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EA Explains Why Skate Is Not An EA Sports Game
Posted by Leigh Alexander at 9:20 AM on June 19, 2008
EA's "city-state" label structure can be a little tricky sometimes, in that I'll bet it's hard for them sometimes to pick what game goes under what label. For example, you'd probably guess that Skate might be an EA Sports label game, ad not an EA Games label game. EA Games global marketing VP Mike Quigley explains in a new interview with Gamasutra why you'd be wrong:
"That's a great question. Right now, again, that is driven by the fact that the game was made by Black Box, and the Black Box team is near the Need for Speed team, and those guys work together in Vancouver. That's just where we put it".
But what Quigley calls the game's "core nucleus" also had a role in the decision.
"But in that case specifically, we are kind of going "anti-everything" with that game. It's more about getting back to the roots of skating, and it's just trying to be more of a real... having the style and tone and feel of actually getting on the board and getting out in the streets. In that case, it's not about the leagues, the points, or the standings. It's just about, "Hey, how does it feel to go out on the board and see what you can do?
"Ultimately, that kind of core nucleus of the game drove the fact of whether it should be an EA Sports or an EA Games game, at the end of the day. That and the fact that the Black Box team is part of us".
In-Depth: Electronic Arts' Quigley On The State Of EA Games [Gamasutra]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Flitz
Posted 9:50 AM 19/6/08
@ultimate920: I'm Going to have to Agree with You there Buddy.
Flitz
Ockeroid
Posted 9:49 AM 19/6/08
How come they have EA games and EA Sport anyway? How does it help? (Actual question)
"ad not an EA Games label game." ad = and?
Ockeroid
ultimate920
Posted 9:39 AM 19/6/08
I just...
I really don't care...
ultimate920
LordPotato
Posted 9:33 AM 19/6/08
Thank you, Quigley, for answering a question that noone really cared about to begin with.
LordPotato
BigChiefSmokem
Posted 9:32 AM 19/6/08
i actually think that's a valid reason
BigChiefSmokem
PeteeWJ
Posted 9:30 AM 19/6/08
You heard it here first. Skate boarding is not a sport.
PeteeWJ
Datheron
Posted 9:25 AM 19/6/08
So EA Sports = statwhores?
Methinks someone should reflect on that decision and maybe come to the awe-inspiring conclusion that EA Sports games have long since cared about how well the game actually plays. =|
Datheron
Bernard McGraw
Posted 9:24 AM 19/6/08
Aw, nice.
Bernard McGraw
Flitz
Posted 9:23 AM 19/6/08
While we're At it; Wii Fit is not a Damn Exercise Game! Get the Hell outside!
Flitz
alitcofsky
Posted 10:34 AM 19/6/08
Did he play Skate or just read the materials? I absolutely love the game, but it is exactly about "the leagues, the points, or the standings" - you compete in the virtual counterpart of real world competitions, your performance is primarily contingent on how much you score, and your goal is essentially to become the ultimate skater of San Vanelona.
alitcofsky
salmonax
Posted 10:27 AM 19/6/08
i can't say i care about this, seems like a pretty pointless interview. Skate is a pretty awesome game, though!
salmonax
Jmontilla2786
Posted 10:26 AM 19/6/08
doesnt EA own Black Box? If so...what kinda nonsense are they tryin to say?
Jmontilla2786
dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased
Posted 10:25 AM 19/6/08
Eh, I think of the EA Sports label as a giant marketing label for simulating popular televised sports. Yes, there are skate videos, but the audience is nowhere near a Nascar, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, or football audience.
I'm just thankful there aren't any dogs humping each other in this game.
dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased
PeteeWJ
Posted 10:19 AM 19/6/08
@ElmntEarth1: @
I'm not saying I agree with that statement, just that if EA says that's the way things are, then it must be true! right?
PeteeWJ
patsfan07
Posted 10:07 AM 19/6/08
is it a slow day at Kotaku HQ?
patsfan07
ElmntEarth1
Posted 10:00 AM 19/6/08
@PeteeWJ: i will hurt you
ElmntEarth1
Spartan1308™
Posted 11:05 AM 19/6/08
@Ockeroid: It gives them a reason to hire more middle management personnel who sit around and do nothing all day.
Spartan1308™
graddy
Posted 10:59 AM 19/6/08
even though the game takes place in "the street" it does not get back to the roots of skateboarding. I have been a skateboarder for 15 years. I skate primarily street. I have never come across (nor do I care about) 15 foot half pipes in the middle of downtown california. There are natural objects in the urban environment that do have transition, but they tend to be very small. I have never played a skateboarding game that gave me a feel of TRUE core street skating. Real street skating just does not transfer well to video games. So I don't blame companies for not being able to replicate the feel. But I do get annoyed when they say that that is their mission. Clearly it is not.
graddy
TNAfan121
Posted 10:49 AM 19/6/08
....Slow News day huh?...
TNAfan121
PissedPS3Fan
Posted 11:29 AM 19/6/08
"skate is not an EA Sports game because it does not contain a ball, stick, or a redneck. The EA Sports label is dedicated to bringing you the cream of the schlock when it comes to Ball, Stick, or Redneck games, every year. Clearly there is no feasible way to annually exploit the skate franchise, short of reselling the original game with new cover art. Although that's what we already do with our current crop of EA Sports titles, skate was developed by Black Box, and they wanted an extra 10% in royalties if the game was publish under the EA Sports label. Fuck that."
--Mike Quigley
PissedPS3Fan
Enigma_20XX
Posted 11:15 AM 19/6/08
I could give a damn... FUCK EA.
Enigma_20XX
Squeegoth
Posted 11:14 AM 19/6/08
What sort of wankery is this? Did EA really think we pay that much attention to their internal workings that they had to tell us? EA has bigger problems like bad Metacritic scores or something for the president to whine about, right?
Squeegoth
geoffcbassett
Posted 12:16 PM 19/6/08
Personally I enjoyed the fact that they put the name of the exact studio that worked on it in the opening credits, it gave a much more professional feel to the presentation.
geoffcbassett
zymase
Posted 12:46 PM 19/6/08
Ick, marketing-ese. "Core nucleus?" Now they're just creating redundancies?
zymase
opt2not
Posted 1:26 PM 19/6/08
I read somewhere that the core team from Black Box left to start a new company, not owned by EA. I can't imagine what kind of crazy game their working on now. Yay Black Box!
opt2not
Talleh
Posted 1:34 PM 19/6/08
Does this really matter? It being an EA sports game or not, I know they have the whole monopoly issue going on, but aren't there other skateboarding games that come out every year?
Talleh
MURDERFACE
Posted 2:29 PM 19/6/08
LOL Skate is not a EA game because it is good. And that is not how EA rolls hahahahahahahhaha!
MURDERFACE
zanzibarlegend
Posted 5:29 AM 20/6/08
@dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased: "I'm just thankful there aren't any dogs humping each other in this game."
THANK GOD!
zanzibarlegend
cmcginn
Posted 8:03 AM 20/6/08
@PeteeWJ:
I know (hope?) you are kidding, BUT ... the player can skate in the game but it is not the "sport" of skating. I ride a bicycle, and that is not a sport, but cycling is ... etc.
cmcginn