IN:Gen - Reviewing the rise and fall of key development houses in this Generation
With the aid of the shamelessly lifted and stolen name and logo this line of threads is where we'll hold discussion on selected key gaming companies in light of this generation of consoles now being firmly in the last twelve months. Some of these companies will have seen great successes and some great failure on their journey through the current generation that saw development costs rise and hard attempts to more heavily monetise successful titles. Though there will be highlights of key titles that have been a success the core focus will be on the fortunes of each companies central franchises and where they now stand at the end of this generation before stepping into the next one. Everyone can then discuss their thoughts on the company this generation, where they went right and wrong, the quality of their output and practices and also how they think things will go for them in the coming years.
The first company to fall under the IN:Gen spotlight focus is:
Electronic Arts
To this day EA remains one of the industry's biggest players acting as both a developer home and as a publisher. It also has a long history of maintaining strong brands with enduring appeal and being able to repeatedly reap the rewards of providing regular new content for each fanbase despite rivals being chastised for such aggressive release patterns.
This generation has been something of a walk of fire for the company however, though still making a healthy profit it has seen a lot of brand erosion due to subpar releases and attempts to dial up the aggressiveness of its player monetisation. This is something best reflected as turn to a central focus of these threads:
The Brands
Key License
Last generation EA struggled somewhat on this front having recently lost the rights to the James Bond franchise following a string of middling efforts at best. This generation they boldly stepped out to address this by securing a major licensed brand, Star Wars. The fruits of this have been, so far, quite weak. Battlefront delivered a solid success but attempts to monetise hard on the sequel eroded trust in the game and franchise so much that it's questionable as to whether the company will attempt a third game. A string of hits was pushed back and now current hopes lie with the single player title due out shortly.
FIFA
Despite continuing to be a yearly fixture on the release schedules the series has seen an increase in monetisation but has weathered that to continue to be a stronghold for the company. The franchise shows little sign of relinquishing its dominance and so is arguably, at this point, the series the company is built upon.
Anthem
An attempt by EA to launch a major new franchise in the loot shooter arena that has proven popular. The effort was plagued by issues however and has become one of the most well known failure stories of the year cementing the quick death of the franchise before it even got its booster packed feet off the ground.
Army of Two
The trilogy of games rounded out last generation following a third game by Visceral. However, with co-op falling further out of favour and Visceral being shuttered itself it left EA opting not to bring the franchise back for the current generation at all.
Battlefield
Possibly one of the biggest stumbling blocks EA has faced this generation has been the evolution of the Battlefield franchise. With the dawn of the current generation the series arrived with a problematic launch that recovered in the space of a year to deliver a much beloved and still played success with Battlefield 4. With Call of Duty fighting with a bloodied nose EA moved fast to try and close in on its rival by releasing a modern, street level spin-off with Hardline. That game limited the scope of the gameplay to such an extent that gamers disengaged from it quickly and Visceral became another casualty of the giant. DICE remained to put together the next entry, Battlefield 1, that proved to be a major sales success for EA but quickly its boots on the ground downscaled action led to players failing to feel it expanded on BF4 in the ways they'd hoped for. As a result DICE aimed to marry the two successes with Battlefield V which would also negate rival complaints by abandoning its season pass model and including a battle royale mode, an assured slam dunk until it wasn't. BFV failed to deliver on multiple fronts and in effect retracted the audience of the franchise meaning that this jewel in EA's crown will enter the next generation in a position where its audience can't be entirely sure whether we'll see an amazing return to form or the beginning of the end.
Burnout
A major acquisition for EA in the previous generation that led to several successful entries. The arrival of the current generation boded well until it became clear that Criterion had curled up and died within EA's walls and the giant had shelved the series rather than have it compete with its own in house Need for Speed series. It's sole appearance was a rerelease of Paradise, a success for EA which the company seems poised to ignore despite its issues in the genre.
Command and Conquer
Another franchise that EA largely shelved over the course of the current generation. With its Burnout inspired newfound interest in remasters we're due to see a remaster of the original game before long but by and large this appears to be another closed door.
