Riccitiello: Mirror's Edge deserves second chance, EA still pushing new IP

EA CEO John Riccitiello told IndustryGamers that the company has no intention of reducing its reliance on new IP. "Does this mean EA is backing away from investing in quality and innovation?" Riccitiello asked. "Absolutely not. It's religion for me; I believe quality and innovation is what works."

EA faces a difficult task now: finding room in EA's now-reduced slate for the new content Riccitiello promises and the sequels the company must produce. But it's a task Riccitiello seems to believe is worth undertaking. "I believe there are publishers out there that are milking franchises at their peril," he said. "I do think you can sort of stop innovating and do well while you coast for a couple of editions before a product starts to fall apart or a sector starts to fall apart."

The juggle involves sequels like Mirror's Edge 2, perhaps. "There are some things we learned about that [first] game," Riccitiello told Kotaku. "It was, I think, a massively innovative product. To be honest with you, I think it's a game that deserves to come back." The CEO said he's "had several very lively debates" with the dev team about the design of a future game. "And they are working on it."