I am loathe to give props to EA, but I do want to shout out their EA Originals label which has given us the likes of It Takes Two and the Unraveled games as a counterpoint to their aging behemoth franchises. I'm happy that at least a little bit of that Ultimate Team cash has gone to producing quirky co-op platformers I can play with my partner. It is the one aspect of EA that stands out in contrast to the likes of Ubisoft, which seem to have given up entirely on these smaller low to mid-budget/original IP games.
I'm hoping It Takes Two's critical and commercial success will save the EA Originals label from the axe after a future takeover or merger, but I'm not too optimistic. Maybe they'll have to cram in yarn based loot boxes for Unraveled 3 - the Battle Pass will make it easier to unlock the merino wool cosmetic skin.
Big fan of the newsletter, been a subscriber since day one. One thing you didn't mention about EA over the past couple of years which could become a new cash cow for them is their acquisition of Codemasters and as part of that, specifically the F1 franchise. By no means am I expecting it to become the new FIFA but the past 3 years has seen explosive growth in the popularity of F1 all around the world and specifically in the USA after the acquisition of Formula One by Liberty Media from Bernie Ecclestone in 2017. Liberty have done a number of things to increase its popularity but one of the major things was signing the Netflix deal for Drive to Survive. In the USA, we have gone from 1 to 4 races per season in a very short period of time. Back to EA though, I can see this growth translating into the F1 game being a big revenue generator for EA not only through sales but also through their podium pass. Further evidence of F1s new found popularity is that Frontier will be entering the market with their own F1 team management game.
The news that Wilson is trying to retain his CEO status is the most concerning thing about this. The best thing any sort of acquisition or merger could do is replace the upper management of EA. As you covered, their track record over the last few years doesn't exactly fill me with confidence or excitement, so some fresh thinking at the top would be most welcome.
Sadly whichever way this goes I don't think it'll significantly change EA's approach to games of late, which means we won't get the Titanfall 3 the world so deserves; because damn if 2's campaign wasn't one of the best single player campaign experiences of the last decade, and its multiplayer was tragically sent out to die in a packed release window.
I am loathe to give props to EA, but I do want to shout out their EA Originals label which has given us the likes of It Takes Two and the Unraveled games as a counterpoint to their aging behemoth franchises. I'm happy that at least a little bit of that Ultimate Team cash has gone to producing quirky co-op platformers I can play with my partner. It is the one aspect of EA that stands out in contrast to the likes of Ubisoft, which seem to have given up entirely on these smaller low to mid-budget/original IP games.
I'm hoping It Takes Two's critical and commercial success will save the EA Originals label from the axe after a future takeover or merger, but I'm not too optimistic. Maybe they'll have to cram in yarn based loot boxes for Unraveled 3 - the Battle Pass will make it easier to unlock the merino wool cosmetic skin.
Big fan of the newsletter, been a subscriber since day one. One thing you didn't mention about EA over the past couple of years which could become a new cash cow for them is their acquisition of Codemasters and as part of that, specifically the F1 franchise. By no means am I expecting it to become the new FIFA but the past 3 years has seen explosive growth in the popularity of F1 all around the world and specifically in the USA after the acquisition of Formula One by Liberty Media from Bernie Ecclestone in 2017. Liberty have done a number of things to increase its popularity but one of the major things was signing the Netflix deal for Drive to Survive. In the USA, we have gone from 1 to 4 races per season in a very short period of time. Back to EA though, I can see this growth translating into the F1 game being a big revenue generator for EA not only through sales but also through their podium pass. Further evidence of F1s new found popularity is that Frontier will be entering the market with their own F1 team management game.
The news that Wilson is trying to retain his CEO status is the most concerning thing about this. The best thing any sort of acquisition or merger could do is replace the upper management of EA. As you covered, their track record over the last few years doesn't exactly fill me with confidence or excitement, so some fresh thinking at the top would be most welcome.
Sadly whichever way this goes I don't think it'll significantly change EA's approach to games of late, which means we won't get the Titanfall 3 the world so deserves; because damn if 2's campaign wasn't one of the best single player campaign experiences of the last decade, and its multiplayer was tragically sent out to die in a packed release window.