Dead Space
This one wasn't a surprise but despite the success the series had enjoyed on the previous generation and despite the success Capcom continues to receive with Resident Evil, EA made absolutely no effort to expand on the appeal. It remains one of the most requested revivals by fans but its developers are long gone and it no longer fits the EA ethos.
Dragon's Age
As we're already seeing, a pattern is appearing with this coming in with a bolder approach following a stumbled second game. The aim was to recapture the magic of the first game that to this day single handedly keeps fans interests in the franchise alive. The third game disappointed though and the series has remained out of sight for the rest of the generation. It will return at some point but it seems to very much be on its last chance.
Fight Night
Though there were some ups and downs the series broadly enjoyed success on the previous generation, culminating in a fourth title that topped the charts and saw solid reviews. Despite this EA has kept the franchise firmly dead this entire generation with no real interest in bringing it back which seems to put it in the defunct pile where the likes of Road Rash and Desert Strike no reside.
Mass Effect
One of the biggest success stories of the previous generation for EA was Mass Effect. Despite some complaints about the third game fans were eager to see the anticipated launch of a new trilogy on current generation hardware and the end result didn't disappoint - it crushed players. Though some dragged out enjoyment from the eventual game it was largely seen as something of a disaster that benched the series for the rest of the generation. We're likely to see a fifth game in time but as is often the case for EA, this is currently another franchise on life support rather than ending the generation as a dominant force.
Medal of Honor
In this instance the lack of a current generation presence isn't that surprising. With Battlefield, Battlefront and Titanfall on the go the demise of Medal of Honor largely came from it leading to EA being in competition with itself. We may see EA reuse the brand but it's currently hard to see much of a future for the franchise anymore.
Need for Speed
The series was already suffering from an identity crisis going into this generation having gone from the highs of Most Wanted to the lows of The Run but it was the big racing franchise, taking charting top spots each year. Very quickly though the long standing appeal vanished with new instalments becoming less regular and more polarising each time. The newest instalment is about to hit and oddly you'd be hard pressed to be aware of it, such is the vacuum that now surrounds the franchise. A question mark hangs over this previously steadfast series.
Plants vs Zombies
One of the few success stories that actually stands firmly within the current generation. The latest Vs game launched a mere few weeks ago but to a much quieter response than the past ones raising the question as to whether we're looking at another series that will largely end with the upcoming hardware transition.
The Sims
One of the most steadfast franchises in EA's hanger. This continues to trundle along with the biggest questions surrounding it being when a fifth title will launch. Other than EA this is arguably the safest franchise the company has as it eyes up the next generation.
Skate
Bizarrely the third game has endured quite well throughout the current generation, however EA has so far opted not to pursue a fourth entry presumably thanks to the demise of its rival, THPS, and the lack of wider market. It's hard to see those realities changing meaning we can strike another franchise off EA's next generation arsenal.
SSX
The 2012 brand reboot seemed to kill this off in the current generation. The failure of that attempt to galvanise support has meant fans have gone this entire generation without a new instalment and like Skate there is little sign that market interest would support as new effort.
Titanfall
The second game was critically well received and the franchise lives on currently with the free to play Apex Legends which EA will undoubtedly attempt to transition to the new systems. With the commercial failure of the second game though it's hard to see Titanfall continuing in the straightforward sense of a sequel.
EA has other lines of software from its small scale efforts like the Unravel games through to its other sports lines such as Madden to rely on but it has also seen the erosion of its more singular releases as well. The company has become less inclined to release original content the likes of which had previously spawned success stories like Dead Space and any efforts this generation have resulted in failure like the Mirror's Edge sequel.
Though undeniably a giant in the industry, EA ends this generation and looks to the next generation with no real key original IP's lined up and the erosion of almost its entire franchise library to the point where there is no sign of revival. In its place appears to be a plan to further deep dive on long term profitability of its core FIFA, Battlefield and Apex Legends titles.
Where has EA gone right and wrong in this generation and in the one to come, will we see them continue to be a powerful force or are we finally seeing the beginning of the end of a former dominating company?
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