EA responds to Konami’s FIFA allegations

Having taken a deep breath and counted to ten, EA’s football development and marketing boss Matt Bilbey has calmly responded to some heavy-handed accusations from rival Konami.

PES team leader John Murphy said earlier this month that EA has stopped evolving FIFA’s gameplay. But speaking to Eurogamer, Bilbey responded with sympathy for his opposite.

"I hope the management team in Japan appreciate what [Jon Murphy has] been giving to that franchise for a long, long time,” he stated.

He’s very, very committed and a great spokesman for the game. I feel for him sometimes, because I’ve worked with developers that it’s challenging to listen to, or they don’t necessarily listen to you."

The kind words didn’t stop there, either, with FIFA 13 producer Nick Channon adding: "We’re not going to stand here and say anything. We’re very respectful of PES and we understand we have a very strong competitor. We know they want to make a better game every year and ultimately that drives us forward."

That still wasn’t enough, however, so EA Sports head Andrew Wilson also chimed in: "I had the great fortune of leading the [FIFA] team as we went head-to-head with Konami. I had the greatest amount of respect for them then; I thought they built a tremendous game. I continue to have the greatest amount of respect for them today."