Commendably, Brown was refreshingly honest when asked whether EA is equally committed to all three next-gen platforms, admitting that, "No. I don't want to be indiscreet, but the truth is EA is most committed to the platform with the biggest installed base. We've always been very practical and open about the fact that this is a business; if you do well in business, you get to keep making more games, and you can hire more people to make more different kinds of games - as long as you remember that this is a business first."
He then went on to discuss how, "There are a lot of people at EA who are walking around whispering: "40/40/20 per cent." The last time out, it was 65-70 per cent PlayStation, and everybody else divided up the 30 per cent that was left. Microsoft obviously took a big piece. Now it looks like 40/40/20 - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - and that is good for us, and it's good for people who like games."
Judging by his calculations then, you'd think Brown sees Nintendo finishing third again. Not so however, as he feels the unique features of Wii could help Nintendo win the next-gen race: "Everybody's saying that the Nintendo Wii is so unique that it's going to be the second system people buy, meaning if you own a 360 or a PS3, you'll probably also buy a Nintendo Wii," reflected Brown. "But the funny thing is, some people say that discursively, like it's some sort of dig at Nintendo - and what they don't get is that if you're second on everybody's system, you're first overall."
"It is very possible that Nintendo is going to expand its market by being the second system, that people who are hardcore and own a 360 or a PlayStation 3 will also go and buy a Nintendo Wii because it is so unique and so different this time. Whereas they didn't also want a GameCube against an Xbox or against a PS2, they'll go out and buy it, because it's a different experience."
Brown also defended EA's record of producing sequels in the interview, arguing that criticism of sequels comes from a "motion picture mentality", and pointing out that, "In the motion picture business, usually the sequels stink. In the videogame business, sequels - certainly by the time you start getting into three and four - are in fact pretty good, or they wouldn't be sequels. If you look at Grand Theft Auto - do you even know anybody who played GTA 1 or remembers it? Or GTA 2? It was Grand Theft Auto III that blew the roof off the entire industry, and the culture for that matter."
You can read the rest of the interview here - it's certainly worth a skim.
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