peter-moore
Latest
EA Sports' Wii cup overfloweth
It looks like 2007's Ubisoft has turned into 2008's EA, as the latter has a slew of new titles lined up for the Wii. And in supporting the console much as Ubisoft did during the launch, we're wondering if EA has some actual quality products lined up for us, or if this is going to turn into just another opportunity for someone to shovelware or port us to death.With eight new games lined up by the company, EA Sports also has a new IP planned for the console. Electronic Arts wants their own slice of that delicious casual pie, as EA head honcho Peter Moore comments "we now have eight titles in development for the Wii, testament both to the global impact of that console currently in the global marketplace, as well as to our desire to attract more consumers to experience EA Sports games, no matter their experience playing games nor their prowess with a traditional controller."So, are you excited? Still hate EA? What games do you think we're getting? What's your opinion regarding all of this?
Last Week on Massively: WoW-related stories
This week's round up of WoW-related posts on our sister site Massively covers many different angles of the MMO universe dominated by World of Warcraft. The Game Developers Conference 08 coverage took up much of last week with many people comparing their efforts to WoW's success. You can click on the links below or subscribe to a special WoW-only Massively feed.The Daily Grind: When will you be done with WoW?Akela Talamasca wants know what is it that will end the WoW-affair?GDC08: Massively is Live at the Future of MMOs panel Rob Pardo, VP of Game Design at Blizzard was on a panel at GDC last week debating the Future of MMOs. Massively's Michael Zenke was there to liveblog it. Ask Massively: Show me the MMOney!What will it take to overcome WoW? Massively lays out the battle plan.
Peter Moore talks smack about Activision-Blizzard
In a recent interview with MCV, Xbox big-wig turned EA big-wig Peter Moore explains how he believes EA Sports' new portfolio is poised on the brink of burying the new Activision-Blizzard juggernaut. He describes how EA Sports is trying to turn their attention to the an international audience, courting new swaths of gamers with casual titles that promise to appeal to customers outside of their usual demographics.Of course, our immediate reaction is to wonder idly what kind of whacky-tobaccy Peter Moore is smoking, Activision-Blizzard's crown jewel is of course World of Warcraft, which netted the company approximately $1.2 billion last year. Yes, you read that number correctly, that's $1,200,000,000. That's not a number that can be countered by dumbing down your sports franchises and hoping for the best. Now, we understand that EA Sports is kind of Peter Moore's baby here, so his chest-thumping is not without rational cause, but I doubt even investors would be fooled by such reckless showmanship. Now, if he wanted to go on to explain why Warhammer Online is going to eat into WoW's market share, we might be more inclined to pay attention, but a pithy boxing game? Puh-lease.
EA Sports launching 5 new franchises by early 2011
Speaking to investors, Peter Moore outlined the future of the EA Sports division through fiscal 2011 (ends March 31, 2011). Goals included "grow the football business" (check!), add "exciting new innovations" to this year's FIFA and NBA Live games (create-a-vision cone -- check!), and develop seven or more new IPs during the next three years -- oh, and one final objective: <lulz>"tighten quality and execution"</lulz>.At least one of the mystery IPs will join Facebreaker as a so-called casual title, juxtaposed with four, new "core" franchises. Though, since everything from college b-ball to NASCAR to cricket already done been EA'd, them pickins is gettin mighty slim. WNBA Jive anyone?
Introducing Peter Moore: the blogger
After years of abuse from the blogosphere (including plenty from around these parts), Peter Moore has decided to join the enemy and become a blogger ... in a manner of speaking anyway. First of all, Peter won't be joining the ranks of video game journalism, but will instead be posting for the benefit of the EA Sports community. Second, it's not a dedicated blog per se, but more of a glorified forum post. Still, Peter Moore will be taking regular chunks of his schedule and dedicating them to communicating with the masses. Entitled Inside the Game, the blog serves as a soap box for Moore to share whatever his heart desires. In the first installment of the blog, his heart desires to go back in time and get the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. He also takes some time to mention FaceBreaker and take a few good-natured potshots at Major Nelson.The blog mostly serves as an introduction to the concept, so don't go looking for any bombshells. Still, it's an interesting read, and hopefully Inside the Game will become a regular source for newsworthy information from EA.
