EA "canceling some game projects"

[eccentricjules]

Thoughts?

Economy takes its toll on EA December 9, 2008

Riccitiello said the recent underperformance only reinforces the need for the 6% layoffs announced in October, as well as a reduction in titles. With consumer dollars increasingly concentrating on top selling titles, the CEO said the company will focus even more aggressively on games with the biggest profit potential.

Electronics Arts cuts outlook on weak holiday sales December 9, 2008

EA, which makes games like "Madden NFL" and "FIFA Soccer," said it is continuing to pursue cost saving measures such as reducing its product portfolio for fiscal 2010 with associated job cuts and facility consolidations.

"We are disappointed that our holiday slate is not meeting our sales expectations," EA Chief Executive John Riccitiello said in a statement. "Given this performance and the uncertain economic environment, we are taking steps to reduce our cost structure and improve the profitability of our business."

The company said it does not expect to provide specific financial guidance for fiscal 2009 before it reports third-quarter results in early February.

EA to miss targets, cut more jobs December 10, 2008

The world’s largest game publisher also said it would find ways to cut costs, including canceling some game projects and making deeper job cuts than the 6% workforce reduction it had announced in October.

On Oct. 30, EA said it planned to cut 6% of its 9,500 workers. About 2,550 work in four California offices: Redwood City, Playa Vista, Westwood and Emeryville.

 

[eccentricjules]

I hope UO can withstand the economic problems. Even if it means flat out shelving SA, and only having a few people maintain the game, with the option of reviewing it again in 6 months to a year.

I know companies are getting hit hard. I work for a fundraising oriented company and they announced 2 weeks ago that they cancelled the $50,000 Christmas Party, stopped matching 401k contributions and put a freeze on raises as of January 1st. It really is all temporary, and they are doing it so they don’t need to lay people off. My boyfriend is a pilot for a tour operator who runs flights from Vegas to the Grand Canyon and their wages got cut by 25%, 52 people got laid off, they got free lunch everyday and that was taken away…. But the company chose to keep the ostentatious Christmas Party. Point is, cuts at EA aren't all that surprising.

I choose to think it will get better, it’s just going to take some time.

 

[Sunrise]

EA probally will NOT cut something thats making it money. Even a small amount of money is a big thing right now.

New games and stuff like that...Out the door. Then again thats just my two cents.

As for jobs. Im seeing it where I live also. More stores going under than there are new stores opening..But still stores are opening.
People are cutting back on there staff and so forth..

Still tho...watching the pennys now for the roller coaster ride has just started to go down...But just like anything else..what goes down must go up. What goes up Must go down....

I get greedy when people worry...I worry when people get greedy

 

[sir TEDLEY]

dissabled folks are also getting hit hard , in california they sent iou's out for rental credit last month (before xmas) sigh thanks arnold , and they cut back helping in food stamps and other so called luxaries also .

looks like alot of us will have a brown xmas no matter what happens , the best thing i see still is that we still have each other .

thanks

 

[Duskofdead]

Yeah our state sans some major breakthrough is going to be out of money in February. (California I mean.)

Hard times for everyone.

 

[Ghost of Gramps]

If the government told you tomorrow, a comet comes, that will end all life within the year.

Would you simply give up?

Or would you live, as you have never lived.

I say live. Live as you never have.

 

[Rogal]

Typical, i'm getting ready for my vacation as I type, shower fresh Mmmmm, anyway I can;t leave UO for three fricken months but the place goes to hell in a handbasket.

I told you people that Rogal Dorn is the life of Napa but did you listen, nooooooo.

What was I saying?

 

[Ghost of Gramps]

The life of Napa is those of us who stay, live, play, and adventure.

Thus, is the game.

 

[Lady Mana]

EA has already made a large number of job cuts in the recent past... it's sad if they intend to do even more. I remember a head of EA Mythic mentioning that UO was planned on being cancelled; I doubt they'd do such a thing after deciding to dedicate more attention to it. I doubt they'll cancel their affiliated games either (Star Wars and movie games, for instance).

I wonder what ones they will axe, then?

