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Larry Probst took over the company after Hawkins left. Probst wanted EA to be lead with principle and integrity. Probst refused to allow any M-rated games to be published, which had become more of a mainstay in the industry. However, this caused problems from EA. Due to the lack of M-rated game, EA's stock fell and hard. Probst faced major criticism from Wall-Street and investors alike. Probst was eventually forced to change his tune on M-rated games. EA published its first M-rated game, System Shock 2, in 1999. In a way, this marked a new beginning for EA. After this, EA became one of the prominent and largest, if not the largest, publishers in the industry.
In 2004, EA purchased the exclusive license of ESPN and the NFL. This one seen as one of the largest deals in video game history. It is also seen as dark day by many gamers. Many gamers felt that the 2K series was much higher quality than the Madden series and this deal forced the Madden series on any gamer wanting to play a football title. EA would then go on to acquire the exclusive license of NCAA football, furthering expanding their now giant empire. EA was now releasing yearly installations of Madden, FIFA, NHL, NBA Live, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and more.
In 2007, Probst stepped down from his position as CEO and appointed John Riccitiello to CEO. Under Riccitiello the EA empire would expand further than ever. Riccitiello went on to purchase many major gaming developers, such as Mythic Entertainment, Pandemic Studios and BioWare. Riccitiello also made a bid for Take-Two, EA's main competitor. The bid lead to very long series of delays and changes to the deal that was then declined by Take-Two. Critics say it was a bad decision not to accept the deal, as nobody else would offer them a price even close to EA's. Gamers were very pleased with this, as some of their favorite franchises wouldn't be "lost" to EA(such as GTA, and Bioshock). If the deal did happen to be accepted, the acquisition would be far and away the largest deal in video game history.
On July 31, 2008, Hall of Fame football player Jim Brown sued EA for "unspecified damages for trademark infringement, unauthorized use of his likeness, trademark dilution and unfair business practices and competition". Brown's claim was on the "All-Browns" team in Electronic Arts' Madden series the running back is African American player wearing the number 32. This player is obviously meant to be Jim Brown. Brown also demanded that his likeness be removed from the game.
Criticism
Electronic Arts is widely recognized as one of the most hated video game companies in the industry. Many gamers see EA as trying to form a monopoly by acquiring many game developers and publishers. Some also believe once a developer is acquired by EA, the quality of that studios titles drop due to EA trying to meddle with and milk the franchises owned by these companies. EA is also criticized because of their yearly installations of their games. Many gamers feel that these games are just very small changes between them and that they are rushed out each year.
Starting in the year 2008/late 07 however, EA has earned new respect and recognition from gamers. While still developing and publishing their annual franchises, EA have shifted their focus towards new - and often innovative - IP's. Titles published and developed in 07/08 such as Skate, Mirror's Edge and Dead Space have helped significantly increase EA's "reputation".
Unfortunately, EA has lost many of it's PC fans due to it's installations of the anti-piracy software SecuROM, though this has backfired, and Spore, a game with plenty of controversy over this security software, has become the #1 most pirated game of 2003.
EA is one of the largest publishers/developers in the video game industry.
Overview
Electronic Arts is an American developer, publisher, marketer and distributor and is one of the largest video game companies in the world. The company was founded by Trip Hawkins in 1982 and was a pioneer in the video game industry. EA started out as a publishing house when it was formed but slowly began to develop in-house games such as Skate or Die. EA then began to purchase various developers, quickly becoming one of the largest publishers in the industry.History
Trip Hawkins originally created the company as Amazin' Software. Hawkins quickly began filling the roster with former co-workers from Apple. Hawkins had a sales strategy to sell directly to the buyers. This proved difficult because retailers were interested in well-known brands such as Atari. However, Amazin' Software was to able thrive, earning a revenue of $11 million. Many of the internal workers at Amazin' Software disliked the name of the company though. After several meetings, the name was decided. The new name for Amazin' Software was Electronic Arts. However, after 9 years as the CEO, Hawkins left Electronic Arts and formed a new developer 3DO.Larry Probst took over the company after Hawkins left. Probst wanted EA to be lead with principle and integrity. Probst refused to allow any M-rated games to be published, which had become more of a mainstay in the industry. However, this caused problems from EA. Due to the lack of M-rated game, EA's stock fell and hard. Probst faced major criticism from Wall-Street and investors alike. Probst was eventually forced to change his tune on M-rated games. EA published its first M-rated game, System Shock 2, in 1999. In a way, this marked a new beginning for EA. After this, EA became one of the prominent and largest, if not the largest, publishers in the industry.
