EA Cancels "Over a Dozen" Unannounced Projects

[Krythe]

Oh, woe is us! Now EA can no longer make good games like... ... ...
... ... ... *crickets chirping*
When exactly did they last make a decent game instead of just re-releasing Medal of Honor a million times?

And to answer Penny Arcade's question: It actually takes work to make a good game, which they are sorely unaccustomed to and consequently botch.

 

[The Random One]

Ha, that PA strip fits perfectly. The worst part is that a dozen ideas that could have turned out to be good are now lost forever, and no one will never know what they even were. Although, given EA's record, I doubt many of them, if any, were worth it.

Mirror's Edge was ruined by executive meddling, it showed on every polygon.

 

[dekkarax]

They did what GDI couldn't accomplish...

They killed Kane...

He survived building collapses and missile strikes...but not the layoffs....

DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!

Indeed. EALA is quite a large chunk of the company, this could be a bad sign.

 

[Sporky111]

Sooo. . . is this EA's new business plan:

1. Raise quality of games

2. Give some leeway to developers (Ex. BioWare)

3. Take some risks (Ex. Mirrors Edge)

4. Gain public affection

5. Declare steps 1 through 5 an elaborate experiment

6. Cut costs in the forms of employees, unannounced games, and sequels to much loved but "unsuccessful" games.

7. Revert to tried and true policy of totalitarianism

8. Bite the hand that feeds. . . then bite cyanide. . . hopefully

 

[Miral]

"Cutting off the gold-making chicken's eggs". Poor translation, because eggs can also mean testicles in our language, but you get the idea - a chicken lays golden eggs, and they cut the chicken's... reproductive organs.

The local equivalent is "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs". Probably even has the same derivation: from a fable.

It'd be interesting to see a list of the games that got cut. And like others I'm hoping that this doesn't affect BioWare or Mirror's Edge 2. (I haven't actually bought ME1 yet, but it's on my list of stuff to get when the price comes down a bit more.)

 

[jolithan]

The thing is this: most gamers that complain about a greedy and repetativ gaming industry dont put their money where their mouth is. Furthermore "we" are only a small part of gamers while the majority needed to acomplish multi-mulion copy sales BUYS these games (FIFA 32, CoD 17) without complaining.

It's a bit like politics. We need to get over the fact that most copies are not sold by the fresh ideas but by known concepts briliantly executed: DA:O, CoD:MW... those ARE very good games - just not very much when it comes to art and fresh ideas. I remember Blizzard saying: Innovation is overrated

What was the last indy/arty game u bought?

 

[scotth266]

I'm not surprised. This is why Kotick made that statement about how pessimism and fear should make a return to the workplace: essentially, he was trying to say that the videogame industry is getting costlier to produce for, and that people should be prepared to lose their jobs as a result.

I wouldn't be surprised if similar cuts were made at all the companies... though it's a damn shame, especially since interesting experiments like Mirror's Edge will get cut from the company budget. That's probably what the execs meant when they said that some of their titles were too "risky."

 

[Sonicron]

GAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Mirror's Edge was one of those games I just wanted to see a sequel on, so much screwed up potential, they deserved a second shot :-/

I GAAAAAAAAAAAH! with you comrade. I suppose I'll just have to keep playing the first one, weeping into my ice-cream as I do.

You got another bucket of ice-cream over there for me to weep into? I just played the game for the first time yesterday, and while it had a fairly large amount of... sub-optimal bits, it was still a great concept and overall one of those experiences that leave you bewildered and good about yourself for having tried something original for a change.
Seeing how the sequel most likely got the axe, I feel genuinely sad.

 

[oranger]

I think there should be a saying, something like "If EA buys your studio/company, and you don't have equity in it, you are soooo screwed"

 

[Danpascooch]

YOU DON'T GET TO RUIN BIOWARE!!!

Because bioware already did a pretty good job at that with their DLC policies.

Back on topic, i would like to know what games were canceled and if EA decided to completely axe those series or just put them on indefinite hiatus for when the economy is back on track again.

I really don't think poor DLC policies are a huge deal, as long as the original product is so good that it doesn't even need DLC

 

[Nova5]

Meh, so they've cancelled a shitload of sequels and new iterations of sports games. Boo-friggidy-hoo.

I still have yet to see a 'good game' by this lot. I mean, 'competent' (Burnout), or 'hilarious' (Mercenaries 2, anyone?), but nothing that really deserves showers of praise. This is about as big a tragedy as Duke Nukem being cancelled.

 

[101194]

I'm so confused right now, I think I'll go play portal...Sorry...

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I just want to point out that Mirror's Edge 2 is not one of the canceled projects. How do I know this? Well, the title says "over a dozen unannounced projects". Mirror's Edge 2...was announced. See? [http://www.videogamer.com/news/ea_confirms_small_team_working_on_mirror_s_edge_2.html]