EA extends NFL lock to 2012
Those hoping to get their NFL gaming fix from anywhere other than EA anytime soon are apparently in for a long wait: EA revealed today that it had extended its exclusive contract with the organization until the end of the 2012 season, which falls in February of 2013. A similar deal was also made with the NFL players association.If you had been anxiously praying for the return of NFL2K, we'd be willing to bet that's never going to happen, as by 2013, we're fairly sure football will be played on the moon with jet packs, and our Earth laws will no longer apply. But take heart, Peter Moore says that EA won't be marking the 2008 20th anniversary of the game with just any Madden year. No, it's going to be above and beyond. Wait ... you mean you're rewarding our $60 with genuine effort put into the product? Just for us? Oh, Pete, you shouldn't have.
Video proof: Major Nelson is not Paris Hilton
If you've been paying attention to Inside Xbox, you may recall former Microsoft bigwig Peter Moore (now cozy with EA) calling out one Major Nelson during an interview with Microsoft's TriXie. Specifically, Moore (jokingly) described Major as "self-absorbed," adding, "now he's pretty much, you know, the Paris Hilton of video games. That, you know, he is, you know, above us all." Major Nelson is apparently not one to take things lying down, and he quickly prepared a response video for this week's edition of Major's Minute. We won't spoil it, but rest assured that Major Nelson consulted the highest authority on this matter.
Moore talks casual, Wii focus for EA Sports
Amid talk of Facebreaker and the impact of an exclusive NFL license, an quick IGN interview with EA Sports President Peter Moore highlights the prominent studio's focus on making sports games more accessible to a wider audience. "There will be more announcements that will be ... looking at the more casual consumer that we see as a bigger force in the business," Moore told IGN. "We need to do better on the Nintendo platforms, and we intend to do that. It's a different type of game mechanic that the Nintendo Wii consumer, in particular, can play." The statement seems to indicate a continuation and upgrade for the company's Family Play initiative, which made simplified, Wii remote specific controls for games like Madden, NBA Live and Fifa. But do these dumbed-down controls end up dumbing down the gameplay? Or could sports games use a dose of simplicity? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Former EA Chicago studio head heads to Xbox division
The Electronic Arts and Microsoft executive shuffle isn't over. Former EA Chicago studio head Kudo Tsunoda is the latest to move from the venerable game maker to Microsoft's Xbox division, according to GameTap. Tsunoda joins Xbox division head Don Mattrick and VP of Live John Schappert as recent EA expatriates. In July 2007, Mattrick swapped companies with Peter Moore, taking his job when Moore became head of EA Sports.EA shut down the Chicago studio in November last year. Tsunoda's position will be General Manager and will report to Mattrick. Sources tell GameTap that his first task will be project lead for "an upcoming Gears of War title." There's another Gears of War game? We're shocked. Shocked!
Peter Moore talks about EA, waxes poetic
Gametrailers has a pair of video interviews with Peter Moore in his new role as head of EA Sports. Watching these vids remind of exactly why we're going to miss him so much at Microsoft. However, it also gives us hope that EA will stop doing things like releasing mega-buggy versions of Madden upon unsuspecting masses. Or somewhat suspecting masses, at this point.Anyhow, check out both parts of the video after the jump. It's worth it just for the eye-rolling from Moore when the interviewer calls him a "hero" to all the young gamers out there. He has a great view of the console war from both the publisher and manufacturer sides of the table, and near the end of part two, he talks about what's in store for the future at EA Sports. Namely, looking beyond only the North American market ... so expect more FIFA to come down the pipeline. And hopefully Scottish Caber Toss Challenge '09.
