Filter looks at the day's top technology news through snapshots and analysis of what the world's media outlets are covering. Washingtonpost.com's new Mon.-Fri. feature is penned by technology reporter Cynthia L. Webb. If a technology story breaks, a company falters or triumphs, or there's a new trend in technology, Filter wants you to know about it.
By Cynthia L. Webb washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 11, 2004; 9:58 AM
The Electronic Entertainment Exposition kicks off in Los Angeles in a few hours, but already some of the gaming industry's biggest guns have announced landmark partnerships.
Microsoft Corp. and Electronic Artsyesterday said that EA will develop games for Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service, which Microsoft says has nearly 1 million subscribers. The arrangement boosts Microsoft's position against competing game hardware developers Sony and Nintendo. "Through this long-term agreement, many of EA's major franchises will be coming to Xbox Live, with more than 15 titles expected in the coming months," Microsoft said. The titles include "Madden NFL 2005," "NBA LIVE 2005," "FIFA Soccer 2005," and "Battlefield."
Colin Sebastian, a SoundView Technology analyst, spelled out what the deal means for both companies. "The lack of EA's popular titles in Xbox Live has been a hole in (Microsoft's) offering, and for EA, they'll be able to gain (market) share in Xbox," Sebastian told The San Francisco Chronicle.
The deal could help Microsoft "gain a more secure foothold in the market for videogames played over the Internet," The Wall Street Journal reported. "The pact marks the end to an impasse between the companies, which have been in on-and-off negotiations about the online business for about two years. It is a breakthrough in Microsoft's quest to establish itself in the online videogame business, which, without EA, was missing some of the most popular games. Online games, which let gamers play against each other on consoles connected to the Internet, are a sideshow to the $10 billion videogame industry. But the market is expanding quickly and is considered an important source of future revenue. Microsoft started its service in late 2002 and has about one million subscribers, about the same size as a similar service run by rival Sony Corp."
"We wanted EA from Day One," said Cameron Ferroni, general manager for Xbox Live, according to The Seattle Times. "It's always been both of the companies' goals to find an agreement that works for us. We're thrilled."
But the paper notes "None of the games is exclusively for the Xbox, which would have been a bigger coup. EA still intends to produce titles for Sony's PlayStation 2, with whom it announced an exclusive partnership at last year's E3 to develop online sports titles."
CNET's News.com explained more about why EA was playing hard to get for Microsoft's Xbox Live service. "EA, which runs several extensive online services for PC games, was the one notable holdout among major game publishers when Microsoft launched the Xbox Live service two years ago. EA executives objected to the design and business model for Xbox Live, under which Microsoft handles all networking, billing and other infrastructure tasks and game developers pay a flat fee to make use of the service."
• CNET's News.com: Electronic Arts Embraces Xbox Live
And more on how EA plans to play both sides, Microsoft and Sony that is. "Chip Lange, vice president of marketing for EA Sports and Games Nation, said his firm will continue working with Sony, and the latest deal only adds to the company's business. ... But until Monday, EA's executives had derided Xbox Live, often likening it to a cable TV company that either refused to pay or paid very little to studios that actually make the shows. All of that changed Monday as EA promised it will have at least 15 game titles on Xbox Live by the end of this year. NCAA Football will be first to go online in July, followed by the hugely popular franchise Madden Football. Not coincidentally, Microsoft had recently announced it was scrapping its own sports lineup," The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote that "In competing with Sony online, Microsoft has sought to build a more centralized system, making it easier for game developers to adapt their titles for Xbox Live." The paper also reported that last night's announcement shows that EA "is buying Microsoft's vision of online gaming," according to analyst Matt Rosoff.
