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EA CEO John Riccitiello resigns

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:35:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous

John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, has submitted his resignation today. According to a public statement by EA board chairman Larry Probst, Riccitiello's last day will be March 30, and Probst will serve as the executive chairman through the transition as the board searches for a new CEO candidate.

Of course, the statement goes on to proclaim EA's "rock solid" strategy and future, as this news could certainly work against the company's reputation. Or, it could mean a bright new future with a new leader at the helm.

Let us know in the comments below what you think about Riccitiello's resignation and what it could mean for EA's future.

[Update: Stockholders are happy with Riccitiello's resignation as shown by a jump in EA stock.]

EA CEO John Riccitiello resigns originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyperspace Beacon: It's time for free-to-play, SWTOR

Larry Everett — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Expansions, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Rumors, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon

I'm a positive person, generally. I'm loyal to my favorite franchises even when George Lucas can't make up his mind about who actually shot first. But I don't like it when my loyalty to a product is taken advantage of when I'm told I will get one thing but am ultimately sold another. That's why I say to EA and BioWare, "Make Star Wars: The Old Republic free-to-play already."

When EA was voted the worst company in America by the Consumerist, it was not because the products suck. If a customer has a constant feeling that she is not going to get what she pays for from a specific publisher, then it will start to wear on her. Now whenever someone from EA speaks, we have to ask ourselves whether there is any double meaning to what was said.

I believe SWTOR will be free-to-play by the time the first expansion comes out, and not directly because of subscription numbers or rumors. My evidence comes from those who speak for SWTOR and the actions of BioWare's management. I can also guess as to how the studio is going to spin it.

Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: It's time for free-to-play, SWTOR

Hyperspace Beacon: It's time for free-to-play, SWTOR originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA bosses weigh in on SWTOR sub number drop

Jef Reahard — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:15:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Yesterday we told you about Star Wars: The Old Republic's official 1.3 million subscriber headcount. Electronic Arts has weighed in on the number, with CEO John Riccitello stating that the game's player numbers are "very much in line with our original assumptions."

EA's Frank Gibeau says that TOR's 400,000 subscriber drop from its February peak is a result of casual players deciding not to renew after a billing cycle.

Eurogamer reports that TOR falls within EA's top 10 most profitable franchises but comes up short of the Battlefield, Medal of Honor, The Sims, and Madden franchises. Riccitello also addressed TOR's high profile in both fan and media circles. "So while I understand there's an enormous amount of interest, I don't know that it warrants as much as what we're seeing right now. But we love the franchise, we're going to grow the franchise," he explained.

EA bosses weigh in on SWTOR sub number drop originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 May 2012 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen'

Jef Reahard — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Economy, MMO Industry, News Items, Rumors, Miscellaneous

Forbes reported on a rumored takeover of Electronic Arts by Nexon earlier this morning. The magazine noted that EA shares spiked following a supposed bid by the Korean gaming giant.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter weighed in on the rumors at GamesIndustry.biz, saying that the deal "cannot happen." He guesstimates that EA will balk at any such deal because "Nexon couldn't pull off a stock-for-stock deal [...] and would have difficulty financing an all-cash deal to make EA shareholders happy."

Pachter floats a few numbers in his analysis, and he also notes that EA CEO John Riccitiello isn't likely to cede control of the company to anyone outside of EA management.

Pachter says rumored Nexon buyout of EA 'cannot happen' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers stabilize at 1.7 million

Matt Daniel — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Economy, MMO Industry, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

It's shaping up to be one hell of a good month for BioWare. If you consider the amount of money made by the launch of Mass Effect 3 and by the continued success of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the entire studio must be swimming in pools of gold coins a la Scrooge McDuck by now. At any rate, it would appear that Star Wars: The Old Republic's subscriber numbers have stabilized at about 1.7 million active subscribers.

It's also worth noting that, according to EA's John Riccitello, the "vast majority" of these active subscribers have already used their 30-day trials, which means most of those 1.7 million subscribers are shelling out $15 per month to play the game. It'll be interesting to see how these numbers change (or don't) in the coming months, but for the time being The Old Republic seems to be doing BioWare proud.

Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers stabilize at 1.7 million originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Jacobs elaborates on departure from EA Mythic

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

It's been a couple of years since Mark Jacobs abruptly left -- or perhaps was let go -- from EA Mythic, but curiosity around the split persists in the MMO industry. Yesterday, Jacobs opened up about the event that occurred after EA's acquisition of Mythic and BioWare.

Long story short: The merge brought about changes, and Jacobs wasn't on board with them. "They made a decision on a direction they wanted to go and obviously, as we put out in our joint statement, that wasn't a direction that had a role for me, or at least the role that I wanted. It really is as simple as that. Or at least publicly. Whatever went on behind the scenes, whatever we talked about, I have no intention of sharing that," he said.

Jacobs insists that EA has been kind to him in the subsequent years. "One thing I'll say publicly about EA, they have been very good in what they've said post-departure regarding me. Similarly I've been good about what I've said about them post departure."

He has since gone on to form a new company to create social and mobile games. In an ironic twist, Jacobs says that the idea for getting into the social gaming market took root while he was at Mythic, but he left before acting on that notion.

Mark Jacobs elaborates on departure from EA Mythic originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA proclaims SWTOR preorder breaks records

Larry Everett — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), New Titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic set the new bar for EA's pre-order sales according the to the notes for the Q1 Fiscal Earnings Release. The previous bar was set by Battlefield 3, but according to President Frank Gibeau during the investor's conference call today, SWTOR far exceed BF3's pre-order sales. In fact, according to Gibeau the sales exceeded the company's expected sales curve, therefore breaking records no one at the game developing company could have expected.

As for the release date that everyone seems to be waiting for, CEO John Riccitiello explained during the call that although they have set a wide margin for the release date, they are confident in the projected release of holiday 2011. It is not uncommon according to Riccitiello for an MMO to withhold an exact release date until four to six weeks prior to launch. That said, EA CFO Eric Brown did say, "In September, we will be in a position to call the ball and give you a hard ship date" following the major beta testing push.

[Update: Originally, we quoted Frank Gibeau with the "hard ship date" quote, but the official transcript credits Eric Brown with the statement.]

EA proclaims SWTOR preorder breaks records originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA to be the sole source for SWTOR downloads [updated]

Larry Everett — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Thanks to our friends at Darth Hater, Massively has learned that the highly anticipated MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic will be sold as a direct download only through Electronic Arts itself. In an interview with CEO John Riccitiello, the Wall Street Journal uncovered news of EA's new service, one it's calling Origin. This service will provide customers with a download service for all EA games, including the Battlefield games, the Need For Speed games, and the aforementioned Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Origin is to act as a social network hub as well as a place to track all your EA game purchases, explained Riccitiello to the Wall Street Journal. This functionality will be available to all users even if they did not purchase the game directly from Origin. However, Riccitiello clarified that Star Wars: The Old Republic will still be purchasable in box form via retailers; only the digital download itself will be exclusive to Origin. Presumably, other all-digital services such as Direct2Drive and Steam will not carry the game.

The full article from the Wall Street Journal is available with a subscription to the newspaper's website.

[Update: Stephen Reid posted to the official SWTOR forums: "However, even though you'll only be able to buy and download The Old Republic digitally via Origin, you will still be able to buy a retail, boxed copy of the game from your favorite retailer (and that includes online retailers who'll ship the box to you). BioWare and EA know the value many gamers place on a cool boxed product... and we're producing a cool boxed product. (Or maybe I should say 'boxed products'.)"]

EA to be the sole source for SWTOR downloads [updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst says one million subscribers are attainable for SWTOR

Larry Everett — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, Star Wars: The Old Republic

At the Electronic Arts fourth-quarter shareholders conference earlier this year, CEO John Riccitiello stated this about his soon-to-be-released MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic: "At half a million subscribers, the game is substantially profitable, but it's not the kind of thing we would write home about. Anything north of a million subscribers, it's a very profitable business." This has been questioned by fans and shareholders alike as all wonder whether the game could actually reach the goal of one million subscribers. According to Janco analyst Mike Hickey, the answer is yes!

