The thought that the most noticeable game company in the world with some of the most popular titles today would be one of the greatest threats to the game industry sounds ridiculous, right? Wrong! Reality of the situation is that while Electronic Arts might be a hit on the sales charts, this does not equal success for the game industry overall.
Some of the reasons that the game industry has thrived so well in the past is that many different development studios were able to compete with each other. Each development house had different standards, different methods, and different potential. The competition was fierce and hard work was done to earn your buck. This is still the case today, but not as prevalent, and also not necessarily done in the same fashion.
Takeovers, Takeovers, And Some More Takeovers
The rapid increase of studios being acquired is quite impressive, but its impressiveness shows the changes of the game industry. Smaller development studios can not flourish if they have millions being thrown at them to merge. The temptation to sell out is an easy choice for many development studios. Electronic Arts has embraced this method of doing business:
Some Acquired
- BioWare
- Pandemic Studios
- Critereon Software Group (Purchased RenderWare which was "used to run a quarter of all video games worldwide" as of mid 2004 - Technology Briefing)
- Maxis (The Sims and SimCity; sound familiar?)
- DICE
- Mythic Entertainment
- Westwood (By way of Virgin)
Some Candidates:
- Activision (Unlikely to be acquired by EA; Activision offers some of the best competition to EA, but they would undoubtedly love to own the Call of Duty franchise.)
- 2K Sports (Unlikely; EA could pretty much end sports gaming competition in the US market.)
- Bethesda Softworks (Likely; who wouldn't want to own the Game of the Year title in The Elder Scrolls series.)
- Bizarre Creations (Probable; EA currently lacks a realistic driver simulation after losing the Formula One license, and while Project Gotham Racing is not a sim, it a competitor.)
- Codemasters (Possible; the company will not remain independent forever.)
- Crytek (Very likely; a partnership must end eventually, so they will be acquired.)
- Epic Games (Unlikely; I believe Epic Games will hold off on any offers.)
- JoWooD Productions (Unlikely; well, unless EA can't acquire Bethesda Softworks.)
- Paradox Interactive (Doubtful; Paradox focuses on a slowly dying genre of games, but still creates quality games nonetheless.)
- SCi (Likely; the company will be sold eventually and there were reports of EA interest.)
- Ubisoft (A question of time; EA already has further increased stake in the company.)
A Big Problem
It is really common knowledge that in the past Electronic Arts has put eye candy before functionality in their game titles. A great example is Madden Football. Without competition from 2K Sports due to license exclusivity with EA and the National Football League, the game remained primarily stagnant. Some opinions floating around the web indicated the game was decreasing in quality year by year. However, this year Take-Two Interactive released All Pro Football, and while it did not have a chance of being a huge detriment to Madden sales, it certainly motivated EA to go for a touchdown pass this time around.
The Reality
The game industry needs competition to keep things moving forward for consumers. There will always be video games, and it is the greatest form of entertainment. Consumers in general are complete idiots, but hopefully some common sense can kick in if it gets to the point where we are paying $70 or more for games loaded with ads.
Fortunately for all gamers, things are not as bad as they could easily be right now. Other companies like Take-Two Interactive and Activision are doing better than expected, and they are still able to compete with EA; however, nothing is certain for the future and if there was ever a company to put a monopoly on the game industry, Electronic Arts would fit the bill. Consider this a yellow card to Electronic Arts, a warning to the game industry, and an eye opener to those consumers who pay the bills of the publishers.
Let the games begin, not end.
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