EA’s Secret
Here’s a story you won’t be seeing anywhere else. Not only because other sites won’t report it, but because they don’t know about it.
As everybody knows, the fall is best time to release your game, since that is when the most purchases are made for the holidays. This is slowly changing, but the industry still is structured to release their big games in the fall for maximum profit.
Every fall, Electronic Arts releases a yearly installment in their Need for Speed racing franchise. A former rival of this game was the Burnout series, which also came out in the fall…well until this year that is.
Burnout Paradise is set to release in January, but would that be the case if it wasn’t for EA buying out Criterion, the developers of Burnout? It would not. The truth that EA is keeping quiet is that Burnout Paradise is done, gold discs have been pressed, and it’s been done for several weeks. Instead, EA released its in-house developed Need for Speed game for the prime holiday season, and is holding back Criterion’s game into one of the slowest months for gaming.
Not only does this suck for the gamer, who wants to play a game when it’s done, but it’s unfair to Criterion, and it also proves that EA bought out Criterion with the intent of killing any and all competition to themselves and their rushed games.