BIZ: A number of analysts have said that EA and other publishers were a bit late to the Wii and now they’ve been scrambling to devote more resources to Nintendo’s platform. Do you agree with that?

FG: We knew that this would be a three platform cycle. We knew that there would be three viable platforms. We knew that the Wii was going to be successful; we didn’t think it would be successful as it has been. I don’t think anybody other than Nintendo thought that, and if they tell you that they’re probably lying. Just look at the number of titles that were deployed at launch; we had two killer apps, Madden and Need of Speed. At the time, we felt like that was the right deployment for us at Christmas on a new platform, and looking at how we’ve evolved and how we’ve started to move more titles there, it is a lot like we watch where the market goes. Everybody knew there were going to be three platforms next cycle, and we thought three were going to be successful. The particular mix of those three has surprised people a little more than they anticipated, but you know what? Welcome to technology and entertainment and a customer base that has high demands, and you have to adapt. So I don’t necessarily go back and think it through from the standpoint of who was right and who was wrong on picking it. Nintendo clearly picked right. The other platforms are positioned the way they’re positioned and now it’s about our company trying to figure out how to go where the customers are.

[Spokesperson, Tammy Schachter, adds:] EA was quick to get in position and bring lots of innovative new games.

FG: Well, we had two at Christmas and we had six by the end of the fiscal year and you’ve seen Boogie and some of the other stuff we have planned. We’ve got some terrific original IP development that’s been happening on the Wii. One of the things that I find at EA, and again this is not an “oh woe is me thing,” but you end up not really being given credit for all the constituent parts of EA. People kind of discount [us], like “You don’t do original IP. You don’t do accessible fun games.” Really? Boogie, Playground, all these bets with blocks… there’s a lot of things that we’re doing that, when you look at it on a collective on the Nintendo [Wii] you say, “Wow that’s a pretty killer Wii lineup” and I don’t even think we’re at the one-year anniversary of the release of the hardware. I acknowledge that at Christmas we had two titles, not ten, but as of right now, I feel pretty good about where we’re positioned. We have the right stuff on that platform.

BIZ: There’s a general feeling that Nintendo will be the only company to truly innovate on Wii while third parties simply tack on “waggle controls” to their games….

FG: Those don’t sell.

BIZ: How will EA avoid this? What’s the approach?

Read the Rest Here