlund.
In an interview with with BBC, Soderlund had this to say about supporting the new console:
“I personally and the company are huge fans of Nintendo, they’re the reason why I started making games. We’re in constant communication with them and when they come to market something – and if it makes sense for us – we’ll be there.”
Many remember when EA appeared on stage at Nintendo’s E3 2012 media briefing to announce an “unprecedented partnership” between the two sides. That relationship fizzled out soon after the console’s launch. EA’s final Wii U game was Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
More: EA, interview, Patrick Soderlund
Rumor: EA has had NX dev kits for awhile, other tidbits
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch | 111 Comments
Update: Some additional rumored details from Nintendo Life:
– Information comes from “several” EA staffers
– EA was apparently one of the first publishers to get access to NX development hardware
– Nintendo is citing EA as a key ally when it comes to making its next console a success
– Multiple meetings in March
– Meetings will apparently decide how much support EA (EA Sports) arm will be giving Nintendo in the near future
– EA wants “a detailed plan” on how Nintendo intends to win over sports fans with NX
– EA is keen to learn how Nintendo intends to build up a large enough “sports” audience on NX
– This was apparently one of the key reasons for the publisher abandoning Wii U
– EA is asking Nintendo to spend more advertising dollars during televised sporting events like NFL games, NBA games, MLB games, World Cup matches and the World Series in order to claim this audience
– EA is citing the fact that both Sony and Microsoft spend a large portion of cash during such events, and that EA’s titles are given prominence in promotional campaigns
– Sources see Nintendo not bundling EA games with consoles as an insult; both Sony and Microsoft are involved with such bundles
– The company will be asking Nintendo to consider shipping NX consoles with leading EA Sports titles, such as FIFA and Madden
– During a December meeting between EA and Nintendo executives, an EA exec “criticized Wii U for not having entertainment apps for MLB.TV, NBA, WWE Network, NHL Gamecenter Live, and the NFL”
– EA believes PS4 having these apps is a key reason for the machine’s success among sports fans
– EA wants NX to be able to run such apps or offer similar functionality
As relayed on Twitter by Liam Robertson, someone well-known for discovering information about cancelled games and other industry news, EA is in rumored to be in possession of NX development kits. Furthermore, they’ve apparently had them for awhile.
Robertson has also said that Nintendo and EA will meet in March “to hash things out and discuss potential plans.” It sounds like EA wants to pursue cross promotions such as sports console bundles. Robertson added that “EA wants Nintendo to help them cultivate an audience for sports fans if they’re going to go on board with NX.”
Here’s a roundup of everything posted by Robertson:
Don't read too much into this. It means what it means – potential plans. It sounds like mostly very early stuff and EA is still unsure.
— Thrillho (@Doctor_Cupcakes) February 22, 2016
Nintendo is the only one of the big three that doesn't do this, and they're hoping to get them to budge on this.
— Thrillho (@Doctor_Cupcakes) February 22, 2016
EA wants Nintendo to help them cultivate an audience for sports fans if they're going to go on board with NX.
— Thrillho (@Doctor_Cupcakes) February 22, 2016
More: EA
EA says it doesn’t make Wii U games anymore “because the market is not big enough”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii, Wii U | 101 Comments
EA dropped its support for Wii U long ago. The publisher’s last game was Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, a title that shipped in March 2013.
EA’s chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen explained why the company is no longer creating games for Wii U during the UBS Global Technology Conference. At the end of the day, “the market is too small,” he said. This applies to Wii as well, though the limelight on that console faded long ago and support for it was expected to end with the introduction of Wii U a few years ago.
Below are Jorgensen’s comments in full:
“We don’t make games anymore for the Wii or the Wii U because the market is not big enough, the PS Vita – the Sony product – we don’t make games for that anymore because the market is too small, so it’s all about the size of the market. As one of the largest software producers we have all of the manufacturers of equipment coming to us to try to sell us on their equipment and giving us development kits to try to build software for it. So we’ll build software for various ones but we’ll really wait and see how big the market is going to be.”
While EA has moved on from Wii U, perhaps it could support NX in the future. CEO Andrew Wilson stated a couple of weeks ago that the company will “evaluate any and all opportunities” concerning Nintendo.
More: Blake Jorgensen, EA
EA on NX – “will evaluate any and all opportunities” when it comes to Nintendo
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 38 Comments
EA and Nintendo have had somewhat of a rough relationship over the past few years. During the Wii U’s E3 unveiling a few years back, you may recall that now former CEO John Riccitiello came on stage to pledge the company’s support for the console. Ultimately, we ended up with Mass Effect 3, FIFA 13, and Madden NFL 13 at launch. Need for Speed: Most Wanted U came a few months later, but EA’s support was pretty much over by the middle of 2013.
