EA "Embarrassed" by How Good Its 2017 Releases Will Be

[Steven Bogos]

EA "Embarrassed" by How Good Its 2017 Releases Will Be

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Mirrors Edge: Catalyst, Mass Effect: Andromeda and a new Battlefield are included in EA's 2017 release lineup.

Electronic Arts is releasing so many awesome games in 2017, it is calling it an "embarrassment of riches". Or so EA COO Peter Moore said at the Credit Suisse Technology, Media, and Telecom conference [https://cc.talkpoint.com/cred001/120115a_ae/?entity=86_T77W6SR]. Mirrors Edge: Catalyst has been pushed back from its initial FY16 release date to FY17, and will join Mass Effect: Andromeda, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 and a new games in the Battlefield and Titanfall franchises.

Most of these games we already sort of new were coming, with the new Battlefield being the only (albeit, slight) surprise. All EA said of the title was that it would be a military-style game.

Moore went on to say that having so many high-profile games release in the same year is a "It's a high class problem to have," and the challenge will be giving each title enough "breathing room" to ensure it doesn't cannibalize sales of another.

Earlier in the year, EA stated that Star Wars Battlefront [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/star%20wars%20battlefront] sequels were already in the works, and the first game's season pass is due to come out in the first half of 2016.

It's a shame to see Mirror's Edge pushed back again, but other than that, there isn't anything particularly exciting about EA's 2017 lineup, despite what Moore would like you to believe.

Source: GameSpot [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/eas-future-games-lineup-is-an-embarrassment-of-ric/1100-6432767/]

Permalink

 

[Zontar]

I'm sorry, EA, but no, no you have no idea how much we don't believe you for a second.

We know Mirror's Edge probably won't be that good, we know Mass Effect will probably be the worst one yet, we know Battlefield will be both terrible and unplayable for months on end, and the only reason you're still around when you should have closed your doors years ago is because enough of us buy your crap despite knowing these facts.

I honestly don't know what those people are thinking when they buy your games, I just know I'm not one of them because you've burnt me and everyone else too many times for me to consider forking over my money for anything that comes from the "American Devil"(-Honest Trailers).

 

[dragongit]

You'd impress me if these were all coming out next year... like they were originally suppose to... You told us Battlefront would be amazing, you told us Sims 4 would be fantastic, you were so proud of Sim City. and I see Battlefield as just another Call of Duty, a military multiplayer shooter that I have no interest investing my time in. the Only one I have any interest in is Mirrors Edge... but I don't trust you on that either.

 

[ShakerSilver]

So they're attempting to soften the impact of (or just outright hide) Mirrors Edge's delay by sneaking it into a conference by saying "LOOK AT ALL THESE GREAT GAMES COMING OUT IN 2 YEARS!"

Let's see those game then...
>Mirror's Edge sequel from a studio that is steadily producing worse products, no guarantee for improvement to a game that, despite having some good ideas, was somewhat flawed.
>Mass Effect reboot from a studio that has long since lost its touch after having most of its original talent leave.
>Battlefield sequel - yaaaaaaaay. /s
>Titanfall sequel, even after the disappointing staying power of the original game.
>Garden War-pffffff hahahahahahaha...

Good luck with that EA.

 

[Ukomba]

Peter Moore comes off like a smarmy jackass with comments like this.

Also, look at that Battlefront players, you'll get the last of your $120 game just in time to have the server population crash because EA releases the sequel. Talk about splitting a game's population. This release schedule seems pathological.

 

[LordLundar]

Sheesh! What does Moore have on the shareholders to not be sacked yet? I'm surprised he's still with EA after month after month of the arrogant lies.

 

[voltair27]

So, why do people still buy EA products?

 

[Barbas]

I think I'd probably rather eat polio than fork over the doubloons for those games.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Oh my lordi, is this just gaming gossip magazine now? Peter Moore is like the Nigel Farage of our country; a backwards dinosaur still employed by backwards, yet profitable employers. He relishes the attention. no matter how bad. Stop feeding him! Sequel. Sequel. Sequel. Squeal squeal squeal.

 

[RJ 17]

Good god...I didn't know it was possible to stick your head that far up your own ass.

 

[MCerberus]

I look forward to seeing how you force Mirror's Edge into always-online and completely break the launch.

 

[Brian Tams]

Lawl, if their 2017 releases are anything like Battlefront, then they'll be embarrassed alright.

 

[Micah Weil]

Okay, you're saying 2017 is going to be awesome.
What about 2016?

 

[Charli]

Who keeps giving this company money? Stop that, its embarrassing the rest of us.

You let stuff like THIS happen.

 

[Win32error]

So...is anyone actually exited for any of these releases?

Mirror's edge had it's fans, but it's been a long time already, do people still care?
Battlefield will do well, but it's just another one of those games where people go like "Oh, there's another one".
Mass effect andromeda will have to prove itself. Sure it looks interesting, but it'll have to prove it's reason for existing or risk becoming extremely irrelevant. If they do it wrong, it could turn out worse than halo 4/5, which at least had the benefit of not relying on single player. Still, at least it could be a hit if they start something new and interesting while keeping the elements that fans love from the trilogy.
Titanfall? I heard nothing about the game after a week or two, it just seemed like one of those games that you play for a while until you get bored with the gimmick and go back to something with more sustainable satisfaction.
And...plants vs zombies. Right. Hilarious. Don't put that into the same bracket as battlefield and mass effect.

