Electronic Arts was once a power house in the gaming business, the publisher was respected for delivering great content on multiple consoles while raking in huge profits. I'm not saying the publishing giant has died, neither I'm I hinting it will. EA up to this day commands great respect amongst devs and industry insiders alike. Gamers have lost some confidence over the years because of cocky attitudes, but slowly that confidence is being regained.
The company's been making all the right moves lately but has confessed to some of its former fopas that lead the giant down a rocky path, a path that has lead analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen & Company to utter some stinging words and lower their sales estimates for a number of the publishers games.
Based on Cowen's channel checks, Creutz reduced his estimates for racing title Need For Speed: Shift and Wii exclusive Dead space extraction by a total of about 250,000 units. Cowen expects the latest Need For Speed game to sell just under 900,000 in the US in its first year on the market, noting that "the franchise is firmly stuck in decline.
Creutz also lowered his first year US estimate for Bioware's RPG Dragon Age: Origins by around 550,000 units to just below 1.5 million.
The analyst did however note that EA distributed title The Beatles: Rock Band had "gotten off to a strong start" and he expects it to outsell guitar Hero 5 at retail in the US, shifting over 3.5 million US units in the first year versus 2.2 million sales achieved by Rock Band 2 in the twelve months following its release.
EA has changed its strategy in recent years by creating and releasing new IPs like Mirror's Edge and Dead Space while strengthening established franchises like Madden NFL 09, Fifa 09, and NBA Live 09, all of which are million-plus-sellers.
Rumors about a hostile takeover bid from Microsoft were circulating the web, which both parties later denied. Here's to hoping EA lives long, learn from their many mistakes and keep on making great games.
10/01/09 Ernice Gilbert
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