EA expanding 'Partners' model to mobile, social businesses
EA Partners has been responsible for helping to bring some noteworthy titles to market in the past few years. The co-publishing arm has helped to distribute the likes of the Rock Band and Left 4 Dead series, as well as the recent Bulletstorm, and will aid in the upcoming releases of Crysis 2 and Portal 2.
It's perhaps surprising, then, that David DeMartini, the man who managed these successful co-publshing deals, has stepped down as the division's group general manager to pursue a "new commercial role." EA Partners looks to not miss a beat, however, as former SVP and COO of the EA Games label, Brian Neider, has stepped right in.
Neider has quickly settled into his new role, calling the Partners program an "all around win-win," which allows "EA to partner with some of the world's best console, PC and digital developers while providing those independent developers with a global distribution/publishing partner."
In fact, the shakeup marks a time of expansion for the "Partners" busines model. Through its Chillingo (mobile) and Playfish (social) divisions, EA will expand its co-publishing philosophy to capitalize on the demand for social and mobile games. "Like EA Partners, Chillingo and Playfish work with the best development talent in the mobile and social gaming space," Neider told Develop.
