- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
EA are a bloated corporate giant that turns out games that have no creativity or spirit. Their games are often turgid and derivative, and are often the ultimate "me-too" games - for instance, dual wielding just happened to turn up in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent after they noticed it was a popular option in 'other' big FPS games.
I'd think they would pay attention to the Xbox version specifically as that is really the only way to get a multi-platform game to appeal to that demographic. That said, there were probably quite a few programmers who wanted to do that, too. Xbox is a wonderful toy to play with for a programmer, and I would think there were quite a few devs who were willing to see what they could do with the thing. Plus, it beats slaving over an assembly code trying to work out Vector Engine bottlenecks on PS2 *shudder*
The Renderware thing is quite worrying. Renderware is the back bone of rapid games development. Many of the franchise-heavy companies use this to keep their yearly game series ticking over, and it isn't difficult to see why EA would want the number one development platform. If EA starts using its position as the owner of Renderware to get an advantage, the industry is going to most likely see a storm of litigation, which is never a good thing. It's also encouraging consolidation, which means that lots of small developers will go out of business or be bought up by the big guys, which means there'll be more "Franchise Sequel II - Return of the Movie License" and less original games.
That's why I respect the Microsoft approach to the games industry - although it's big, it allows its developers to retain their identity and their own way of doing things. The MGS game developers all have their own names, styles and personality. Compare that to EA and its uniform studios like EA Los Angeles, and you see why MGS has a catalog of titles with high review scores which are all highly anticipated, and why EA's franchises generate a massive sigh every time a new one comes out.
If you're thinking of a career in the games industry like me, EA does represent a good starting point. Its games are big sellers due to the franchises it holds, and it is good to put something like "Physics Programmer - EA F1 2004" on your CV. Many jobs say experience on a big selling title is preferred, and an EA game normally fits that requirement. I might well apply for a job at EA, but as soon as I've got the experience under my belt, I'm gonna leave for a company like Free Radical or Rare where they actually respect innovation rather than just wanting a code machine.