EA suffers from Sequelitis

[CptStern]

"Electronic Arts has suffered financial setbacks this year. Increasingly, industry analysts and game reviewers are wondering if the company's dependence on sequels is a sign that it is losing its creative edge.

By year's end, Electronic Arts plans to release 26 new games, all but one of them a sequel"

"There's a feeling of franchise fatigue. Gamers are wondering, 'Do I need to buy this game again this year? I just bought it last year,' " said Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners, an investment firm in Denver, who has a sell rating on the company's stock.

The reliance on sequels and licensed media properties, he said, is "dampening the creative spirit."


the real reason for sequels:


"Lawrence F. Probst III, chairman and chief executive of Electronic Arts said, sequels, because they have a steady following among consumers, appeal to Wall Street investors."

He added that the company had a goal of putting out at least one entirely new game every year, and had several major original games in its pipeline."

source

I guess we're all feeding into sequelitis just by buying games ...how many people are willing to shell out $60 on a game by a small developer with an unproven track record? ...I rarely buy games these days without a demo cuz I'm not willing to throw away money on a game that'll just gather virtual dust

 

[Korgoth]

we cant' talk about sequelitis on the half life 2 message board...

 

[Axyon]

we cant' talk about sequelitis on the half life 2 message board...

Yeah, but this sequel took 6 years... EA chugs them out every damn year.

 

[CptStern]

hehe good point

but valve is less interested in churning out carbon copies of the same game with minor additions

 

[VictimOfScience]

Its not at all unlike Lucasarts churning out bad Star Wars title after bad Star Wars title year after year.

It was good to hear that they might be changing their focus, though, thank goodness, to putting out one great Star Wars game instead of 4 bad ones in a certain timeframe. And with them also expanding their vision with new IPs and quality Indy Jones titles, I am cautiously optimistic about the expanding new face of Lucasarts.

And so its not surprising to hear that EA is all about the sure-fire money that sequels bring in, just like LA, but at least LA has realized that you can only milk a franchise for so long(never thought I'd say that ).

Also look at sports games, of which EA is a huge purveyor: What in the world are people buying Madden Football every year for??? I got NHL 2001 and haven't bought a new one since! Incredible that people will fall for this every time, just like sequels.

 

[Xune]

...churning out carbon copies...

You've hit the nail on the head Stern.

Sequels have their place, indeed, many games got better on their second (and third) itteration. However, many newer sequels merely regurgitate exactly the same game, with perhaps newer models or better looking textures. Nothing is improved in the desire to "stick to a winning formula".

This format of games production was doomed to failure, my only surprise is that it's only become apparent now that the games are rubbish.

 

[mortiz]

I'm willing to give any good game a chance, if it's a sequel or not. If the reviews roll in and they're good and other people recommend it why shouldn't I buy it?

This idea that we're all being branded so we only pick up recognized names it false imo. New I.P.'s that are actually decent are rare today, but they do happen, look at God of War. The bottom line is games sell themselves.

The problem lies in the fact that the publishers are perpetuating this idea that you need a recognized name to sell. They generally like to invest the big-bucks into games that have already proven themselves with a prequel meaning the companies who have good ideas for a new I.P. aren't getting the money and therefore are finding it difficult to produce a top quality product.

 

[CptStern]

You've hit the nail on the head Stern.

Sequels have their place, indeed, many games got better on their second (and third) itteration. However, many newer sequels merely regurgitate exactly the same game, with perhaps newer models or better looking textures. Nothing is improved in the desire to "stick to a winning formula".

This format of games production was doomed to failure, my only surprise is that it's only become apparent now that the games are rubbish.

the best examples I can think of to illustrate your point would be MoH and Battlefield games

each BF game improves on the original (BFV ..that could be disputed), where each MoH game after Allied Assualt were pale copies of the original ...MoH PA and Frontline were low points to the excellent MoH:AA

 

[mortiz]

To be fair to EA though, they are investing into Spore which is evolutionary for its genre (pun intended). Though when you have Will Wright and Maxis working on the product you're almost guarenteed a profit. At least they haven't put him on another "The Sims" sequel, although I'm sure there will be one.

 

[Korgoth]

Yeah, but this sequel took 6 years... EA chugs them out every damn year.

Oh i know, I was just being a wise ass :E

 

[Direwolf]

I just follow the reviews as best as I can, and since they seem to catch all but the most absolutely obscure titles I don't feel that sequels are becoming a huge problem.
In fact I think that its a sign of a fact that videogames have become serious enough business in the last ten years that when one is successful people actually pay attention. As elementary as that sounds, it wasn't always true.

 

[Ennui]

I think it's ridiculous that people spend another $60 every year buying the next year's edition of Madden or other sports games when it's the same game + three new minor features.

 

[kupocake]

Yeah, but this sequel took 6 years... EA chugs them out every damn year.

of course, technically speaking we can talk about Valve and EA in the same breath anyway... so if we claim Half-Life isn't the spawn of sequelitis, we actually weaken any arguement against EA because they have the right to distribute the franchise...

But anyway, Half-Life games do seem to be synonomus with creativity, so EA probably had the idea of improving their rep by the purchase of retail distribution rights... but the worry is that the demands of EA may in some way limit Valve's creative scope...

 

[Lethal8472]

Sports games are notoriously evil in the way they have a "sequel" every damn year. All they do is update some stats, up the graphics a tiny bit, and send it out to millions of dumbass sports game players that think its the best thing in the world. The reason they keep making them is because there are so many dumbasses out there willing to buy them.

 

[rAdIOhEaD]

I think it's ridiculous that people spend another $60 every year buying the next year's edition of Madden or other sports games when it's the same game + three new minor features.

The sad thing is that people are buying those sequels (mainstream gamers maybe) otherwise EA wouldn`t make them....

 

[StardogChampion]

The sad thing is that people are buying those sequels (mainstream gamers maybe) otherwise EA wouldn`t make them....

Exactly. Its gamers own fault for buying into these games when they're just copies with a slight facelift. Lately Prince of Persia comes to mind...

EA have been pumping out sequels every year since Fifa 95 (Fifa International was it called?)

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Yes, NFL street 10!

 

[Icarusintel]

oh noes, i better go get Madden 06, the last one i got was 04, I'm two years behind the curve!!

 

[Iced_Eagle]

oh noes, i better go get Madden 06, the last one i got was 04, I'm two years behind the curve!!

lol Exactly.

All that's different in a lot of the football games is the roster changes, team stat changes, maybe upgraded graphics, maybe a little feature here or there.... NOTHING NEW!

I think it was Microsoft's NFL Fever that had it best (sort of...). On Xbox Live, you could download all new roster changes every month, so you don't have to wait a year to get the roster changes repackaged with a slap in the face of 60 bucks.

The games industry in general just needs a new genre... Designers are having troubles coming up with new ideas, and thus there are a lot of sequels.

Doom3, Call of Duty 2, Quake IV, Dead or Alive 4, etc etc etc