 

[eccentricjules]

I HOPE they will cut mostly console games. When you think about it, if your kids buy "Princess counts her ABC's" you shell out $19.99 for the game and yeah OK they sell enough to make profit, but it also took development time. With UO it's a consistant $12.99... no matter if they have less developers or support staff, if they cut servers. Every month $12.99, from each of us. I really hope it's worth it for them to continue even if it means cutting back man hours. Lots of companies are finding ways to cut costs.

Some of those console games I don't understand anyway. Do we really need Madden NFL 2035? I mean, HOW many times can you really play that game? WHY do they need one every year?

 

[Sunrise]

...starts chating bring out your dead..Thump...OO sorry wrong thread


seen a sign today..The end is near..Spend more money here..


As for EA games...they will probally cut projects that are taking money more than making monery..

UO is gravy for them. Small helpings but still. The servers are paid up. The dev teams are small. We are used to bad customer service and waiting a year for stuff and of course logging in and going brain dead.

UO is not going anywhere soon. Other games tho will be hitting the chopping block

Now as You said ECC that you can buy a video game for 20 bucks or pay 12 bucks a month for UO. Ok with UO you pay 10 bucks for 6 months that 60 bucks they just made.

Or you can sell one video game for 20 bucks and thats it.. UO is not going anywhere
Plus U are right..Do we really need another football game?

Heck if Ever Quest is still a pay to play game and still being played....Seriously now

 

[eccentricjules]

I bet even if they raised prices (marginally) about 80% of people would stay, if not more. We'd shrug and say "that's just the way it is." I am actually surprised they haven't bumped it by a buck.

We pay about $6-$11 per movie, crappy or good. I certainly get more than 4 hours play off of UO in a month. It's still a good entertainment investment.

 

[Sunrise]

ECC I agree with you totally. I was talking to a friend of mine at work who said...Why woul you pay 10 bucks a month to play a game you can never win..

I responded with this...When you go to the casino how much do you spend in a night? When you go to the movies etc etc.

UO is very cheap enternaiment and I love it. NO where can I find this kind of fun for 10 bucks a month. Heck no one can. ;D

We are the die hard fans..we been here forever. We have taken our breaks..and this cheesy game is just like gravity..It sucks us back in..we will be here until the end too...but to be honest with ya..I think Ever crack and other online games will go under before UO even thinks about it.

Its tough times for everony. People can say they are canceling there accounts for the real world is bad..Seriously tho why???? 10 bucks a month is cheaper than a 12 pack of beer which would last me a ngiht or two. Honesty more people SHOULD play UO...than go out once a month and party..for with UO its a 24/7 party if you know where to look and to make your own fun..Not just one night..

Steps off Ale box...ponders where me ale went.

Its cheaper to play UO 24/7 than it is to see 2 movies in one month

 

[Otis Firefly]

December Developer Letter
Calvin Crowner
12 Dec 2008 18:09:16 EST
For the record what I am about to write is “so not my gig”, but I’ll endeavor to push through it.

I wanted to pass on that with the recent announcement of earning from Electronic Arts that the Ultima Online team is still intact and still pressing forward on both the Stygian Abyss Expansion, and supporting the Live Game. In addition, we are still moving forward with the Event Moderator Program. I know it’s been a long time coming, but as you may have read we’re going through more than a bit from our side these days.

For us, the team is actually having a great time coming up with diabolical ways to engage you for the foreseeable millennium, or until 2012 when the Mayan calendar says everything will end – whichever comes first.

We’re preparing both the New UO client and the first completely playable level to internal testers next week. We are also planning how we want to run beta internally and externally, and as soon as we have a complete answer on it all, we’ll inform you as well.

About Event Moderators: there has been a lot of speculation on how we chose who we chose, why some were selected and others were passed over. I can tell you this: we read for content before we read names. There was no favoritism in any part of the team, and I can say there was a bit of common sense in selecting who went to which shards. We also selected a mixed team of experienced members, and not-so experienced members. We eliminated anyone who had legitimate marks on their accounts, or anyone who had “great intentions” but no event experience at all. In short we picked an initial team that would best serve the community, and whose applications seemed to have the community’s best interest in mind.

