The Evolution of Casual Games

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One of the things I'm proud about how we handled that whole thing is that we were proactive in that. We had a feedback button on our product that we listened to. We had monthly meetings where we consolidated the top feedback that came out of the community and we would modify our development schedule based on what consumers were asking for. A lot of the later developments like being able to type your letters and making animations an option rather than a default on to deal with latency issues for slower PCs all came from the message boards. We continue to evolve the game based on feedback from the community. We did launch it in beta form and evolved it but I feel like we did a pretty good job listening to gamers and updating it.

Is Facebook going to be an avenue for more games like Scrabble for EA?

Absolutely. We feel like it's a real dynamic social platform and it's not just Facebook, it's the whole open social network communities out there.

How challenging is it to get today's gaming press to focus on casual games amidst all of the big blockbuster games that crowd E3 and other trade shows?

It's a challenge, but I think it's a challenge that started a lesson. I think people have realized that the video game market has grown from being just a series of core holiday blockbusters to being a global male/female interactive platform for all ages. I think the most astute analysts and writers on our business no longer have to be convinced of that. They're looking for the evidence of that. I feel like CES is an opportunity, and a place to showcase the evidence of that market change. I think E3 will be more of that. People are going to come looking for it. We get that there are now girls, families and moms playing... what's EA doing about it and what are its competitors doing about it? We're going to be making our best case that our offerings for that aggregated global and expanded audience are better than everybody else's.

Does Toy Fair in New York become more important for casual games because of the audience it attracts?

Toy Fair becomes a big deal because of the message of the type of products we're bringing but also because of our partnership with Hasbro. There's no bigger company at Toy Fair than Hasbro and we're one of Hasbro's largest and most strategic partners. We present our products together.

Given all the hype surrounding the big blockbuster games at E3, should casual games be separate from E3?

No. I think E3 needs to change to be able to look at the entire interactive industry of which this category is now firmly implanted as a component of it. I would look more for E3 and the attendees at E3 to start coming to see casual as one of the key tentpoles just as they did with sports. I was working in sports when that became a key tentpole. We felt like the industry changed and people needed to change their expectations. I think the casual line-up in every company is a core component of the stories we're telling and it's now a core component of the interactive audience. And that's what the show is about.

What has EA learned about the Wii in terms of trying to crack the first-party sales stranglehold Nintendo has had with games on that console?

I think the challenge with Wii...it's a unique platform in the way you interact with it, it's unique in its consumer base and its unique in its family orientation. The game I'm the most proud of that I think has made some in-roads in breaking that stranglehold in the charts is Nerf. What we did with Nerf was we embraced the controller mechanic and we figured out how to innovate upon it both in terms of the game and the way you use the controller with the blaster we released. When the NPD figures come out you'll see consumers agreed with us that that's the type of innovation they'll reward on the Wii. I think it's treating that platform as a unique opportunity and delivering unique experiences for that platform. It's harder to port your way to success on the Wii, but if you really focus on it there's enough of an installed base there so that you'll be rewarded.

What are your thoughts on the pack-in game, Wii Sports, which remains so popular with casual and new gamers. Do you think not having a pack-in game might result in more third-party Wii sales?

I think Wii Sports gets people hooked to the experience and then it's up to us to figure out how to extend that experience. I'd rather people be engaged in the platform and loving the stuff that's there because an engaged consumer is a great opportunity for me to sell new products and new extensions to. I think that's what you've seen with what we've done with the EA Sports brand and the Nerf game.

Where do you see the casual games space evolving in the video game business five to 10 years from now?

I think there's no longer going to be a stigma about who games. If you talk to second or third graders now there's no longer a stigma of who games. In five or 10 years, everybody will game just like everybody watches TV or goes to the movies. Games won't be this fringe entertainment option. The industry will evolve to support and enable products for all of these audiences. There will still be blockbusters for the 18 to 34 year old men in the games space just like there are blockbusters for the 18 to 34 year old male in the movie space and for TV. But there will also be blockbusters for 6 to 8 year old girls and blockbusters for 30-something moms. It's no longer going to be taking a risk. You don't look at Desperate Housewives as taking a risk on that show. Casual won't be a division, it will just be part of the landscape.

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