Tingtong wrote:However, EA pretty much will have full control on what happens by 2nd quarter of next year...
edit: 'preem said it already.

Except that by 2nd quarter of next year, the game should be close to release (perhaps already released, I'm not sure if they're referring to the fiscal year or not) and since EA isn't actually controlling any aspect of development other than pumping money and marketing into the game, they will have had little to no control over content whatsoever up to that point. Nice try though.
Warhammer has gotten excellent buzz and press and impressed the people at EA enough to spend upwards of $50 million on it. Why would they come in and change content that's already working when the product that's been shown so far is the reason they invested the money in the first place? They know they suck at MMO's. It's part of the reason why they had such a hard-on to acquire a successful development house in the first place. It's also the reason Mythic had so much leverage. They didn't
need EA to release the game. They were doing fine on their own. The game will only improve with the additional marketing, art, and programming resources that EA can throw behind it.
Now if the game fails and Mythic crashes and burns, then all bets are off. EA will step in and do a Gordon Gecko on them. But the company wouldn't have survived Warhammer failing whether EA was involved or not, so I see it as a calculated risk.
The additional marketing and exposure can only be a good thing.
Law wrote:Hey Phineas, is this a good or bad thing in your opinion man?
I'm not really sure, tbqh. EA has a pretty shitty reputation for how they treat employees, but one of the things that this deal stresses is a very laissez-faire and "hands off" attitude towards development on the part of EA. I believe that as part of the agreement, Mythic was guaranteed a great deal of autonomy.