Kotaku: John Riccitiello

Wii-Owning President Obama Doesn't Care if the Xbox Version is Better

Owen Good — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST

Somewhere inside the Beltway today, copies of Just Dance 3 for the Wii and The Sims Plus Pets rode in a presidential caravan with the nuclear football. That, gang, is core game cred. More »

Call of Duty Makers Say Competitor's Anti-Call of Duty Talk Harms the Gaming Industry

Stephen Totilo — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:20:00 EDT

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EA CEO John Riccitiello, head of the company making this fall's premiere Call of Duty competitor, Battlefield 3, recently said he hopes that Call of Duty would "rot from the core." More »

Mixed Messages in Battlefield's Chain of Command

Owen Good — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:30:00 EDT

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One day before Electronic Arts' reorganization, Patrick Bach, the DICE executive producer of Battlefield 3 said an annual publishing schedule "will eventually kill the franchise." A day later, EA's top general had a somewhat different tone. More »

Minecraft Developer Gives Off a Not-For-Sale-To-EA Vibe

Mike Fahey — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:30:00 EDT

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In a recent interview with Develop, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson discusses EA CEO John Riccitiello's visit to the Stockholm headquarters of Mojang, saying that any acquisition hopes Riccitiello might have had were quashed by the independent studio's vibe. More »

EA Sports' Peter Moore Takes Over as EA's Chief Operating Officer in Company Reorganization [Update]

Owen Good — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:35:11 EDT

Peter Moore, president of EA Sports for the past four years, has been promoted to Electronic Arts' chief operating officer in a company-wide reorganization, John Riccitiello, the EA chief executive, said today. More »

BulleTrain's Open Letter To EA Still Leaves Many Missing The Memo

Owen Good — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EDT

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About a year and a half ago, Pandemic Studios - you may remember them for Full Spectrum Warrior, Mercenaries and Star Wars: Battlefront - was shuttered by Electronic Arts, which bought the studio in 2007. Four developers who were pink-slipped formed Downsized Games, and BulleTrain, released late last year for iOS devices and updated recently, is their first project, and an ode to their predicament. More »

Hope You Like Ads, Because Battlefield 3 Will Shovel Lots at You

Owen Good — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:20:00 EDT

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This may have been a prediction. It sure as hell sounds like a threat. This year, Activision and Electronic Arts will both spend more on the marketing for two games than many publishers will ever spend on developing one, said Electronic Arts' CEO. As he was speaking to a conference of advertisers, it was surely music to their ears. More »

There's Room For The Powerful PSP2 In The War Against Nintendo And Apple

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST

The PSP2, a device Sony won't talk about, is coming and it's powerful — potentially as powerful as a high-end console, we've reported. That gives it a chance against the iPhone, 3DS and more, EA's boss tells Kotaku. More »

The Plan To Dethrone Call Of Duty

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST

One year ago this week, the head of Electronic Arts told me he had Call of Duty in his sights. Call of Duty was the king of first-person shooters. He wanted that spot. Today, he is convinced CoD is beatable. More »

How A Big Video Game Was Killed

Stephen Totilo — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST

The last-minute cancellation of EA Sports' NBA Elite 11 this fall isn't supposed to happen to any video game. How? Why? Kotaku learned the unusual story this week from EA boss John Riccitiello. More »

Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

Stephen Totilo — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST

The heyday of skateboarding games is past, the head of EA, the company that makes Tony Hawk rival franchise Skate, told Kotaku in an interview this week. More »

One Man's One-Word Dead Space 2 Review

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST

John Riccitiello runs EA, the company that makes the Dead Space sci-fi horror games, so he's biased. Nevertheless, he just finished playing through Dead Space 2. I don't even have it yet. More »

Music Games Will Make A Comeback, But How Is A Mystery

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST

Rock Band and Guitar Hero aren't the sensations they used to be. That doesn't mean they're bad. Not Rock Band 3. But they're not the cultural phenomenons they once were. That's temporary, according to a man who should know. More »

EA Boss Perfectly Happy If His 'Pretty Good' Games Sell Too

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:40:00 EDT

John Riccitiello, the man at the top of publisher EA, has long stressed that "quality" is paramount under his reign at the company. But the CEO who normally loves to promote high Metacritic scores is also fine with "pretty good." More »

The Unexpected Gamer Who Runs EA

Stephen Totilo — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EDT

If we ran a video game company, maybe, just maybe, those of us who play video games would be like John Riccitiello. We really could be a boss. We could believe we're the good guy. And we would know things about video games. More »

EA Boss Has Seen The 3DS

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 01:30:00 EDT

I haven't seen the Nintendo 3DS. Have you? No, you haven't either. But EA boss John Riccitiello has. More »

Why EA Thinks 'Online Pass' Plan Is Good For You (And EA)

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:40:00 EDT

Video game publisher EA has a new plan to squash used game sales, the Online Pass program, which requires a unique code to access online content and multiplayer. Why does EA think this is good for you, the consumer? More »

Electronic Arts Plans to Make You Pay for Glorified Game Demos?

