EA Exec Criticizes Game Developers

John Riccitiello believes many games are simply "rinse and repeat" sequels.

Comments about the creative merits of video games aren’t what most people would expect from a CEO, but that’s exactly what the executive chief of Electronic Arts delivered when he railed against the state of today’s gaming industry. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, John Riccitiello criticized what he sees as “rinse and repeat” games, including those put out by his own company.

Riccitiello’s criticism referred to franchises like Madden and FIFA that continually pump out sequels without much creative innovation. “There’s been lots of product that looked like last year’s product, that looked a lot like the year before,” he said. Riccitiello also believes developers crank up the difficulty on their games to milk more gameplay time from them, and alienate casual gamers in the process. “We’re boring people to death and making games that are harder and harder to play.”

Buried in his skepticism, Riccitiello did find praise for certain popular titles that are selling well and breaking new creative ground in the process. Among them, he said, are the Guitar Hero games, World of Warcraft, and the upcoming Rock Band.