The summer is relatively calm in the news, but the financial statements of the various companies have something to entertain us a little and offer us some interesting details. We were able to see this morning the latest assessment of nintendoand tonight, that ofElectronic Arts also took place with a call with investors. In the latter (reported by VGC), the company’s CEO, Andrew Wilsonspoke about the hot topics around the publisher, starting with a possible takeover or its position on single-player games.
Single-player games are important, but maybe not a priority
You may remember, earlier this summer, a tweet from Electronic Arts had caused a small controversy which the publisher would have done well. This tweet was meant to make a joke that went wrong, implying that the publisher was gently “making fun” of single-player games. Obviously, that wasn’t the original intention of the tweet, but given that EA is increasingly dropping single-player games, you might think it wasn’t entirely innocent.
In the call that took place tonight, Andrew Wilson therefore recalled that single-player games were part of the company’s DNA, and that they remained very important. :
” Our gamers, as a whole, have these core motivations – inspiration, escape, social connection, competition, self-improvement, creation – those things that bring us together as gamers. […] And when we think of single player games, we think that’s a really, really important part of the overall portfolio that we propose in the realization of these fundamental motivations. And the way we plan it over time is really about looking at what our community is doing, looking at how they’re spending their time, and looking at how those motivations may or may not be met. We will be looking to accomplish this with the addition of new online games, new multiplayer games and new single player games. »
But despite these good words, EA also recalls that service games account for nearly three quarters of the profits recorded by the publisher.. Suffice to say that the priority is there, even if EA strives to say that single-player games will always be on the program.
No takeover in sight?
At the same time, the publisher took stock of the rumors around a potential takeover. A few months ago, we learned that Electronic Arts had been in contact with Comcast and other companies with a view to an acquisition, but that had not succeeded.
Here, Andrew Wilson necessarily plays the language of wood, recalling once again that the company is doing very well on its own :
“ Our goal is always to take care of our employees, our players and our shareholders. Of course, if there’s a way for us to do it differently than what we’re doing today, obviously I would be open to that, but I would like to tell you today that we feel very, very confident and excited to our future. »
A usual speech that we have heard many times, and which does not indicate whether EA is looking for new partners or not. Officially, this is not the case, but unofficially, everything remains to be seen.