Outspoken Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has stated that EA had backed the "wrong horse” when it chose to focus primarily on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 during the transition from the last generation of consoles. “[The last transition] was tough because we typically have two to three platforms and a five year period… One of the biggest challenges, of course, was that not a lot of people anticipated the success of Nintendo that they’ve shown with their wand controller and their Wii.” He also stressed EA’s recent initiative to create new IPs, with games like Army of Two, Rock Band, Crysis and a Stephen Spielberg Wii game on the way.

While backing the Wii would probably have been a profitable idea, EA's recent misfortunes haven't been down to their choice of platform alone. As Riccitiello himself has stated, EA has to avoid the trap of releasing strings of samey sequels. They might have good production values, but are usually short on imagination and originality. With the success of the Wii seemingly showing how successful casual games can be, it’ll be interesting to see if it’s a trend that will have a major impact on development for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Source:
Next Generation

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