Electronic Arts: 3DS is 'Magical'
Exec gushes over Nintendo's new handheld, as well as the PS3.
Electronic Arts' Chief Operating Officer John Schappert has nothing but good things to say about Nintendo's 3DS handheld, calling the device the 'hit' of E3 and even going so far as to label it "magical."
"You put that in your hand, you look down, and all of a sudden it’s in 3D without glasses. That’s an amazing experience. I’m a huge fan. I think that device is going to sell like hot cakes," Schappert said to Industry Gamers. "I think it’s going to do incredibly well, and in typical Nintendo fashion they have re-energized the industry, yet again."
Although Schappert was keen to balance his enthusiasm for every console on the market - noting that as a third-party publisher "I’ve got bets on all these things. I want them all to be successful" - the former Microsoft executive did highlight the reasons for EA's apparent backing of Sony's PlayStation 3 over the Xbox 360.
He starts with, "We’re seeing a healthy Xbox business and an extremely healthy PlayStation 3 business right now," before referencing US retailer GameStop's recent earnings call and revealing that "they were out of stock in 85% of their stores [of the PS3]. The Wii was out of stock in 50% of their stores. Those are two great metrics, which speak to the consumer demand for these products."
"Xbox has done well; while they’ve been in stock, they’ve done well. PlayStation 3 has done very well while they’ve been on allocation and out of stock. Now, we come along and say, “gosh, imagine Sony getting their supply issues corrected,” which I have no doubt they will shortly," Schappert added, before mentioning the success of the new Xbox 360 S model.
Check the rest of the interview - which includes mention of the digital download market and the PSP's apparent woes - here.
"You put that in your hand, you look down, and all of a sudden it’s in 3D without glasses. That’s an amazing experience. I’m a huge fan. I think that device is going to sell like hot cakes," Schappert said to Industry Gamers. "I think it’s going to do incredibly well, and in typical Nintendo fashion they have re-energized the industry, yet again."
Although Schappert was keen to balance his enthusiasm for every console on the market - noting that as a third-party publisher "I’ve got bets on all these things. I want them all to be successful" - the former Microsoft executive did highlight the reasons for EA's apparent backing of Sony's PlayStation 3 over the Xbox 360.
He starts with, "We’re seeing a healthy Xbox business and an extremely healthy PlayStation 3 business right now," before referencing US retailer GameStop's recent earnings call and revealing that "they were out of stock in 85% of their stores [of the PS3]. The Wii was out of stock in 50% of their stores. Those are two great metrics, which speak to the consumer demand for these products."
"Xbox has done well; while they’ve been in stock, they’ve done well. PlayStation 3 has done very well while they’ve been on allocation and out of stock. Now, we come along and say, “gosh, imagine Sony getting their supply issues corrected,” which I have no doubt they will shortly," Schappert added, before mentioning the success of the new Xbox 360 S model.
Check the rest of the interview - which includes mention of the digital download market and the PSP's apparent woes - here.
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