Gaming business website Gamasutra quoted Hickey as saying that Janco "suspect[s] a willingness from investors to believe [500,000] to 1 million Star Wars MMO subscribers is an attainable target." Hickey has been focused on games and the gaming industry for some time now, specifically on EA, so the rise and fall of EA-published Warhammer Online cannot be off his radar when he makes his predictions about SWTOR. Ultimately, Hickey states that one million subscribers will mean $161.9 million in gross sales and up to $35 million in total profit for EA if his prediction is true.

Although there is still no exact release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic, we will know how close to the mark Hickey's prediction is when the game launches later this year.

Analyst says one million subscribers are attainable for SWTOR originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The "big bet": EA aims at a half-million subscribers to make SWTOR profitable

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Launches, MMO Industry, Star Wars: The Old Republic

"It's a big bet, but it's the right kind of bet to make for EA."

These are the words of BioWare's Ray Muzyka, responding to a conference call to EA investors in which the company admitted that Star Wars: The Old Republic will need to pull in at least 500,000 subscribers to become profitable. This is substantially less than the two million subscriber mark that industry analysts previously predicted.

During the conference call, EA CEO John Riccitiello drew a line in the sand between financial failure and victory for The Old Republic: "At half a million subscribers, the game is substantially profitable, but it's not the sort of thing we would write home about. Anything north of one million subscribers is a very profitable business. Essentially it turns on a dime from being quite sharply negative in terms of its EPS [Earnings Per Share] impact to positive the day the product ships. So it's our view that we can be very successful without fundamentally challenging the market leader [World of Warcraft] because we think we'll probably hit the smaller competitors harder when we get out there. Of course, we have no particular ambition to be a distant number two. Our ambitions are higher than that, but we throttle back a little bit relative to our financial projections."

While Riccitiello admitted that the title has seen "significant development costs," he claims that costs proposed by the public are far higher than the actual costs of The Old Republic's development. He declined to share the actual costs or the number of staff working on the game.

EA also announced that The Old Republic's release date will be in calendar 2011. BioWare has as recently as this January targeted a spring 2011 release. EA's estimate puts its launch somewhere between March 31st and December 31st of this year.

The "big bet": EA aims at a half-million subscribers to make SWTOR profitable originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA's Riccitiello says game discs aren't going away

Jef Reahard — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, Miscellaneous

While Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello thinks digital distribution will finally outstrip its physical counterpart in 2011, he stops short of predicting the demise of retail packaging. In the second part of an interview conducted by Industry Gamers, the EA bossman sings the praises of the disc and debunks trendy cloud computing-based notions of gaming's near future.

"Sometimes you're not going to play because your internet connection is down and sometimes delivering a game by streaming is a really inefficient way to do it," Riccitiello says, in what might be music to the ears of gaming luddites dismayed at the thought of renouncing actual ownership of their collections. Riccitiello goes on to posit that services like OnLive will struggle with latency-dependent titles (your average first person shooter, for example) and ultimately concludes that the days of 100% digital delivery are pretty far into the future.

EA's Riccitiello says game discs aren't going away originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"Full stop": John Riccitiello predicts digital sales dominance in 2011

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous

Out with the old, in with the new -- these words are often used every January, but for John Riccitiello they also signify the balance tipping between digital and physical sales. As Electronic Arts' CEO put it bluntly to Industry Gamers: "At the end of [2011], the digital business is bigger than the packaged goods business, full stop."

Riccitiello drew this conclusion after looking at the recent market trends of titles like Lord of the Rings Online and EA's own free-to-play games. In fact, he admits that the "dirty little secret" of EA is that some of its F2P titles end up being the games players drop the most money on per month, such as those who pay upwards of $5,000 a month for FIFA Ultimate Team.

With EA on the cusp of launching Star Wars: The Old Republic this spring (fingers crossed), the question of EA's MMO pricing structure is still up in the air. However, Riccitiello thinks that we're in for a year of transition to mostly digital purchases: "I think these business models are going to find their own feet. We're very careful about making sure we price appropriately for platform and also for the intellectual property."