In essence, EA thinks that this is something to cheer on now? I mean, this is not about next year, it's about the year AFTER. A bunch of sequels that will probably sell well enough, but nothing beyond that.

EA. Your job IS producing mediocre sequels in franchises that are kinda past their prime, don't act like you're doing anything new or interesting. We all know they'll sell decently well regardless.

 

[Zhukov]

Wait... Mirror's Edge 2 got pushed back to 2017?

Well fuck.

...

Oh yeah, and, uh... EA grr grrr corporations evil EA bad grr etc etc.

 

[Spartan448]

We know Mirror's Edge probably won't be that good, we know Mass Effect will probably be the worst one yet, we know Battlefield will be both terrible and unplayable for months on end, and the only reason you're still around when you should have closed your doors years ago is because enough of us buy your crap despite knowing these facts.

Don't execute your chickens before they hatch. We have no idea how any of these games are going to turn out. Mirror's Edge when it came out was a huge jump in quality for DICE, whose most noteworthy game at that point was Battlefield 1942. Not to mention, Mirror's Edge was a departure from the norm - a singleplayer game focusing on movement rather than combat, with no multiplayer aspect. Since there's been no multiplayer aspect announced yet to my knowledge, DICE is in largely the same position for Catalyst as they were for the original Mirror's Edge.

I think the worst thing they could do to Mirror's Edge is to give it a strong story focus. What made Mirror's Edge great was that the focus was all mechanics. The story was really only there as a backdrop. The real draw of the game was that you could just *run*. That's it. No gimmicks. No complicated moral choice systems. Just you, the rooftops, and a police department whose phrase of the day is always "use of excessive force is authorized".

What I want with Catalyst, is I want all the dev money spent on level design and running mechanics. No more forced fights, no dramatic storyline. If Catalyst comes out and I have a game that has the blandest possible storyline, but has good enough level design and running mechanics that if I am good enough and observant enough I never have to fight a person or pick up a gun; that if I am good enough, all I have to do is run - if I get that, and if I get another battery of re-enacted foot-chase scenes from cheesy Hollywood action films (in case you didn't know, a LOT of the first game's chase scenes were taken straight from cheesy action films), complete with bullet pings that are actually just effects with no actually bullets hitting me if I keep moving, and those kinds of setpiece things - I get that, I'll have the perfect Mirror's Edge game.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Oh boy, a bunch of sequels to games I didn't care about in the first place!

And wouldn't you know it, they're trying to turn their bastardization of Battlefront into another sequel machine. Hope that $110+ purchase was worth it when the community is shattered within two years! Taking bets, everyone; how many sequels will it take until an EA Battlefront boasts the same amount of features that were in Battlefront 2 ten fucking years ago? Trick question, as they probably won't let you mod the PC versions!

And people wonder why I haven't bought an EA title since 2007...

Remember when new IPs were actually a thing in triple-A gaming? Good times, good times...

 

[Atmos Duality]

EA,
At this point, I've officially, personally borne witness to your fuckups for over 15 years now.
(One more and this 'relationship' will be old enough to drive.)

Of all game companies in that time (that are still around) yours is the absolute LAST to have a right to brag about the quality of...well fucking ANYTHING you make.

I cannot count how many games I've face-palmed at due to the sheer lack of craftsmanship and quality ALONE.
(Which is to say nothing of the many other mind-numbing stupid schemes you've pulled in that time.)
While at the same time, I can count the number of EA games I've unironically enjoyed (again, over fifteen years) on one fucking hand.
(Be thankful it isn't just one finger, because we both know which one you deserve)

So let me give you a bit of advice: If you had even a thimbles-worth of self-awareness, you would recognize that blowing your own horn this hard on the grounds of of "Fuck" and "All" is a faux pas even for the VERY BEST game producers working today, let alone you and the company you share on the OTHER end of that spectrum.

It is beyond comical to even try to drum up hype for games you can at best hope are popular mediocrity, and not the usual cynical circus of half-assed dross your company has a reputation for producing. (or better, the hilarious disasters like always-online SimCity, or that sick joke of a Dungeon Keeper game)

In light of that, I think it may behoove you to prove yourself and the quality of your games through sincere action for once, rather than this pitiful cycle of fake-PR talk everyone but the mentally damaged have come to expect from you.

Alas, somewhere along the course of your inexplicably long and torturous existence, I fear you've lost, nay, severed all understanding with the very concept of 'sincerity'; probably back in "the good ol days" when you were still big enough to buy up developers to add to your collection of crushed dreams and labor violation complaints.

If nothing else, I should get a chuckle out of your ongoing impotent struggle at wooing mainstream gamers with something other than whatever you're shamelessly copying from your more competent competitors.



TLDR: I find EA's statement hilarious.

 

[WonkyWarmaiden]

Well, I'm at least looking forward to Mass Effect. The other games not so much.