Electronic Arts' CEO described a nail-biting 150-hour finish for NBA Elite 11, and the choice he made to cancel the game outright. "There aren't many decisions that are essentially squarely on my desk," John Riccitiello told Kotaku. "This was one."
Riccitiello, in an extensive interview with Stephen Totilo this week, candidly assessed the lay of the land for NBA products and concluded that he was "kind of hard-pressed to find a constituency that is less well off from the decision we made." EA Sports went back to the drawing board on something internal analysts pegged as around a 60-rated game; NBA Jam was uncoupled from it, which many consumers wanted; and the hardcore basketball fan still had a great simulation - it just wasn't EA's. "I don't think the consumer was served badly by buying 2K," he said. "It's a good game.
"I don't want to sound self-satisfied," Riccitiello said, "but I'm pretty proud of our ability to make that decision."
Electronic Arts' boss also held forth on the PSP2, the end of skateboarding as a video game genre, how and if the music genre will rebound, and the company's plan to take on Activision's Call of Duty franchise.
Kotaku's week of original reporting, which also featured wall-to-wall coverage of what's new in World of Warcraft's heavily anticipated Cataclysm expansion, follows:
Kotaku's World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Coverage
Top Stories
The Plan To Dethrone Call Of Duty
How A Big Video Game Was Killed
One Man's One-Word Dead Space 2 Review
Diehard Nintendo Fans Debate Whether Donkey Kong Is Good Or Evil
Everything You Need To Know About World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
The Creepiest Rebirth Of Post-Cataclysm Azeroth
The Only Way To Travel In Post-Cataclysm World Of Warcraft
Tour World Of Warcraft's Post-Cataclysm Barrens
Columns
Leigh Alexander: I Like Games Too Much To Finish Them
Tim Rogers: The Imaginative Tim Rogers Answers Your Video Game Questions
Stick Jockey: The Games For All Of Us
Reviews, Previews, Hands-On and Impressions
Frankenreview: Splatterhouse
Asus Crosshair IV Extreme Motherboard Review: Lucid HydraLogix Inside
Review: Auditorium HD Goes Chasing Waterfalls
Review: Fable III Understone Quest Is No Mystery
Review: Splatterhouse Is Just Bloody Offal
Review: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Relives The Glory Days
Review: Mafia II: Joe's Adventures - The Third Strike For A Repeat Offender
Review: Gran Turismo 5 Is Premium Class
Press Play
Xbox Live Indie Clips: Space Police On Super Highway 9
Preparing For Cataclysmic Return To World Of Warcraft
Let's Infiltrate Xbox Headquarters
This Is How Valkyria Chronicles 3 Begins
The Most Shameless Starcraft Rip-Off You'll See This Week
Her Art Is A Symphony Of Evil
A Look At Darkspore's Cooperative Multiplayer
U.S.A. Leads Lucky Part Of The World In Slaying Zombies
Deck The Halls With Battlefield Heroes
Let's Play Starcraft On The iPad!
New Sega Shooter Is Already Out Of Ammo
Watch Hundreds Of Japanese People Wait In Monster Lines
Kinect Hype Vs. Kinect Reality
World Of Warcraft's Shocking Large Daddy Needs Your Help
LEGO Universe MMO Log Four: Picking Up The Pieces
Watch Helen Mirren Earn Money Right Before Your Eyes
Features
A Hero Among Super Heroes
Explorer Richard Garriott Didn't Expect NASA's Discovery, Not In His Lifetime
Poison-Based Bacteria Redefines Life As We Know It
These Are Kotaku Readers' Least Desirable, Most Fruitcake-y Game Gifts
The Tester 2: Episode 5: "Life's A Pitch" Liveblog: McWhertor Brings The Hurt
Rumors
Rumor: Is Uncharted 3 Going To The Desert?
News
Looks Like We're Getting Another Prototype Game
There's Room For The Powerful PSP2 In The War Against Nintendo And Apple
Everquest 2 May Be Getting Its Own Cataclysm Soon
The PS2 Isn't Gone, It's In This TV
The Closest You'll Come To Uncharted On The iPhone
A Ratings System Just For Islam
Korean Crisis "Is Not Starcraft"
Numbers
iTunes Chart Toppers: EA Will Not Be Undersold
Sports
EA Sports, It's In A Real Game
Perspectives
How Farmville Can Ruin Words With Friends
Reactions
What's The Most You've Paid For A Game?
A Week In Comments
What Is This Season's Video Game 'Fruitcake'?
Culture Smash
We Love Cars, Does Japan Still?
Screengrabs
Kotaku 'Shop Contest: Flaws Winners
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