Pachter: EA Bet On The Wrong Horse

http://www.craveonline.com/gaming/articles/653445-analyst-titanfall-2-wont-be-xbox-exclusive-former-ea-ceo-thought-ms-would-kick-sonys-butt-next-gen

serves you well EA....

I think this might be the last exclusive you see for a long long time that's third party. I think [EA], had they known at the time when they made they made the decision to go exclusive Xbox, had they known that the Xbox One was going to be $100 more than the PS4 I think they wouldn't have done it. I think that they believe that Microsoft was going to kick Sony's butt this cycle.

Pachter continued with a startling discovery:

I am quoting John Riccitiello (former EA CEO) back in 2012 who told me that he thought that Microsoft was going to eat Sony's lunch the next cycle. But we all thought so because we thought that Xbox 360 had a large, loyal install base and multiplayer and we thought that Sony would price [the PS4] about the same as the Xbox, but we didn't think Xbox One would be $500. I frankly thought they were both going to be 400 and the possibility that the Xbox One would be 350. I thought Microsoft might be that bold. They made a mistake and they priced too high and I think that caught everybody by surprise. So I haven't talked to John Riccitiello about this since, but it's pretty clear that at a $100 price advantage Sony is going to beat out Xbox until the price is the same.

Obviously the Playstation is the only generation 8 console.

Don't get why they decided to keep the game gen7

If PS4 is generation 8, then PC is generation 9. But anyway, anyone who'll have the chance to play Titanfall should be in CLOUD 9 regardless of platform!

Gamers win, fanboys lose!

I don't think there is a gen with PC. lol they come out with new cards every few months.

titanfall exclusivity could be good or bad for the franchise. on 1 hand m$ is marketing it hugely and maybe if it was on sony consoles it wouldnt have received this much hype. BUT it could be harmful because titanfall would have to establish itself on ps4 once it is multiplat but by then destiny would have been released and maybe the users have flocked to that game.

ea must be pretty happy in the short-term because they must have got a sh$t load of money from m$ but in the long-term maybe this harms the franchise and stops it reaching cod level.

EA is being run by idiots ( no wonder its named the worst gaming company out there ).. they had a good chance to destroy Activision with TF if it was on all platforms i mean even 3DS and Vita just imagine the big sales but what ya know its EA.

Titanfall is bound to come on the PS4

Titanfall Sigma coming to a PS4 near you in November.

Titanfall shouldn't even be exclusive, this game is at will be at the caliber of call of duty

It's mind boggling how EA let this happen

yeah...but PS4 fanbase will shun the franchise. take for example: Mass Effect is never big on PS3. Dark Souls is never big on Xbox 360.

Titanfall will never be that universal franchise like Call of Duty or Assassins Creed, Xbone stigma will stick with it for a very long time

lol cows want Titanfall so badly

oh and I thought this was going to be an article about how dumb mobile gaming is.

the only reason titan fall isn't on the ps4 is because they online structure sucks they are still using ps3 as servers for some of their games that's not going to cut it they just cant afford servers right now

"Titanfall 2 won't be Xbox exclusive"

So... just like the first Titanfall ?

Who is throwing all this money at Titanfall marketing, Microsoft or EA? Microsoft obviously need a popular game to help sell their system so I doubt its all EA. Would Titanfall be as popular or as extrememarketed if it was instead a PS4 exclusive? -I dont think it would, I would think Sony had better games to spend money on considering the first party devs they have and TBH, the Titanfall beta was pretty weak considering the insane amount of hype it has been getting.

I love how Pachter's only right when he's stating the obvious.

Microsoft became arrogant. It didn't respect the consumer so the consumer bit back,. Serves them fucking right.

EA arrogant as well? Cor blimey.

Joke post obviously. Whatever system you like, you're a real gamer. As for EA, their deal with MS is highly profitable no doubt, so they won't be complaining at all. And with MS resources if they decide Titanfall is worth it to the system long-term they will pay whatever is necessary to keep Titanfall on Xbox. Its how they have always done business and they have the money to do it. Also, who in the hell listens to Patcher? He's almost always wrong no matter what he comments on. But on topic, EA isn't losing a dime as they likely have an immense deal with MS.

1) lol Pacther

2) lol -Damien- thread

That's malarky and you know it. XBox360 bled franchises left and right. Mass Effect, Eternal Sonata, Ninja Gaiden and so many other "timed exclusives" that were contractually kept in the dark til after the games releases. How do you have this much faith in EA? Just.. how? You're definitely a "true believer" dude.