Brian Crecente — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Electronic Arts plans to grow its digital game business to become one-third of their total revenue over the next few years and that includes starting to charge for what one analyst described as very long game demos. More »

Despite Rise In Game Quality, EA Boss Faces Fierce Doubts

Stephen Totilo — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:40:05 EST

If gamers most care about whether games are any good — not whether stock prices are rising — then what to make of charges the EA's current boss might be the wrong man for the job? More »

Star Wars: The Old Republic Heading For A Spring 2011 Launch

Mike Fahey — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:20:00 EST

During Electronic Arts' fiscal year 2010 update call today, CEO John Riccitiello cited Star Wars: The Old Republic as a key driver of the company's digital business, noting that the MMO was making "great progress towards a spring 2011 launch." More »

EA Expects Worse Fiscal 2010, New "Innovative" Madden 11

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:40:00 EST

Electronic Arts announced today that it's going to have another tough fiscal year, having a worse FY 2010 than previously planned. But CEO John Riccitiello was upbeat on the company's 2011, which features "an innovative and new take on Madden." More »

EA Reveals Profitable New Releases Of 2010

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:20:00 EST

Speaking at the 37th Annual Global Media Conference, EA CEO John Riccitiello detailed the games with the most profit potential in fiscal year 2011, with new Crysis, The Sims, and Need for Speed titles and paid DLC making the grade. More »

EA Sports: One Billion Games Played

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:30:00 EST

EA as a whole may have been having a rough time of it lately, but EA Sports are doing just fine, as evidenced by the number of online matches the brand has played host to in 2009. More »

EA CEO: "I Think Of Pirates As A Marketplace"

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:40:29 EST

John Riccitiello, the gaming-savvy head of Electronic Arts, doesn't want anyone to pirate games. But those who do, he told Kotaku, present a new market that EA needs to make money from. More »

Fewer Games, Better Games Is EA's Stated Goal

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:00:56 EST

The publisher of Madden, Dead Space and The Sims will release fewer games next year, reacting to market changes and embracing lessons its competitors are just now learning, the head of EA told Kotaku. More »

One Of Pandemic's Biggest Problems Was Being In California

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:00:28 EST

Readers of Kotaku can discern this week that EA CEO John Riccitiello covered many topics during his recent interview with this site. One of those, of course, was EA's Pandemic Studios, which was all but shut down last month. More »

EA: Command & Conquer, RTS Genre Needs Innovation, Not Just "Cooler Graphics"

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:00:27 EST

When last Kotaku reported about the future of Command and Conquer, there was an editorial eyebrow raised skeptically. But the boss at EA believes that real-time-strategy needs "fundamental innovation." His pitch might change your expression. More »

EA CEO: Mirror's Edge "Deserves To Come Back," Design At Crossroads

Stephen Totilo — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:53 EST

The head of EA, John Riccitiello, told Kotaku this week that the 2008 first-person free-running game Mirrors Edge, not only merits a sequel, but explained the design conundrum its developers face. More »

EA Chief Talks War: Battlefield, Medal Of Honor And Getting Ahead Of Activision

Stephen Totilo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:00:23 EST

Just hours before EA officially announced the long-rumored return of its Medal of Honor franchise, the company's chief executive told Kotaku his battle plan for EA's war-game competition against Call of Duty. He wants Modern Warfare's spot. More »

EA Boss Does Not Seem Pleased With Madden 10 Sales

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:20:17 EDT

This year's sales of Madden NFL football may not be living up to Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello's expectations. He calls sales of Madden NFL 10 "discouraging," indicating they're down from the previous year's. More »

Ever Wonder How Much EA Honcho Made Last Year?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:20:00 EDT

Here's a hint, much less than Activision boss Bobby Kotick, much less — like half of what the Activision exec made. More »

EA Boss Not Yet Ready To Talk About Next Medal Of Honor

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:20:09 EDT

EA CEO John Riccitiello made first official mention of the continuing Medal of Honor franchise today during the company's quarterly earnings call, but gave little indication on how the series would progress. More »

The Great Chain Interview, Part 5: Riccitiello To Reggie To You

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:40:50 EDT

Today ends our weeklong Chain Interview, with EA's chief defending his choice in cars and Nintendo's president in the U.S. asking you a question. More »

The Great Chain Interview, Part 4: Xbox Guy To Ex-Xbox Guy To That Guy’s Boss

Stephen Totilo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:00:23 EDT

In yesterday's Chain Interview installment, Sony's Scott Rohde wanted Microsoft's Shane Kim to say if Microsoft would get back into making sports games. Kim answered. Then things got...interesting. More »

EA: Burnout Devs Making "Revolutionary" Need For Speed

Stephen Totilo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:20:23 EDT

At E3, the head of EA told us that Burnout and Need For Speed won't be merged into one brand. Instead, team Burnout is shifting, for now, to make a new Need For Speed. More »

EA Re-Thinking How You Spend Your Gaming Money

Stephen Totilo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:40:17 EDT

Pirated copies of The Sims 3 temporarily rattled EA. Burnout Paradise DLC came too late. And Battleforge is now part of the hardest market in gaming. So said EA's CEO to Kotaku in a conversation about games and … money. More »

EA Considered Doing Its Own Natal, Backs Sensible Motion Gaming

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:20:52 EDT

In an interview with Kotaku, the head of EA disclosed some of his company's experience and ideas involving Microsoft and Sony's motion tech, predicting that half of the market will eventually go to motion-control games. More »

EA Bossman Shrugs Off Declining Wii Sales In Japan

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:40:58 EDT

Wii sales in Japan have been on the decline. But don't expect that trend to be indicative of a worldwide shift in tastes, notes EA CEO John Riccitiello. He believes the Wii is still strong. More »

EA Expects Wii MotionPlus Bundles To Help Sales, Have Little Impact On Profits

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:30:16 EDT

With Nintendo's own Wii Sports Resort on ice until July, third parties will have the Wii MotionPlus hardware add-on all to themselves. First to take advantage of the new motion control accessory is Electronic Arts. More »

EA Calls Gaming Recessing A "Blessing"

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:30:00 EST

Like many companies, Electronic Arts is having a rough time. Earlier this month, EA exec John Riccitiello called the lower than expected earnings "a clear disappointment," announcing additional, extended layoffs. More »