Now with NX, Nintendo has a new system on the horizon. Is that something EA could be interested in? Perhaps.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson was asked about the publisher’s resource management during its Q2 2016 earnings call earlier this week. In response, he said:
As we look to the future, we see a world where more people are playing on more platforms in more geographies then ever before. We see the platform cycle now, not just as a traditional six-year console cycle, but as a six-month refresh rate on mobile devices, smart TV’s, Internet-enabled refrigerators, or whatever it might be.
And what we’re doing, in terms of resource allocation, is really investing at a core digital platform level, at an engine level, and at a game architecture level, to ensure that we are able to deliver amazing experiences: 6 inches to 60 inches, and beyond; two minutes to two hour session times, and beyond; across any and all relevant devices where gamers are playing.
And as it relates to Nintendo, we’ve had a tremendous relationship with them over the years. And we will evaluate any and all opportunities with them, in the same way we do all platform opportunities.
So there’s definitely not anything there in terms of a commitment, though EA appears to be leaving the door open. If nothing else, they seem to still value their relationship with Nintendo.
More: EA
Update: No Wii U or Wii either – FIFA 16 won’t be on 3DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 33 Comments
Update (5/31): It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but there are no plans for FIFA 16 on Wii U. It won’t be on Wii either,.
FIFA games have been appearing on Nintendo’s portable systems for over a decade. However, with FIFA 16, the streak is coming to a close.
EA confirmed to Pocket Gamer that the latest entry won’t be on the 3DS (or PS Vita for that matter). FIFA 12 up through FIFA 15 all launched on the handheld.
EA didn’t say why it decided to stop supporting the 3DS when it comes to the FIFA franchise, but the company is likely opting to focus on the mobile release instead.
SimCity game was apparently in the works for Wii U, but was cancelled in October 2011
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 1 Comment
EA is rumored to have been working on a new SimCity console game in recent years that sadly ended up as a cancelled project.
Liam Robertson from Unseen64 – a site known for digging up game information including games that never made it to market – writes on Twitter that the title would have landed on Wii U in addition to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The plug was apparently pulled back in October 2011.
A prototype was created, though EA did not move forward with the new SimCity console project. It would have released alongside the 2013 PC game.
This just in – EA was working on a Sim City game for consoles – PS3, 360 and Wii U. Cancelled in October 2011.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 1, 2014
The game was prototyped, but EA decided not to move forward with it. It would have been released alongside the 2013 game.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 1, 2014
@NintenDaan I have been speaking to someone who worked on it and some other EA projects.
— Wonder Tamaki~ (@Doctor_Cupcakes) December 1, 2014
FIFA 15 Launches for 3DS and Wii in September
Posted on 10 years ago by Kirara Koneko(@KiraraKoneko) in 3DS, General Gaming, News, Wii | 9 Comments
As we mentioned before FIFA 15 was in development for Wii and 3DS, and its official launch date has been announced.
The game is slated to launch in North America on September 23, and in Europe on September 26.
Nintendo talks more about third-party Wii U support, Ubisoft and EA weigh in
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 23 Comments
Nintendo of America senior director of communications Charlie Scibetta has commented further on the situation surrounding third-parties and Wii U.
Scibetta told Ars Technica:
“We want the same thing that the third parties want, which is to grow the installed base. We’re confident that if we can do that by driving the installed base through first-party software, like Mario Kart 8, like Super Smash Bros., then the third-party developers will follow because then they’ll see there’s a large enough installed base that it’s worth their investment to bring their games to our platform. So it’s our job to grow that installed base to make it more attractive for them to come to our platform.”
“Sure, everybody would like to have games earlier, but the good thing about Nintendo is that product quality is really important to us, so we would never ship it early just to help our bottom line or our financials for the holiday season. It’s much more important for us to protect the brand, the goodwill we’ve built up with fans over the years.”
“The good thing about Nintendo is we’ve been dedicated to gaming for over 30 years now, and it’s not like we do anything else. It’s not like we’re going to go away from what we do and try something different. We’re in for the long haul in gaming.”
A couple of prominent publishers have weighed in regarding their support for Wii U as well.
First up, Ubisoft:
“We think that by releasing good games from fan favorite brands, like Mario Kart, Nintendo is taking steps to increase the Wii U’s adoption. We have games coming out for the Wii U this year, including Just Dance 2015 and Watch Dogs. For any other games we announced at E3, it’s too soon to say.”
An EA spokesperson also said the following:
“So far, we haven’t announced any new titles for the Wii U, but that doesn’t preclude us from doing so in the future.”
