Let's be honest here, not all gaming CEOs are pricks. 
 
For every Wada, Kotick, Konami and Capcom heads, we will always have a John Riccitiello.   
 
This man stands up for gamers, and really tries to serve not the industry but the community.  Plus, the dude is totally someone you could tea bag some bitches with on Halo, or even throw a fake football around on Madden 11.   
 
So, what do you guys think of him, and do you think his gamer heart is needed in the world of corporate gaming industries?

Never heard of him. 

" Never heard of him.  "

I like him, he reminds me of a less evil Kotick. 
 
Or a more evil Peter Moore

Wait, why are the CEO's of Capcom pricks? :S 
 
Also, it's Iwada.

He's a good guy. Probably the best thing he's done as CEO of EA is to have developers of small Facebook games and regular, big-budget AAA titles work together on games to learn from each other and promote a better work environment.  When he bought Pogo he got a ton of shit, and everyone in EA looked down on them, which really hurt their game development.

No idea, he might be a fucking child molester for all we know. 

" The dude is also totally someone who would charge you for keys that unlock stuff in a game even if you could unlock it normally for free by just playing through the game. "

The dudes an asshole.

" The dudes an asshole. "

" @zombie2011 said:

" The dudes an asshole. "

...compared to Wada and Kotick? "

" @Guyzea said:

" The dude is also totally someone who would charge you for keys that unlock stuff in a game even if you could unlock it normally for free by just playing through the game. "

That's what I like to call the idiot toll. EA is literally charging people in return for stupidity. "

Duder is awesome, how do you not like him? Other than the way NFS is being handled right now I love him for what he's done for every other franchise & the new franchises he's brought.

John Riccitiello is a pretty cool dude, he saves burning puppies and walks on water.

Pfft, he's no Kotick.

" John Riccitiello is a pretty cool dude, he saves burning puppies and walks on water. "

I would say that EA began to lose it's reputation as the Evil Corporate Overlord under him, but that may also have to do with Bobby Kotick being an even bigger Evil Corporate Overlord and saying stuff that gets people on the internet very angry.

" Wait, why are the CEO's of Capcom pricks? :S  Also, it's Iwada.  

So we're clear: 
 
Square Enix president: Yoichi Wada. 
 
Nintendo Prez/CEO: Satoru Iwata 
 
Capcom Heads: Kenzo and Haru Tsujimoto, father and son 

" Never heard of him.  "

Oh my goodness, all CEOs are terrible people because it'slike they're only in it for the money, how dare they, games are so corporate nowadays i wish it was like the older days again.
 
(i can try to put in more sarcasm if necessary)

" Oh my goodness, all CEOs are terrible people because it'slike they're only in it for the money, how dare they, games are so corporate nowadays i wish it was like the older days again. (i can try to put in more sarcasm if necessary) "

He seems like a cool guy and actually seems like he knows about games unlike Kotick. Plus without him I doubt Dead Space would have been green lite. The company just seemed somewhat less evil since he became CEO.

I like him, he's an ex-bioware, and he brought EA in the right direction imho. Remember, a few years back, EA were pricks and Activition was cool... Ahhhhh times have changed.

He's a businessman. He might be a smart, relevant businessman, but he's still just their to make money. He is a damn sight better than Kotick, however.

Who?

" @sharma55: Have you ever listened to people talk about game CEOs? They do that. It's like everything about the industry has been ruined because more people play games. "

Unless it's Iwata, Suda 51 or Keita Takahashi, I don't know or care about anyone in "the industry"

" @sharma55: Nope. It's all about them running a business, and if employee morale is something they think will make them work harder, they'll put on the illusion of loving them.  "

This whole thread is hilarious 18 months in the future. I wonder what people think of him now?

/thread necro

He is a devil in the video game industry, just destroying classical games, to make more and more money.

I really hope EA's era will be over soon, maybe they get bankrupt if they don't understand. John Riccitiello sees the customers as money ressources, not as the king. Even Activision is better than EA, at least Activision doesn't destroys classical games, expect CoD. That free2Play concept in tripple A games, where you need to pay the fullprice and than you just bought 5% of its game, the other 95% you need to buy via to expensive DLCs...

Oh jesus christ. The fact that this guy made this thread is fucking hilarious in hindsight.

I'm curious how long he has left.

The irony is truly astounding, the funny part is that John Riccitiello himself hasn't changed much, but the industry as a whole has.