The Bandwagon Chronicles continue. With the monster success of Nintendo's Wii in comparison to the competition (regional and global) companies of all shapes and sizes are eating great big blackbirds for lunch. Stuffed with this crow and facing the chronic cash injections Nintendo is receiving from its WiiDS Phenomenon, these companies concede failure in projecting the direction of the market and turn 180° to get in on the cashflow/audience appreciation.
One such company is Electronic Arts and its Chief Executive Officer John Riccitello sounds the alphorn to reverberate throughout the industrial mountains. He says that it's time for developers to shift focus to the Wii platform. Read on, bruh...Interviewed by San Jose Mercury News last week, Riccitello shockingly admits error in deciding who to back primarily in the console contests and vows to correct their course. Listen to him openly mention the company past and present views on the 3 home console competitors:
"One thing that's different [this generation] is we typically figured out who the market leader was going to be before the start of the cycle and bet with our development resources on that platform. We made the wrong call there (by betting on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), which made this transition harder than it would otherwise be. But now we're catching up, and I think we're fine."
While EA is doing well according to the EA CEO, his turnabout is surprising given the hardline attitudes from many developers in the industry towards Wii despite its record-breaking success. These companies refuse outright to work with Wii platform grumbling about everything from its audience to its technological limits to its sales longevity. The Wii maintains this power despite a near invisibility on North American store shelves nearly 2 years after launch. What will happen once with this large and building library Wiis became easier to get and sales climb extea high as a result?
Obviously it's something Riccitello has finally realized with their attempts to alter their business model with brands like the new All-Play for its perennial sports titles. The "3rd parties don't sell on Nintendo systems" excuse has got to stop. Irrationally downranking a competitor will serve no bottom lines very well. The disbelief period should have ended long ago. EA looks like it's finally serious about spreading the wealth and with a strong statement like that it looks like the rest of the 3rd party holdouts won't be far behind.
Thanks to San Jose Mercury News through CNet.com.
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