John Riccitiello Still Focused on Quality

When John Riccitiello returned as Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Arts, he put forward a new philosophy: his company would no longer just put out annual iterations of its biggest franchises, like Madden or FIFA or Rock Band, but would try to create and promote new intellectual properties that would establish long running series.

In late 2008, games like Mirror's Edge and Dead Space represented the tip of the spear for the new strategy but the results were not exactly stellar for Electronic Arts. Riccitiello does not seem deterred from this new path, despite the fact that the publisher he leads is posting losses and has announced it will fire up to a quarter of current employees.

Talking to Gamasutra, Riccitiello has said that “I'm a fundamental believer that quality translates to success. I think the equation is as true as it's ever been, but it requires a modification I didn't emphasize enough two years ago.”

He believes that the way videogames are judged has changed fundamentally and that, now, companies cannot release a bad game, saying, “Back in the '90s we made a great game... the following year, our game was down on quality, but we also sold a lot. One or two poor games to actually turn success to failure of a franchise. Consumers read last year’s Metacritic to buy this year’s game.”

Electronic Arts has confirmed that it is ready to cut the number of titles it puts out each year in order to keep quality up. In 2010 and 2011, the company will be launching close to 40 new videogames, down from close to 60 in 2008. With Command & Conquer IV closing out the universe in the coming year and with Mirror's Edge apparently not getting a sequel, Electronic Arts is now reviving Medal of Honor in the form of a modern day first person shooter to get another big annual franchise going.