Electronic Arts is Creating Six to Eight New IPs

[Fanghawk]

Electronic Arts is Creating Six to Eight New IPs

Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund claims EA will "go onto life support" the day it stops creating new IP.

Triple-A gaming has always been something of a franchise-focused industry. The vast majority of games tend to be sequels or reboots, and even Ubisoft has stated <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125997-Ubisoft-No-New-Games-Unless-They-Can-Be-Made-Into-Franchises>that it won't develop original titles that couldn't become ongoing series. So where can one go when looking for original properties in an ocean of follow-ups? According to Patrick Soderlund, you turn to Electronic Arts. In an interview with MCV, EA Games' Executive Vice President not only emphasized the importance of bringing new ideas to gaming, he also claimed that the publisher is currently working on six to eight new IPs.

"We have six to eight completely new IPs in the works," Soderlund said. "The day we stop making new IP is when we go onto life support. We need to incubate new ideas and push creative boundaries."

It's probably worth noting that Soderlund's comments come <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127449-Xbox-One-Out-November-22nd>mere months before two new consoles hit the market. Upcoming console generations are considered the ideal time to introduce new IP, since they are more likely be purchased with the console itself. This also doesn't change the fact that EA has its share of sequels on the way, including resurrected franchises like Mirror's Edge and Star Wars Battlefront.

"We are working on a new Mirror's Edge game," Soderlund clarified, "and although that's not a new IP, it is a revival done in a new way. We are developing Star Wars Battlefront, which to us is a new IP, even though it isn't technically."

That being said, and whatever the reasons, an injection of new ideas into Triple-A gaming certainly isn't a bad thing. Soderlund didn't offer a full list of EA's new IPs, but it's a likely bet that Titanfall is one of them <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127036-Titanfall-Gameplay-Clip-Arrives-Fresh-From-Gamescom>and it looks fun if nothing else. We'll just have to wait and see what else EA brings to the table, and hope it isn't five cover-based shooters and three Tolkienesque-fantasy RPGs.

Source: <a href=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ea-we-have-six-to-eight-new-ips-in-the-works/0120694>MCV, via <a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/6/4700916/ea-is-working-on-six-to-eight-new-franchises>Polygon

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[josemlopes]

So its Mirrors Edge all over again. You guys remember right, they switched CEOs and suddenly they actually created some new IPs to then forget about and continue to release sequels for the same games (Medal of Honor at the time, now Battlefield).

At least we get something for that short period of time.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Who wants to bet they'll make a GTA ripoff? Seems like an obvious thing for a giant idiotic publisher like EA.

 

[Covarr]

Six new IPs, eh? I think I know what they are:

• [li]A pirate-themed FPS called Call of Booty. It's actually a typical modern shooter, but they all wear pirate hats.[/li]
  [li]A new American Football game starring Oakland Raiders runningback Darren McFadden, called McFadden 2014[/li]
  [li]Plants Vs. Vampires[/li]
  [li]A free-to-play FPS with vehicles, called Hattlefield, which will make money from hat sales.[/li]
  [li]SimShop, in which you run a small store and build it into a corporate empire. Extra products that you can stock are paid DLC.[/li]
  [li]Army of Four: Zombies, a co-op shooter in which teams must fight their way from safe room to safe room.[/li]

All of these are totally new ideas that EA isn't stealing from other developers or from themselves.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Flippincrazy]

It's too easy to be cynical here, what with EA's history and current reputation. Instead I'll try to look at the good of this.

A possible eight new IP's coming from a typically franchise-driven publisher? Great. In the short-term, this could prove to be a nice change in strategy on EA's behalf and a few great, original games might come out of this.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

I'm certainly interested to see what six IPs they could be talking about (assuming numbers seven and eight are the Mirror's Edge "revival" and Battlefront, given what Soderlund said). So far, EA has been making some pretty decent decisions, the only real questionable one I can recall being their announcement to make their big franchises (perhaps just elements of them) Free-to-Play.

[li]A pirate-themed FPS called Call of Booty. It's actually a typical modern shooter, but they all wear pirate hats.[/li]
[li]A free-to-play FPS with vehicles, called Hattlefield, which will make money from hat sales.[/li]

Is it wrong that I would actually love to see hats (providing they'll be at TF2 levels of wackiness) in a modern military shooter?

 

[fix-the-spade]

So its Mirrors Edge all over again. You guys remember right, they switched CEOs and suddenly they actually created some new IPs to then forget about and continue to release sequels for the same games (Medal of Honor at the time, now Battlefield).

We also got Dead Space, Mass Effect and Crysis.

So at least some of those new IPs will be successful, then sequelized and fashionised ad nauseum until nobody cares and nothing of value remains. Dead Space and Crysis were born, lived and died in one generation, Mass Effect, well, we'll see, that's EA for you.

 

[enex]

I know that we are talking about EAs new IP promises but
this get my attention:

"We are working on a new Mirror's Edge game," Soderlund clarified, "and although that's not a new IP, it is a revival done in a new way."

Revival?Fine.Done in new way?Next thing is my brain telling me "This game will suck"...

Due to EA business practice I suspect that new way of doing Mirror edge means
more fights in game, or widen out demographic shareholders says.Or any other
case of "new way" in game instead of building on core values of the game which
is freerunning.

 

[Zacharious-khan]

I bet it will be just a single new Ip and the rest we will have to buy season passes and DLC for

 

[Elate]

Field Battle.