Peter Moore resigns as head of Xbox
It's hard to call the Xbox 360 anything but a success, but having missed some sales numbers, ringing up an extra unexpected $1b on the corporate card because of warranty issues, and still generally failing to make a profit, it looks like Peter Moore, who we just sat down with a few days ago, has stepped down from his embattled position as the ringleader of Microsoft's Xbox group. Successor to his role is Don Mattrick, who is taking over not just Peter's position as VP of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, but leading the group (including Games for Windows) entirely. Moore's new job? Prez of EA Sports, down in the SF bay area. Take THAT, Microsoft.
CE-Oh no he didn't, part XXXVIII: Peter Moore tells Sony it's failing
While Peter Moore wasn't exactly this forthright when chatting it up with us, it's not totally out of character for execs to lash out at rivals from time to time. In the latest chapter of CE-Oh no he didn't, we find Mr. Moore claiming that Sony's "long-term business plan of being successful in Japan is crumbling." Moreover, he continued to knock the PS3 by sidestepping questions of why the Xbox 360 has sold so miserably in the Land of the Rising Sun and suggested that Sony was the one that should be worried about "getting outsold six-to-one." As a finisher, Peter added that he had "built a business plan for Japan," and while sales have indeed been lackluster, he claimed that "Sony was missing its plan by much more" than he was missing his. Seriously, them's fightin' words there.[Via DailyTech]
Peter Moore: Sony is 'failing' in Japan
The funniest part of the GameDaily.biz interview with Peter Moore is that he knows the Xbox is biting the big one in Japan, but he points out that Sony "crumbling" in Japan against the Wii is just more delicious. Moore says he planned for an uphill battle in Japan -- actually it's more like a flat-faced vertical mountain battle, having only sold 122, 565 Xbox 360s this year -- but he believes Sony never expected to fail in Japan like they have.Moore points out that Sony keeps talking about this 10-year plan without ever explaining what that means. He says, "I'm not sure what their 10-year plan is ... It's like they just said, 'We have a 10-year plan' [and that's it]." Moore isn't talking 10-year plans but he expects the Xbox to live longer than the original's four years. He says Sony can have all the plans they like, but the key is getting to the "mass market with price points [that matter]," which Moore says Microsoft is a lot closer to being able to do. Yes, that certainly sounds like allusion to an incoming price drop.
X3F interview: 4 minutes in the dark with Peter Moore
Peter Moore with Rock Band producer, Helen McWilliamsOn the second night of E3, we stepped into a large, dimly lit room filled with tables -- 8 tables to be exact. At each table sat important folk from the ranks of Microsoft. Bungie's Frank O'Connor, Peter Molyneux: there's some big names in this room (we'll have more on them soon). Sitting in front of us is Peter Moore, VP of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division -- i.e. Xbox. On the right hand side of the room is large LED chess clock. We have four minutes. That's it. The clock starts and we ask him the first thing we can think to ask. We've only got four minutes here, so there's no point in being coy about it. How do you like Rock Band? I love Rock Band. I actually, as you may or may not know, I actually went on stage again last night down in west Hollywood, and got up on the stage with the guys and had a good time. Once I can hear the music I can play the game, you know, so I think it's a great game. I love it, I flew to Cambridge, Massachusetts about six months ago, got my first taste of it. Just knew right then we needed to make it part of the briefing, and knew I'm stupid enough to go and put a guitar around my neck and give it a go.
Engadget & Joystiq interview: Peter Moore, head of Xbox
We got another opportunity to catch up with our pal Peter Moore, the man at the top of the heap over at Microsof'ts Xbox division. We chatted it up about the usual stuff: games, Microsoft's E3 presence, the 360 warranty debacle, and what's up with all the special edition stuff Microsoft keeps pumping out.So, any new tattoos this year?None. Out of limbs. You were there the other night...What, no chest piece? You've got legs, too.No, my PR handlers would -- well, I'm game for a lot of stuff, and then they go, "No, I don't think so."You could do full sleeves, the back...I think the next thing would be what's (horribly) called a tramp stamp... [laughter]So no tramp stamp for Peter Moore, unfortunately. So last time when we spoke with you last year, your competition hadn't launched yet. So you guys were kind of in a unique position to be the first next gen company out of the gate. Your system, you know you have a lot of second wave titles showing up. Even though the Wii was certainly a phenomenon at last year's E3, there was a lot of excitement about the Xbox. So now here we are, a little over a year later obviously and your competition has launched, in your own press conference your materials show that the Wii is -- not by much -- outselling the 360. Numbers don't lie! So where do you think the 360 stands in terms of your competition? You have the Wii that's actually outselling the 360 and you have the PlayStation 3 which obviously isn't although, sales have increased after the price drop. So where... Apparently they have. I haven't seen any independent data that supports that.
