Gibeau on EA criticism: "We’re not tone deaf"

EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau has said that EA has responded to the criticism it has received – even if he thinks it’s not fully justified.

"That type of feedback is disappointing personally for people inside of EA because we love our company and the games that we make," Gibeau told the BBC of EA’s nomination as The Worst Company in America in a Consumerist survey in April.

"We’re in the business of entertaining and exciting people, and when our business policies get in the way of that and we hear this reaction and see this feedback we have to take note of it. We’re not tone deaf."

Gibeau also justified the mass layoffs that have swept EA in recent times saying that all companies must react to the markets in which they operate.

"In the console business there frankly isn’t much of a business for games outside of the top 20," he added. "You have to really get into the charts to make the initial investment in these games work. We’re really trying to create epic products that have a chance to reach the widest possible audience."

The publisher also intends to improve its performance on the next wave of consoles by making larger investments in its game engine technology.

"The last console generation, we frankly didn’t make the investment in engine technology that we did this time," he admitted. "It left us in a position where our launch wasn’t as smooth or a breakthrough as we wanted.

"It’s not just about [better] graphics, it’s content and online features too. If you can support just two engines instead of the 13 to 14 we were supporting over the last cycle you can focus on making great games."