@pelvist nice opinion but you are a minority of those who have played it...

"pretty weak compared to sonys first party" what you mean those games that won't release until 2015? so they should not market anything prior? no wonder sony is in the red.

Infamous is a b grade franchise that may well sell tons because there is litterally nothing else... and if killzone is any indication people are desperate to prove "how good their new console is" in the graphics department.... shame about the gameplay.

I bet titanfall would sell better on PS4 than the next uncharted would... (hypothetically ofcourse).

What is up with this broken forum? cant reply/quote people half the time.

Lawl titancod. Keep it, ms, please. the only reason I'd like to see it come to the ps4 is simply to laugh as it sells more on the PlayStation then on the Xbox. Again, lawl titancod pew pew bro pew pew.

Cool with me. Seems like its turning out to be a great game that more people will get to play.

None of those franchises you named will do what Titanfall will do in the next five months. Mass Effect 1, while a fav game of mine, never sold outrageously. Neither did NG2, which I also loved. Titanfall will outsell both by leaps and bounds, and have a longevity neither enjoyed. This is all about money and the long term vision. MS and EA have been great partners and EA isn't dumb. If MS wants Titanfall to remain on Xbox and not on PS4 they will have to pay a grand sum. And if the powers that be deem Titanfall a pillar the One needs to stand on they will cut the check. I do not see how you don't think this is about anything other than money, and that MS has enough to pay anything should they determine this game is a part of the entire ecosystem of the One. Whatever EA thinks it would sell on PS, MS will have to pay that and can, plus foot the bill for marketing, Azure servers, ect. The only question I have is will the final Titanfall product be what MS thinks it will be. From my 3 days with the beta I think they have a winner and will pay the money. Again, this is all about money and long-term relationships with powerhouse companies. Plus its not like EA can't give the PS4 an exclusive too. This is one very important game and MS foot the bill to keep Gears off of PS even after PS sales grew leaps and bounds. They will do it again this time if they feel the game is worth it to them.

The better Titanfall sells on the 360 and PC, the more EA will weigh their options. You can write that on stone. EA is in the business of making games, not being a corporate lapdog. EA answers to its shareholders just like any other company. As long as the PS4 keeps its momentum, the shareholders and board will be asking the obvious question.. "Why aren't we getting our software out to the largest current gen fanbase?" and a check from MS will not be the answer.

It never has been. It never will be. This is why having a first party is important, as anyone with an N64 would be happy to explain to you. Good day sir.

Interesting conversation above.... but both of you are forgetting one important detail... Respawn is not owned by EA or Microsoft, and likely after Titanfall 1's success they won't NEED to be attached to either of those companies just to get the game out of the doors... remember they are a relatively small not-wealthy studio in comparison. they NEEDED EA to publish, and for Microsoft to host the servers due to budget.

Unless either EA/MS outright BUY Respawn ... it comes down to Respawn's decision at the end of the day. not EAs.

Both outcomes are plausible, its not the first time we have seen brilliant franchises forced onto one console over the other.

All I know is... PC laughing to the bank.

I wouldn't bother releasing Titanfall 2 seeing how everyone will most likely be hooked on Destiny

The One version if Titanfall is at the top of the US and UK sales charts, and the bundles are within the top 10-15. The 360 version is no where to be found, and we have no clue of the marketing campaign they will even do for it. As for stockholders and the board, if they list the prospective sales on the PS4 and reveal MS has written a check for that amount now versus having to see if that number comes to past, no one will give a crap except fanboys. This is about money, period, and MS will pay should Titanfall perform and sell as expected. PC sales don't factor into what MS does, lol. Games aren't free, they are sold for profit. MS will pay if TF delivers. Have a great day, sir.

MS definitely screwed up with their pricing for the X1 and the inclusion of kinect.

I still can't declare a winner, the X1 may flip the table with a proper price cut and I believe TitanFall will still sell very well, probably better than all next gen. games.

stupid move on ea's part. titanfall was going to sell big, i mean call of duty big, why limit the market they can sell to? did ms give them half a billion dollars to keep it out of sony consoles?

lol and brand loyalty to xbox 360? only in america and uk....well it WAS only america and uk. if i learned anything about gamers and loyalty, its that there is really no loyalty. if not, sony would have never lost that many users to ms last gen. and they didnt see what was happening at the end of the gen? sony started catching up and their first party studios were really doing well.

lems owned the cows and ea this time around.

