Xbox Addict

EA Still Has Faith in Mirror’s Edge Franchise

Retail checks have been coming in that indicate EA’s stylish first-person action game Mirror’s Edge has fallen short at retail.

But despite the game’s commercial performance, EA CEO John Riccitiello assured that the company isn’t canning the new series.

"Mirror’s Edge is one that was very strongly reviewed, that one’s going to go forward," said the exec during a conference call. "We’re probably going to look into some issues around the design to make sure strong IP is married with strong business."

Reviews were generally favorable, earning a 78 percent average review score at Metacritic, but the new IP had to go up against a tough slate of more recognizable franchises.

EA has made a point to bring more new IP into its product portfolio, balancing out licensed and older series.

"We’re actually very pleased with a lot of our new franchises this year," said Riccitiello. He added that Spore and MySims have established strong foundations for future installments, and expects Warhammer Online to do well as time goes on.

Riccitiello also categorized the new sci-fi survival horror game Dead Space as a "long-term big winner" for the company.

But if EA knew the economic conditions it was due to face this holiday, perhaps the publisher wouldn’t have relied so heavily on new IP.

"Many times with a new intellectual property, the first edition doesn’t generate the units that subsequent editions could generate," the exec said. "I would argue that in this particular year, the consumer may have been more reticent to take risks that they may otherwise take because of the very clouded holiday.

"I think we’ve established value for EA and value in our franchises. We can build on that in our future."