Could EA Be The Next Disney?
from the how-things-change dept
Fitting in well with two recent stories we posted here, is Business 2.0’s article wondering if Electronic Arts is positioning itself to be the next Disney. They point out that it’s mostly shying away from the increasingly popular “mature” video game market that so many analysts have been talking about lately (which keeps them on Wal-Mart’s shelves), positioning themselves as family-friendly in a very Disney-esque manner. Though, they do point out that perhaps EA will create (or buy) a different brand for more mature games (as Disney has done for many of its movies). The article also suggests that EA is likely to expand into other forms of content. They even say that EA doesn’t see itself as a video game company, but an entertainment company. A few weeks back we had an article comparing how EA made games to how movie studios make movies, so maybe it’s not so far off. Apparently, EA’s internal design studio is twice as big as Disney’s animation department.
Comments on “Could EA Be The Next Disney?”
EA = Excite@Home?
I worked a day and a half for excite@home at the height of the boom. I couldn’t stand the hype of the place, so left.
Excite started out as a search engine, then they added being an ISP (excite@home), then they added being a media company, then they added being a retailer of everything, then they added an auction house, then they added…. before they knew it, they were spread hopelessly thin and utterly incompetent in anything they did.
We’ll see if the overconfident Techies at EA think they can become a media company, then they can become a movie company, then they can become a retail franchise, then they can become….
Re: EA = Excite@Home?
Can you even read?
And surely you are aware that it’s not obligatory to comment on every single posting, right?
Electronic Arts does isn't always wholesome
I’ve been a big fan of EA for a long time…but I’d have a hard time calling them as wholesome entertainment like Disney (just as I have a hard time calling Disney wholesome entertainment.) They may not put anything out like Grand Theft Auto, but they have put out their share of violent games (not that I have a problem with violent games.)
One of my most favorite games, Command & Conquer, was made by a subsidiary of EA. And the whole point to Need for Speed and Test Drive was to outrun the cops while racing. Carmageddon was also a lot of fun, I believe that was also released by EA…
I don’t think EA ever will have the reputation of not releasing violent games, just like Disney (though Buena Vista and its other subsidiaries,) puts out trash while Disney itself remains clean.
They All I know is that EA’s customer service is inexistent. I just recently purchased a game from them (Battlefield 2142) and there is no customer support. There is no way to get in touch with them if there are issues. They’re websites are appallingly disorganized and they’re support group is a line of looping sites that goes nowhere. I use to be a big EA supporter but after going through this myself I understand why people get so frustrated with their complete incompetence. I can’t even delete my accounts because there is nowhere to ask, so I have like 6 different accounts because I would forget my accounts or passwords and it’s just a whole bogus mess. Two words that describe them best: Extremely Incompetent!