In 2004, EA purchased the exclusive license of ESPN and the NFL. This one seen as one of the largest deals in video game history. It is also seen as dark day by many gamers. Many gamers felt that the 2K series was much higher quality than the Madden series and this deal forced the Madden series on any gamer wanting to play a football title. EA would then go on to acquire the exclusive license of NCAA football, furthering expanding their now giant empire. EA was now releasing yearly installations of Madden, FIFA, NHL, NBA Live, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and more.
In 2007, Probst stepped down from his position as CEO and appointed John Riccitiello to CEO. Under Riccitiello the EA empire would expand further than ever. Riccitiello went on to purchase many major gaming developers, such as Mythic Entertainment, Pandemic Studios and BioWare. Riccitiello also made a bid for Take-Two, EA's main competitor. The bid lead to very long series of delays and changes to the deal that was then declined by Take-Two. Critics say it was a bad decision not to accept the deal, as nobody else would offer them a price even close to EA's. Gamers were very pleased with this, as some of their favorite franchises wouldn't be "lost" to EA(such as GTA, and Bioshock). If the deal did happen to be accepted, the acquisition would be far and away the largest deal in video game history.
On July 31, 2008, Hall of Fame football player Jim Brown sued EA for "unspecified damages for trademark infringement, unauthorized use of his likeness, trademark dilution and unfair business practices and competition". Brown's claim was on the "All-Browns" team in Electronic Arts' Madden series the running back is African American player wearing the number 32. This player is obviously meant to be Jim Brown. Brown also demanded that his likeness be removed from the game.
Criticism
Electronic Arts is widely recognized as one of the most hated video game companies in the industry. Many gamers see EA as trying to form a monopoly by acquiring many game developers and publishers. Some also believe once a developer is acquired by EA, the quality of that studios titles drop due to EA trying to meddle with and milk the franchises owned by these companies. EA is also criticized because of their yearly installations of their games. Many gamers feel that these games are just very small changes between them and that they are rushed out each year. Starting in the year 2008/late 07 however, EA has earned new respect and recognition from gamers. While still developing and publishing their annual franchises, EA have shifted their focus towards new - and often innovative - IP's. Titles published and developed in 07/08 such as Skate, Mirror's Edge and Dead Space have helped significantly increase EA's "reputation".
Unfortunately, EA has lost many of it's PC fans due to it's installations of the anti-piracy software SecuROM, though this has backfired, and Spore, a game with plenty of controversy over this security software, has become the #1 most pirated game of 2003.
| Company Name | Electronic Arts |
| Street Address | 209 Redwood Shores Parkway |
| City | Redwood City |
| State | California |
| Country | USA |
| Website | http://www.ea.com |
| Contact Email | |
| Phone Number | 650-628-1500 |
| Date Founded | May 28, 1982 |
| Count of Games Published | 839 |
| Count of Games Developed | 122 |
| Aliases | EA |
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Brett Favre first in John Madden Football '92 |
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John Madden first in John Madden Football |
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Tim Duncan |
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David Beckham |
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Shaquille O'Neal first in Shaq Fu |
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Peyton Manning |
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Gimli |
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Harry Potter first in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
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Steven Gerrard |
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Ronald Weasley first in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
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