Electronic Arts is already planning a massive budget for the next generation of gaming consoles.
The company’s CEO John Riccitiello recently spoke to investors during a conference call where he said the “fourth-gen” consoles are a key part of EA’s strategy right now.
He also addressed concerns about the state of the industry, with so much focus being placed on mobile and social games, but he said he expects the traditional console market to continue to grow and thrive for years before there should be any real concern.
Of course, Riccitiello no doubt has inside information about each of the new consoles. We on the outside have no solid details about what the Xbox 720 or the PS4 will bring to the table.
The Wii U also remains largely an enigma, with no information on what kind of launch titles we can expect, or the extent to which it will have online connectivity – an absolute must-have feature in this gaming environment.
Among the rumors that have circulated around the Sony and Microsoft consoles are that they could potentially have technology that prevents anyone from playing pre-owned games, effectively killing off used game retailers as well as services like Gamefly.
As for the Wii U, we expect to know everything we need to know after Nintendo’s presentation at the E3 trade show next month. However, both Microsoft and Sony have pledged that they will not announce any new hardware during the show.
So don’t expect to see than $80 million reflected in anything you’ll see on the store shelves any time soon.