"Full stop": John Riccitiello predicts digital sales dominance in 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic not planned for fiscal year 2011

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, MMO Industry, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

If you're eagerly awaiting the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, even with the release window of April 2011 being thrown around, you could be forgiven for holding out hope that the game might get a slightly earlier release. (If you're sick of hearing about it, you might be hoping for an early release too, just so everyone will shut up.) But your hopes will not be borne out, it seems -- and the game might even come a bit later than we'd expected. John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, has stated again that the game is not expected to ship during fiscal year '11.

Although he didn't reference Star Wars: The Old Republic by name, Riccitiello referred to a new MMO currently under development -- and CFO Eric Brown later referred specifically to the game as not being part of the '11 fiscal year forecast. The period under discussion ends on March 31st, 2011, which means that we can still look for the game early next year, but it's not getting pushed any faster. Still, it's only a year away, and that year could go quickly.

[ via Joystiq ]

Star Wars: The Old Republic not planned for fiscal year 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 May 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bioware confirms 2011 SWTOR release

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, New Titles, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Yesterday we talked about a rumor that had been floating around thanks to Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, who had mentioned the spring 2011 launch of an unnamed MMO on a recent conference call. Of course, the Star Wars: The Old Republic rumor mill sprang into action, with good cause as it turns out.

Sean Dahlberg of Bioware confirmed the rumor on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums earlier today: While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars[TM]: The Old Republic[TM]. We've got a lot of exciting updates and reveals planned throughout 2010, including the first-ever hands-on testing for the game. It's not too late to sign up to be a game tester, so go to www.swtor.com/tester and sign up today. We can't wait to share more about the game with you as we progress through the year, so make sure you stay tuned to the official website for details.

While it may not be quite as soon as many fans were hoping for, the extra time gives Bioware a chance to add all those final touches and roll out a nicely put-together game for 2011.

Bioware confirms 2011 SWTOR release originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic rumored for spring in 2011

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, New Titles, Rumors, Star Wars: The Old Republic

A long time from now, in a game store probably not too far away... you might be getting your copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Well, all right, spring of 2011 might not be all that far along, but if you're one of the many eagerly looking forward to Bioware's entry into the MMO arena, it certainly feels like an eternity.

ShackNews has recently reported on a rumor that John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, mentioned that they were looking forward to their next big MMO launch in spring of 2011 while discussing the company's financial outlook. Although he was cautious and stated they had not announced a launch date, he did mention that the team was making "great progress" toward that timeframe.

Obviously, the game was not specified by name, which does technically mean he could have been referring to another game. But unless they've secretly been developing Warhammer Online II: The Warhammering, in all likelihood we can expect to see Star Wars: The Old Republic early next year. Which might be good news if you're a Bioware fan anyway, since Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 are making enough of a dent on your wallet this year.

Star Wars: The Old Republic rumored for spring in 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WAR population numbers revealed, but what do they mean?

Brooke Pilley — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Culture, Warhammer Online, Opinion

When Mythic Entertainment released Warhammer Online on September 18, 2008, it quickly became the fastest selling MMORPG ever. A month after release, they announced WAR had registered 750,000 players and people were buzzing that it may actually make a noticeable dent in World of Warcraft's armor. But as the expression goes: good things usually don't last.

Box sales in your first month are one thing, but what matters most for a subscription MMORPG is player retention. Since October 2008, EA and Mythic have remained completely silent about WAR's numbers, something that is never really a good sign. Player and industry speculation was rampant given consistent reports of an in-game exodus of players. The speculation that WAR was losing players was confirmed by a financial report released by EA stating that WAR had just over 300k subscribers as of December 31, 2008. Let a new round of speculation about what these numbers mean begin.

Join us after the cut where we'll discuss the reasons I think WAR lost so many players in such a short period of time. I'll also chat about how I think Mythic can regain those lost subscriptions and perhaps grow even larger!

Continue reading WAR population numbers revealed, but what do they mean?

WAR population numbers revealed, but what do they mean? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breaking: 300k Warhammer Online subscribers as of December 31, 2008

Brooke Pilley — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Warhammer Online

We just learned courtesy of an eagle-eyed forum goer at VN that as of Q3 2008, Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online had over 300,000 accounts. There is an EA investor's call taking place shortly where CEO John Riticiello may elaborate on this, so we'll keep you posted. We'll also post our thoughts on this news tomorrow.

