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Fortnite Could Have A Significant, Lasting, Impact On Gaming Industry Overall, EA Say
Battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG could have a major, lasting impact on the gaming industry overall, according to publisher Electronic Arts. During a Q&A with investors today following the company's latest earnings report, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said EA welcomes innovation because it helps bring new players to gaming, which in turn helps EA.
"We welcome innovation in the industry," Jorgensen said. "That's what makes this business so exciting and fun to operate in. If you look back over the 20 or 30 years, the innovation that one game team's done goes through the whole industry. It's fantastic. We welcome innovators like Fortnite or PUBG that really help everyone's thinking. We feel that's great for the business as whole."
While Fortnite is supremely popular, a single game is not going to sink publishers like EA. Jorgensen intimated that Fortnite's success has had some level of impact on its business--because of course it has--but he said the impact hasn't been meaningful. He pointed out that no one game can capture 100 percent of the market.
While Fortnite as a shooter game is theoretically competing with EA's lineup of shooters like Battlefield and Battlefront, Epic's title is also helping expand the shooter category. He theorised that Fortnite is helping bring young players to gamers, who may eventually move on to other games--like maybe the next Battlefield game.
"In particular, [Fortnite is] bringing younger people into the marketplace and younger people into first-person shooters, and I think that's good for the long run health of that category for all of us in the industry," Jorgensen said.
During the last EA earnings call in January, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the global FPS community is undoubtedly interested in battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG. And while he did not rule out adding a battle royale mode to a Battlefield game, he said EA's wider focus is to think about "new and innovative ways to play" across all of its games.
In other battle royale news, Fortnite recently added an Avengers: Infinity War crossover event that brings Thanos to the game.
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"We welcome innovation in the industry," Jorgensen said. "That's what makes this business so exciting and fun to operate in. If you look back over the 20 or 30 years, the innovation that one game team's done goes through the whole industry. It's fantastic. We welcome innovators like Fortnite or PUBG that really help everyone's thinking. We feel that's great for the business as whole."
While Fortnite is supremely popular, a single game is not going to sink publishers like EA. Jorgensen intimated that Fortnite's success has had some level of impact on its business--because of course it has--but he said the impact hasn't been meaningful. He pointed out that no one game can capture 100 percent of the market.
While Fortnite as a shooter game is theoretically competing with EA's lineup of shooters like Battlefield and Battlefront, Epic's title is also helping expand the shooter category. He theorised that Fortnite is helping bring young players to gamers, who may eventually move on to other games--like maybe the next Battlefield game.
"In particular, [Fortnite is] bringing younger people into the marketplace and younger people into first-person shooters, and I think that's good for the long run health of that category for all of us in the industry," Jorgensen said.
During the last EA earnings call in January, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the global FPS community is undoubtedly interested in battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG. And while he did not rule out adding a battle royale mode to a Battlefield game, he said EA's wider focus is to think about "new and innovative ways to play" across all of its games.
In other battle royale news, Fortnite recently added an Avengers: Infinity War crossover event that brings Thanos to the game.
More...