Companies have supported the Nintendo Switch quite a bit, especially when it became obvious that the console was great. EA kept their support down to a minimum.
Well, Electronic Arts has revealed why in their Q1 2020 results earning conference call.
Be prepared to be amazed …
They say that they have “a lot of data” suggesting that a lot of Nintendo Switch owners prefer playing EA’s games on other platforms.
Jeffrey Cohen
Thanks for the incremental color on The Sims. It feels like that franchise would be one that would do really well on the Nintendo Switch. So I’m curious how you guys determine which platforms you’d bring the game to or games to? And is there any reason why you wouldn’t want to bring that one on there?
Andrew Wilson
Any time we’re evaluating platform conversations, we are really looking at a couple of things. One, does the game really fit the profile of that platform in terms of the control or the community ecosystem? Two, do we think the community playing on that platform would appreciate the game to go there? Or would they prefer to play it somewhere else?
We have a lot of data that would suggest a great many Switch owners also own a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One or a PC and very often choose to play the games that we make on those platforms even though they have a Switch and they enjoy a lot of great content on the Switch.
And so there’s always an evaluation process that goes on a case-by-case basis. And I wouldn’t say that The Sims would never go to the Switch, but I think we’re doing really, really well attracting Sims players.
As we said, we did the promotion in the last couple of months and brought in 7 million new Sims players that we expect will engage in that community on a platform that is really tailored to user-generated content, creativity and customization.
The support of EA
Well that is a pretty decisive stance to take … but what actual support have we seen from EA on Nintendo Switch? Besides FIFA (18, 19, and the upcoming legacy edition 2020) and Unravel Two (which I did like).
But that is all they actually published … so who are you really fooling EA?
