Electronic Arts 2005 Annual Report Download - page 5

However, the big headline in Ñscal years 2006 and 2007 will be the new consoles Ì the Xbox 360
TM
from
Microsoft, the next-generation system from Nintendo and the PlayStation»3 from Sony. The capabilities of
these new machines has created a tremendous amount of excitement in the EA studios. Our teams are focused
on four areas that will dramatically improve the game playing experience:
‚High DeÑnition Graphics Ì Images will be much sharper, but that's just the beginning. The wider
aspect ratio of HDTV allows developers to Ñll the peripheral space with more action and detail.
‚Rich Worlds Ì Next-generation games will feature nuanced visual detail that evolves with every visit.
In Tiger Woods PGA TOUR», players will need to read the grain of the grass on every green. In Need
For Speed
TM
Most Wanted, detailed images reÖected in the car's paint will blur as your vehicle
accelerates.
Chairman’s Letter
‚Emotionally Believable Characters Ì In the next generation, inexperienced characters will send visual
cues that betray their uncertainty Ì artiÑcial intelligence and online players will recognize these
emotional states and the outcome of the game will change.
‚Deeper Online Experiences Ì Currently, about ten percent of game consoles are connected online. In
the next generation, that number could climb to 40 percent. In four years, it's easy to imagine that
every successful game will have extensive online features. The EA Nation will continue to grow and
serve as a hub to connect EA SPORTS and EA
TM
gamers.
It's All About Quality
Fiscal 2005 was a year of intense competition. We faced a price-based challenge to our sports titles and an
unprecedented number of great holiday titles from other publishers. These were diÅerent games in diÅerent
genres but they had one thing in common Ì each delivered many hours of top-quality entertainment.
The experience aÇrmed a standing rule in today's game market: Quality Wins With The Consumer. Gamers
are very sophisticated Ì they research new releases, compare critical scores and post their impressions on the
many Internet sites dedicated to enthusiasts. The games with the highest quality index are generally the best
sellers. That's why EA's Need For Speed and The Sims
TM
franchises each sold more than 15 million copies this
year.
The correlation between quality and commercial performance provides us with a clear objective: to approach
each year with the highest quality, most exciting and innovative games in the market. In Ñscal year 2006, we
will launch a portfolio of games to meet that objective.
‚ In sports, Madden NFL 2006 will showcase our new relationship with the NFL and NFLPA and prove
that it does keep getting better. Madden, EA SPORTS
TM
Fight Night, FIFA Soccer, NBA Live and
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR will support the launch of the next-generation consoles and set a stunning
new visual standard for sports games. In addition, we will add Arena Football to our industry-leading
lineup of sports products.
‚ There will be new properties. EA's Criterion Studio is in development with a promising new
property Ì Black, and EA Canada will release Marvel Nemesis
TM
: Rise of the Imperfects
TM
with our
own characters Ñghting Superheroes
TM
like Spiderman.
‚ There will be games based on blockbuster movies: The Godfather
TM
, Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire
TM
, Batman Begins
TM
, and James Bond From Russia With Love featuring the voice of Sean Connery.
In the aggregate, we believe our product lineup in Ñscal year 2006 is signiÑcantly stronger relative to Ñscal year
2005 and the competition.