We will continue to grow, adjust, and evolve the EM program as we go. We have kept everyone’s applications on file, and have a backup list of Event Moderator contributors. Some EMs may not be able to fulfill their duties so we will be selecting from the initial batch for anyone who is not able to commit as they planned. Life happens.

Finally, we’ve been tracking the latency issues since their inception. We tested the impact of the Invasion and other associated events in game and found none of the additional content impacted lag. We’re constantly following up with trace routes that some players have contributed and our World Wide IT team is in contact with the external carrier we think may be the key to the problem. The more data we have the better, so have your friends create an account and send us all the information you have. Wink.

I sincerely hope this answers a few questions or concerns. Now, I have to go help Leurocian figure out how Baby Bach really can be used as an educational tool, and why puppets should be a new system in UO.

 

[eccentricjules]

The letter is awesome... it makes me feel a lot better. I look forward to having events again and I'm glad to hear the game will still progress!

It's also awesome that we are getting our very own SLIME EVENT!!!

Slimes are on the move! Driven out of their dungeons by the dark forces corrupting the land, a special variety of slimes are making random appearances throughout the world for next few weeks after publish. Researchers have discovered that these specially hued slimes can dye artifacts and magically enhanced items! They tend to stay in an area for two days before moving to a new location and shifting their hue.

There are a total of 35 colors: 30 minor tokuno dyes, and 5 new hues.


This made me LOL: Fixed a grief issue that allowed players to gate other players in the middle of the ocean.

 

[Otis Firefly]

hmm....gotta be carefull of them random gates
ya never know when your gunna walk through and end up in a lake or
end up on a small island that is crawling with ancient wyrms or something
fantastic idoc party manouver

 

[Rogal]

yeah i read that letter this morning, but alas i'll take it with a hefty grain of salt. 1 producers letter does not overrule the ea/mythic board if they decide differently. Everyone knows this and that is why i'm taking a conservative approach.

I'm not saying uo is dead but it's certainly in need of some love and that's what i'm waiting to see.

 

[AustinRules]

Kind of amazing with EA cutting positions that they are adding EM personnel.

Actually I wouldn't mind paying a couple more bucks a month for an 'active' EM program...ensuring both adequate EM and backup developers. These live events would make UO unique. I want the EMs to have at least a 2 hr event once a week or two/three one hour events throughout the week....short rescue attempts, beat back an enemy raid, run around and locate important clues, gather resources for that's week event, etc. Though they might be in conjunction with other shards the events shouldn't be identical...makes it more interesting that way. And over time the shards will have a slightly different history because of results from EM events.

 

[Pickaxe Pete]

Kind of amazing with EA cutting positions that they are adding EM personnel.

I guessed EM positions would be volunteer only or maybe minimum wage for legal reasons? Did we hear otherwise?

 

[Duskofdead]

You guys want to hear a sad true story from just last night?

I was in New Haven doing escorts (for money) while working on my musicianship. Easy low key stuff to do on a late Sunday night before bed.

I ran into a (young) player and asked if he was new. He said yes, but returned from having sold his original account back sometime in '99.

His reason for being back? "I just got laid off, I have more time than I know what to do with."

I'd ordinarily be concerned in other circumstances someone lost, or quit, a job and ran to an mmorpg. But with the economy the way it is, I know an awful lot of people who aren't just slackers or expendable or somehow made poor career choices are getting the axe. I sympathize a lot.

 

[eccentricjules]

I guessed EM positions would be volunteer only or maybe minimum wage for legal reasons? Did we hear otherwise?

My understanding is they can't do it with volunteers for legal reasons. They have to pay them something I just don't know what exactly. I don't know if there is truth to it but I heard at one point there was a lawsuit of some sort.

How does the saying go, it only takes one bad apple to ruin the whole bunch?

 

[Pickaxe Pete]

My understanding is they can't do it with volunteers for legal reasons. They have to pay them something I just don't know what exactly. I don't know if there is truth to it but I heard at one point there was a lawsuit of some sort.

How does the saying go, it only takes one bad apple to ruin the whole bunch?

I remember the lawsuit. I guess it's OK to say it now, I was an Elder in the volunteer program way back when.

I was sad to see that happen, as was most everyone.

Maybe they will pay the new guys $1.

Probably minimum wage... I don't think that will affect EA's bottom line any.