Warhammer(R) Online: Age of Reckoning(R), an MMO from EA's Mythic Entertainment studio, ended the quarter with over 300K paying subscribers in North America and Europe. [Courtesy of Yahoo Finance]

Breaking: 300k Warhammer Online subscribers as of December 31, 2008 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA CEO Riccitiello doesn't think investors care about quality

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business Models, Economy, Interviews, MMO Industry, Opinion

When you're playing your favorite MMO, how much thought do you put into the finances of the game? Do you wonder if the game had initial investors, or if they were banking on a big-name publisher? Maybe they're an indie developer out raising their own investment capital? In the case of an MMO, the most-likely scenario is initial investments made by a big-name company, or in the case of Tabula Rasa, a big name dude.

In a recent statement by EA's outspoken CEO John Riccitiello, he says, "I don't think the investors give a sh*t about our quality. They care about our earnings per share. They wait for it to happen. We had three years where we didn't make our expectations. If I were an investor, I would wait and see." As controversial as this statement might be, we get treated to an interesting interpretation over at The Greenskin blog.

Continue reading EA CEO Riccitiello doesn't think investors care about quality

EA CEO Riccitiello doesn't think investors care about quality originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Digital Continuum: Diet WAR

Kyle Horner — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Warhammer Online, Opinion, The Digital Continuum

Diet Warhammer Online: same great taste, less content. Is it bad that the recently re-branded Mythic Entertainment just cut out a large portion of our Warhammer Online pie and put it in the deep freeze? Well it's certainly not good when a developer cuts content they've been talking about publicly for so long, especially when launch is only three or four months away. I've already written about why this MMO ode to classic tabletop trappings shouldn't be shoved onto shelves half-baked and I still feel like I'd rather see a delay than see so much content cut. While there have been plenty of delays already, that doesn't mean more would have been intolerable.

I'm going to try and take an honest look at what the removal of four capital cities and four classes means for Warhammer Online. I will admit that when the news first hit, a vile and seemingly ancient sort of anger began to boil up inside my lungs. It was the onset of some form of draconian rage at the removal of so much content that I'd been personally invested in as a future player. I never really got into Chaos and planned on playing Dark Elves, but now a large part of that content is gone. At first I felt anger and confusion towards Mythic. It wasn't until after that initial knee-jerk anger passed that I was able to give some real thought to their choice and was able to consider the varied consequences.

Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Diet WAR

The Digital Continuum: Diet WAR originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA Mythic reclaims original Mythic Entertainment name

Matt Warner — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Dark Age of Camelot, MMO Industry, New Titles, Warhammer Online

It was only a name change! Remember when Mythic Entertainment, the force behind Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online sold out and got slapped in the face with the EA brand? Many gamers associate a stigma to EA and were disheartened by the name retrofitting that took place in 2006. In an interesting twist, Mark Jacobs announced yesterday that EA Mythic has reclaimed the Mythic Entertainment name. As to why, according to Jacobs it's as simple as EA wanting to reinvent itself. EA's recently acquired studios Bioware and Pandemic retained their identities.

In an MMORPG.com interview conducted by Jon Wood, Jacobs explains the new rationality being employed by John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts. EA wants studios functioning as their own city states with more creative freedoms and maneuverability, an example Riccitiello uses in a February 10th Gamasutra article. It's important to note that even with the name change Mythic Entertainment is still a part of Electronic Arts. (Duh!) Mark Jacobs also confirmed that the company will be revealing a new logo soon.

Two more Warhammer Online announcements are planned for later today. What will they be? It could be about the Collector's Edition pre-orders, a release date, or worse another delay. We will keep you posted.

EA Mythic reclaims original Mythic Entertainment name originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA's CEO says Warhammer won't rival World of Warcraft

Michael Zenke — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Business Models, Warhammer Online

John Riccitiello has garnered a relatively positive reputation among gamers since ascending to the post of Electronic Arts CEO for his 'hands-off' policy when it comes to newly acquired studios. His new appreciation for individual studio culture endeared him to fearful fans after the BioWare purchase, and keeps Warhammer Online hopefuls in a positive frame of mind.