Nothing is stopping the Sony's paintrain now

LOL look at all these PS4 fanboys bitching about Titanfall not being on there system! I love it. There so angry because they are still awaiting greatness. There still desperate for gamesLOL.

majority of cows IF they really want Titanfall they can easily access it , thru PC that is. Who hasnt a decent pc to play Titanfall on low/medium settings and 720p ? Even a crappy laptop will be able to do that let alone a GPU of 100$.

Lems ,stop acting like Titanfall is an exclusive and cows will miss it... Majority wont!! Beleive me!You sound funny!

Gaming on PC, nobody has time for that.

I don't think that EA is regretting their decision at all.

Titanfall is the type of game that appeals more to the Xbox fanbase than the PlayStation fanbase and I'm sure that Microsoft gave EA a lot of money to make Titanfall exclusive. And if Titanfall proves to be the big system seller that it most likely will be then Microsoft will offer EA even more money in the future to continue to keep Titanfall exclusive.

Plus, Titanfall would not be receiving the huge amount of marketing that it is receiving if it was multiplat, and best of all for EA is that they don't have to spend money on this huge marketing campaign because Microsoft is doing all of the marketing for them.

You dont have time to sit on your couch , take your X360 PC controller and play the game on true 1080p on your 1080p TV ? Oh i got plenty of time play either on my couch on 1080p tv or on my lux chair on 1200p and K+M for super precise controls. Its up to me how ill play ...

Did i forget to say 60fps also and ultra graphics ? Oh well thats my PC i guess not everyone can do that , specially consolites

Then you shouldn't support Sony.

lol cows need to hide behind big daddy PC, hence they want Titanfall very badly

Also, I'm not a Lem

How is EA losing partnering with MS when Sony is on the verge of bankruptcy? Those playstations sold arent going anywhere unless they all suddenly implode.

This is why pc is the future. Most of the best games are multiplats which means best on pc.

So much fanboy butthurt over this game...lol. The game is on the Bone,the 360 and the PC. It's not exclusive, and it will sell just fine, and EA will be happy. Only fanboys could assume otherwise.

Also...now we are taking what Pachter says seriously?

Do you really need a Sony history lesson or are you seriously that naive? These companies, all of them, want your money and you decide if you like what they are offering or you don't. Placing yourself in some sort of fairy-tale "real gamer" realm lacks anything resembling maturity when you look at the history of all the companies involved and everything they have done for years.

Titanfall isn't enough to convince a lot of people to buy an Xbox One. The vast majority of Titanfall's intended audience are people who already have an Xbox 360 for games like CoD and Battlefield. Unless these people are already set on buying an Xbox One, paying $499 for a single game on a console which has as lot less hype is a difficult pill to swallow.

I have a feeling that Titanfall is going to do the best on the 360 as a lot of people aren't going to bother buying Xbox Ones just to play one game. They'll just stick to the 360 as it's cheaper.

If you look at the Xbox One's current lineup of games it's not that impressive. Forza is niche like all racing sims, Dead Rising 3 is the sequel to a pretty small genre, Killer Instinct is not a huge franchise either. I'm not saying Killzone and Knack are big and popular exclusives either, so the race really comes down to multiplats like CoD, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield, and in the future games like Watch Dogs, The Division, and Destiny. People know they can get them on a console that costs $100 less.

Titanfall just isn't enough especially since it too has a more specific audience than something like CoD or Battlefield.

EA did bet on the wrong horse. They looked at the Xbox 360's early success and just determined that Microsoft was going to repeat while Sony was probably going to blunder like they did last generation. The exact opposite is true.

@MBirdy88: Minority? Everyone on my origin friend list seem to think the same as me.

-Yes I mean those games that wont release till late 2014-2015.

-Yes Infamous is a B grade franchise

-I agree with you about Killzone

You are preaching to the choir.

If Titanfall was a PS4 game and had the same marketing efforts on PS4 as it has had for XBONE then it may sell more than the next Uncharted. However, I dont think Titanfall would have gotten such a budget on PS4, and I suspect other games are worth more to PS gamers, Uncharted being one of them. Every XBONE buyer will obviously say differently, thats to be expected since theres nothing else for XBOTs to really brag about - same goes for PS4 as well with Infamous and The Order, but if i had to put my faith in one console churning out the better exclusives or interactive movies in the future then its more likely to be the Sony console if PS3/360 gen is anything to go by.

So when it comes to Sony's history...

But seriously, lol, your head is stuck so far up Kaz's ass he can taste your breath in the back of his throat. You're welcome to the last word if you feel you need it :)

Another thread, another shawn30 meltdown. Poor lad. :(