Or at least that’s what Electronic Arts’ CEO John Riccitiello would have us believe. In an interview on gameindustry.biz, Riccitiello expressed concerns about the Metacritic scores of some of EA’s upcoming games. Who’s to blame? Cults, apparently.
Early last month, Steve Jobs and the rest of team Apple announced the release of the iPhone 2.0 software beta. This update enables Apple to fully leverage the SDK that it released earlier this year, which enables third-party developers to more easily create applications for the iPhone, by creating the “App Store.”
The App Store “lets users browse, search, purchase and wirelessly download third party applications directly onto their iPhone or iPod touch.” Importantly, Apple gives 70% of software sales revenues to developers and even lets development parties give their applications away for free.
So, why should this matter to Nintendo? Well, game publishers are already hailing the fact that this development may make the iPhone the handheld gaming platform of choice.
According to John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts, “The animation technology in the iPhone OS enables us to build awesome games… I think iPhone consumers are going to be blown away by the games we create for this platform.”
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EA’s founding tag line is “we see farther.” Well, in this case, that couldn’t be closer to the truth. EA sees where Take-Two Interactive is headed and wants a piece of the action. With Grand Theft Auto IV’s record-breaking first week sales of $500 million and Universal Pictures shooting a BioShock film, it’s no wonder Take-Two considers EA’s offer of $25.74 per share “grand theft.”
Despite the fact that EA is a much, much larger company, it knows that Take-Two can innovate, something that EA has had problems doing since the turn of the century. While EA has caught a nasty case of “sequel-itis,” Take-Two’s Rockstar Games is making a killing thanks to edgier titles, like Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt.
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