It's no surprise, then, to hear Riccitiello shooting straight on Warhammer's hopes against World of Warcraft. Says the CEO: "Warhammer Online [will be] a strong entry in the MMORPG space," Riccitiello said at the William Blair & Company's investor meeting Tuesday. "No, I don't think it's going to rival WoW, but no one would ever predict that. But it is a strong game that will ... get our returns for us. We're proud of it."

EA's CEO says Warhammer won't rival World of Warcraft originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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April Fools at Tobold's blog: WoW to cost $20 a month

Kyle Horner — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, News Items

We have to admit, Tobold's April Fools' joke is easily one of the better ones coming out today. Upon first glance his reasoning for the $5 dollar subscription bump seems somewhat plausible, citing rising power costs and the weakening dollar. However the real treat is beyond the joke, in the comments where 'Mike Morhaime' -- co-founder and current president of Blizzard -- makes a comment about the joke being a good idea and to wait for official announcement on the World of Warcraft website.

If that weren't enough, the director of Activision Blizzard Jean-René Fourtou mysteriously pops up in the comments afterwards and publicly fires Morhaime! Oh no, what will happen next? Ah, well then things take a truly inspired twist as the CEO of Electronic Arts John Riccitiello triumphantly appears to announce that Warhammer Online is actually coming out May 1st and then promptly thanks Actiblizzvision for allowing EA to scoop up their lost customers.

We thoroughly enjoyed the joke, as it's fairly surreal to see even fake versions of these people posting comments on a blog.

April Fools at Tobold's blog: WoW to cost $20 a month originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultima Online shake-up: incoming developer layoffs, team restructuring and relocation imminent

Matt Warner — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:05:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items, Ultima Online

Ultima Online recently celebrated its 10 year birthday and even launched a shiny new expansion titled Kingdom Reborn that received mixed reviews. The celebration is soon to end with heads rolling as many Ultima Online developers will be pushed into the unemployment line after John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, sent out a Dear John letter -- tasking every studio and company under EA's conglomeration to make the necessary cutbacks to adjust resources accordingly against rising costs. (EA corporate raid gathering: "Fools, prepare the chopping block!")

Chris Rabideau, Ultima Online Producer, posted on the Ultima Online Herald that the Ultima Online team will be moving from its current station located at EA's headquarters outside of San Francisco, CA to EA Mythic's studios located in Fairfax, VA. Rabideau claims that development on the game will continue as planned and the move will have very little impact in the short term on the game and community . Nowhere in his letter to the community does he acknowledge any lay-offs, but an anonymous source has come forward claiming he is and is clearly devastated. (I can not confirm or deny this source).

"There is nothing to lose for me to post this and I admit I feel bitter, so why not let you know the truth?

Alot of the UO team was laid off today including me and all of QA.

We were escorted out of the building and not even allowed to email our goodbye email to everyone else. They even had managers watching us the whole time like we had done something wrong.

Most of the engineers are already working on Warhammer.

Most of the rest of the UO team is not going to Virginia. Only one person is moving fore sure and maybe one or two more are considering it too. That’s it. Almost all of the famous devs are not going.

Almost everyone on the list posted earlier by someone is not going to Virginia for sure.

Early December is when everyone who does not move to Virginia is laid off too.

I hope that something I did for UO is something that you found fun. We really did try to do our best.

Maybe I will see you all in another not EA game soon!"

Business as usual, but you know it's that stinky EA business. While it's plausible Ultima Online will benefit from this move later down the road; thanks to more resources available under one roof, all the UO and DAOC devs doing quality assurance on Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, that sort of thing. One thing is certain and that is you can't replace a dedicated developer who worked on the project for years and poured everything they had and expect the same results from their replacement or non-replacement in some cases. I guess we can expect a skeleton crew for UO from here on out.

Do you think these corporate lay-offs stem from Electronic Arts spending 600 plus million dollars to purchase Bioware?

Ultima Online shake-up: incoming developer layoffs, team restructuring and relocation imminent originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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