Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts is a company that makes video games
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EA is one of the largest and most prolific 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. Electronic Arts treated their developers right. They shared all credit with the developers and treated them like rock stars. EA bought their developers full page ads in gaming magazines and gave their published titles album like box art to convey an artist feel. 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 every year.

Electronic Arts Recently Published Games

Name Platforms Developer
The Sims 3
released on Feb. 20, 2009 		PC Maxis Software
Sim Animals
released on Jan. 27, 2009 		WII, DS EA Games
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest
released on Jan. 13, 2009 		X360, PS3, DS, PC Pandemic Studios
Spore: Creepy and Cute
released on Nov. 18, 2008 		PC Maxis Software
Left 4 Dead
released on Nov. 18, 2008 		X360, PC Valve Corporation, Turtle Rock Studios, Inc., Certain Affinity
Need for Speed: Undercover
released on Nov. 18, 2008 		PSP, PS2, X360, PS3, WII, DS, PC, IPHN EA Black Box
Skate It
released on Nov. 18, 2008 		WII, DS Exient Entertainment, EA Montreal
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
released on Nov. 14, 2008 		MAC, PSP, PS2, X360, PS3, WII, DS, PC Electronic Arts
Hasbro Family Game Night
released on Nov. 11, 2008 		PS2, WII Hasbro Interactive, Inc.
Mirror's Edge
released on Nov. 11, 2008 		X360, PS3, PC DICE

Electronic Arts Recently Developed Games

Name Platforms Publisher
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
released on Nov. 14, 2008 		MAC, PSP, PS2, X360, PS3, WII, DS, PC Electronic Arts
Brain Quest Grades 3 & 4
released on Sept. 22, 2008 		DS Electronic Arts
SimCity Creator
released on Sept. 22, 2008 		WII, DS Electronic Arts
Brain Quest Grades 5 & 6
released on Sept. 22, 2008 		DS Electronic Arts
Madden NFL 09 All-Play
released on Aug. 12, 2008 		WII Electronic Arts
The SimCity Box
released on June 30, 2008 		PC EA Games
The Sims: Carnival - SnapCity
released on Jan. 15, 2008 		PC Electronic Arts
Boogie
released on Aug. 7, 2007 		PS2, WII, DS Electronic Arts
UEFA Champions League 2006-2007
released on March 22, 2007 		PSP, PS2, X360, PC EA Sports
NBA Street Homecourt
released on Feb. 19, 2007 		X360, PS3 Electronic Arts
Trivia
Electronic Arts was once given the title of one of the best companies to work for in the U.S.
  • True
  • False

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General Information Edit
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 1982-05-28 00:00:00
Count of Games Published 779
Count of Games Developed 114
Aliases EA
Associated News
Is Starbreeze Working On A Syndicate Revival?
Pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes.
Electronic Arts Saddles Up With Suda, Epic
The long-rumored collabo between Suda51 and Shinji Mikami is totally happening. Also, Epic's totally down with EA.
All-Day EA Blackout
Another Dark Thursday brought to you by your friends at Giant Bomb. Expect no updates!
Recurring Appearances
New York
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Earth
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Chicago
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Seattle
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Boston
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Los Angeles
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Miami
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Arizona
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Space
first in Spacewar!
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The United States of America
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3D
first in Elite
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Artificial Intelligence
first in Pong: The Next Level
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Penalties
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Cover Athlete
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Pistol
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Goal
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Submachine Gun
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