Overheard@E3: "You pulled a Peter Moore!"
After Peter Moore's not one but TWO inopportune game pauses during the Rock Band demo at the Microsoft keynote, it looks like a new phrase has been born -- "Pulling a Peter Moore."According to folks at the Rock Band booth, people have been inadvertently pausing the game when they're trying to rock out, causing the music to come to an abrupt halt, and their friends and observers will shout out "Aw man, you just pulled a Peter Moore!"Reminds us of Andy's "I Schruted it." line from The Office.
MS fails to meet 12 million mark
Microsoft announced at the beginning of this year that it had reduced its shipment goal for the fiscal year to 12 million units, down from 13-15 million units. Speaking to gamesindustry.biz about the new 360 warranty, Peter Moore has confirmed that Microsoft has missed the target of 12 million units. The company has sold roughly 11.6 million units, missing its goal by 400,000 units. Despite this, Moore states that Microsoft feels "really good" about the state of the Xbox. In particular, he emphasizes Microsoft's holiday lineup, and notes that it will be featured heavily at E3 next week.
Peter Moore chats about failures, new warranty
Speaking to Joystiq in a conference call, Peter Moore addressed some of the implications brought on by the recent Xbox 360 warranty extension. Among the topics discussed was Microsoft's speed at reacting to the situation. While it seems like complaints have been mounting for ages, Moore notes that time was needed to "gather data and weigh the financial implications" as well as identifying the hardware problems themselves. Before you ask, no, Moore did not reveal what those problems were, nor did he reveal Xbox 360 failure percentages. According to Moore, Microsoft has "no intention" of doing such a thing, as they see "no value" in doing so. Moore also discusses the apparent disappearance of Xbox 360 Elites and why the warranty extension applies only to the Red Ring of Death and not Xbox 360s with disc scratching problems. Head over to Joystiq for the full report.
360's Warranty extended to THREE years!
The guys over at Gamerscore Blog expressed their discontent with the failure rate of Xbox 360s and the customer service for getting consoles repaired. As such, they are changing the warranty policy worldwide to 3 years after the consoles purchase when dealing with the 3 red rings of light hardware failure on Xbox 360s. Anyone who's payed for any repairs up to this point will be reimbursed in full. This means that anyone who bought their console at launch will be covered until November 22nd 2008. On top of the press release, Peter Moore himself posted an open letter to the community on the policy change, which is included after the break, as well as a FAQ on how it's being rolled out.
Microsoft aware Xbox 360 "sweet spot" is $199, not limited to 20-something demographic
Xbox's director of product management, David Hufford, said to Bloomberg yesterday that "We are well aware that the sweet spot of the market is really 199 bucks.'' Peter Moore and Albert Penello, the big guys of Xbox marketing, also stated that the company needs to "expand our demographic" and build content that appeals to people other than the 20-something males (in other words: "hello Moms!"). Why exactly Microsoft has decided to take the metaphorical mouth freshener at this point isn't quite clear, although we're guessing it comes down to an attempt to differentiate the Xbox from the PS3 in the minds of household purchasing decision makers and take a little sheen of the Wii's apparent domination of the lucrative casual gaming market. Hey, if these veiled marketing quotes eventually means cheaper consoles, who can complain? Microsoft, just cut the prices all-freakin'-ready.[Via Joystiq]
