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Home » Features » Games Gaming » An Interview With Matthew Jeffrey
An Interview With Matthew Jeffrey
By: Avinash Bali   |   May 31, 2007

For quite some time now EA has this whole "evil greedy corp" image going on; what’s your take on this?

I think there are several criticisms levelled at EA. Let's look at each. Firstly, that EA suffers from 'sequelitis', i.e. annual release after annual release. First thing to recognize producing a hit game is something that all companies want. Producing sequels is very difficult. Consumers demand new content, new innovations in gameplay, better graphics, audio, AI. If a game does not significantly improve on its predecessor then it won't sell. Consumers won't spend their hard earned money on it. Let's turn this question on its head. If a game does not get a sequel, what does that say about the quality of the original game? I would also say that, as a consumer, I am looking forward to playing Metal Gear Solid 4, Mario Galaxy, Pro Evolution Soccer 7, GTA 4, God of War 2, Ratchet & Clank PS3, Gran Turismo 4, Project Gotham Racing 4 etc. Some of these are sequels.

EA has listened to the sequelitus debate and also to the previous criticism that we were too focused on film franchises. EA is now, very much, the home of new, original and home grown games. Let's look at the release schedule. We have Crysis from Crytek, Army of Two from EA Montreal, Boogie from EA Canada, the new upcoming Steven Spielberg games from EALA and of course the hugely anticipated innovative game from Sims creator, Will Wright, Spore. These are all original innovative new ideas that gamers will love. Of course we will see FIFA, Tiger Woods and Madden released annually, but if consumers want them, we make them.

The other element to this question is that EA is seen as a big company that swallows people up. But, let's face facts, we are proud to be big, big is good. Big, benefits our staff. It means that in the volatile games market we can take more risks on innovative new games, without risking the financial security of our company, since we can count on a large number of other games being successful. It is also great for our staff. They benefit from being able to grow their careers by working on different games, on different platforms, in different studios in different countries. This is awesome for career development. Being a large company, we are able to then invest in people with excellent training and development opportunities, hence aiding career development. We are also able to ensure that we can reward people for their hard work via salary, bonus and stock options. All key to motivating people who want to be high achievers.
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Doesn't EA already outsource to india.. I've heard there are many offices here too.. is it true?
Reetesh @ Jun 04, 2007
Very Nice interview... i was also present in Anifest and Mattew gave us a lot of idea about future gaming market in India.
Abdullah @ Jun 03, 2007
Very nice thoughts on the Indian gaming industry. When is EA setting up shop here!!
blogger @ May 31, 2007
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