Armed farmers everywhere, tanks are now tractors, jets are crop sprayers, jeeps.. Well they're still jeeps, just really old broken down ones.

Destruction physics on sheep and cattle.

 

[Frezzato]

So the owners of 6-8 independent studios can look forward to getting bought out, followed by sequestration, and ultimately being shut down. And then the IPs will remain under EA control, where they will do absolutely nothing with the property. God, I feel old.

 

[Sabrestar]

EA just connected six new computers in its executive offices, and since they're all connected to the corporate network, each one will indeed need one new IP.

 

[orangeapples]

Hurry everyone, play them before EA destroys them!

 

[Something Amyss]

It's too easy to be cynical here, what with EA's history and current reputation. Instead I'll try to look at the good of this.

A possible eight new IP's coming from a typically franchise-driven publisher? Great. In the short-term, this could prove to be a nice change in strategy on EA's behalf and a few great, original games might come out of this.

This isn't a change in strategy. They periodically throw up a lot of shit on a wall and see what sticks. Then they milk a couple of games in sequel form, and pretty much drop the rest.

It's especially easy to be cynical because they were the ones demanding 5 million sales for the Dead Space franchise to continue. How will new games, "completely" new IPs, far in that sort of environment?

Revival?Fine.Done in new way?Next thing is my brain telling me "This game will suck"...

Keep in mind, it's also a reboot.

Because the complexity and nuances of a single game are too alienating for the broader audience they clearly want.

I don't really care about Mirror's Edge, but that gave me a "lolwot" moment.

Oakland Raiders runningback Darren McFadden, called McFadden 2014[/li]
[li]Plants Vs. Vampires[/li]

See, this is what I sort of expect. "New IPs" that are technically new, and ignoring the "completely" part. So we get spinoffs and the like. After all, "new IP" does not automatically equal "new game" or anything promising. A sequel is technically a new intellectual property. I doubt they're going to go that route, but I'm betting "completely new" is hyperbole.

 

[Something Amyss]

Hurry everyone, play them before EA destroys them!

Assuming they aren't already fragmented titles with "freemium" style content.

 

[Something Amyss]

Field Battle.

Armed farmers everywhere, tanks are now tractors, jets are crop sprayers, jeeps.. Well they're still jeeps, just really old broken down ones.

Destruction physics on sheep and cattle.

Each action costs energy, and you regain one energy every five minutes.

Unless, of course, you want to pay now to full recharge your energy bar.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

They can't give an exact number because even they can't tell them apart.

I think the problem they stated themselves. Some of the IP will be new, but Mirrors Edge and Battlefront 3 are being treated as "semi new IPs." Do they count or don't they, as it's been at least 10 years since we've seen either.

"New IPs" that are technically new, and ignoring the "completely" part. So we get spinoffs and the like. After all, "new IP" does not automatically equal "new game" or anything promising. A sequel is technically a new intellectual property. I doubt they're going to go that route, but I'm betting "completely new" is hyperbole.

Agreed. They've been making some major positive strides lately with all of their pro-games talk and policies. Now the make-or-break moment will be to see how they follow through with it when making their next set of games.

Due to EA business practice I suspect that new way of doing Mirror edge means
more fights in game, or widen out demographic shareholders says.Or any other
case of "new way" in game instead of building on core values of the game which
is freerunning.

When Mirror's Edge reboot was first announced they specifically mentioned that the fighting felt tacked on and didn't really fit. They 'said' they were removing it, but I completely understand the cynicism. This again goes back to my "wait and see if New EA is like Old EA" comment above.

 

[Kahani]

"six to eight"? Shouldn't the vice president of a company who is talking about what the company is doing actually, you know, know what the company is doing? Six isn't that big a number. You can still tell the difference between it and eight even if you've lost a couple of fingers.

 

[NeedsaBetterName22]

When Mirror's Edge reboot was first announced they specifically mentioned that the fighting felt tacked on and didn't really fit. They 'said' they were removing it, but I completely understand the cynicism. This again goes back to my "wait and see if New EA is like Old EA" comment above.

I think the trailer really helped to cement that cynicism too. The first Mirror's Edge trailers were mostly just parkour (or that shattering reality music video thing) while the first trailer for Mirror's Edge 2 shows off combat mechanics but barely any parkour.

 

[Flippincrazy]

It's too easy to be cynical here, what with EA's history and current reputation. Instead I'll try to look at the good of this.

A possible eight new IP's coming from a typically franchise-driven publisher? Great. In the short-term, this could prove to be a nice change in strategy on EA's behalf and a few great, original games might come out of this.

This isn't a change in strategy. They periodically throw up a lot of shit on a wall and see what sticks. Then they milk a couple of games in sequel form, and pretty much drop the rest.

It's especially easy to be cynical because they were the ones demanding 5 million sales for the Dead Space franchise to continue. How will new games, "completely" new IPs, far in that sort of environment?

I was merely trying to add a bit of optimism in a thread that would inevitably be full of dreary sarcastic one-liners and other such charming responses.

I'd be inclined to agree with you. Odds are that EA will release a few semi-original games designed with the creation of a franchise in mind and EA's continued emphasis on profitability and chasing inflated sales figures will create a toxic environment in which these new games will struggle to do well, unless they rely on chest-high walls and high-octane action.

The best we could expect is that one or two of these IP's are genuinely fun to play. Or that EA have learnt that shitting where they eat is perhaps not the best long-term strategy.

...Bollocks, I just did it, didn't I?