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An EA game like Dead Space simply “wouldn’t have happened” prior to the company’s change of strategy two years ago, according to gameplay engineer David Yee. Following his appointment in 2007, CEO John Riccitiello has encouraged a focus on original intellectual properties – a move which has proved popular among the design staff, according to Yee.
“It was easy from our standpoint on the ground to be like, “Well, we’re not really too sure. This new guy just came back in” [to the company]. But we’ve really seen that, over the course of Dead Space. A few years ago Dead Space would have been… there’s no chance it would have happened. And we’re seeing lots of other opportunities where people are able to explore doing new and original IP, which is really exciting.”
The high expense of making licensed games has also fuelled EA’s move towards original franchises, according to Dead Space senior producer Chuck Beaver.
“If you look at the actual financials behind the intellectual properties, we’re not paying the license fees out, like on some of the previous properties we’ve had. Because of course the royalties go out the door on those and that affects your return, your final turnover. So we’re trying to become more efficient. The other reason is, “You know what? Let’s make our own properties. Let’s own these things.”
Yee and Beaver spoke to VideoGamer.com at a Dead Space event held in London last week. You can read the full interview here.
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Dead Space
- Platform(s): iOS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox Series S/X
- Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Shooter, Survival Horror, Third Person
