EA Sports' Moore envisions browser-based games for smaller sports
EA Sports covers nearly all the big sports: football, soccer, golf, basketball, hockey, etc. But will it ever tackle a more niche interest? Its president, Peter Moore, certainly sees that as a possibility -- just not on the current HD consoles.
Obviously, the main obstacle in the path of these smaller sports is development cost. "It would be very difficult for us to justify putting a full-blown next-gen team on with all the associated costs," Moore explained to Edge. However, he does see an alternative. "Can we do a browser based version? So I think the answer's yes, but we're not there yet ... Digitize that content and provide experience for - and I don't want to call them lesser sports - but regional sports that find it difficult to scale."
EA is already dabbling in a number of browser-based experiences, including FIFA Online and Tiger Woods Online. With its continued expansion in the area (see: the recent acquisition of Playfish), the future certainly holds a lot of possibilities. Who knows -- the lower barrier of entry may one day enable EA Sports to make that lacrosse game we've been dreaming up.
