Electronic Arts Reverses Decision, Develops New Wii U Games

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Electronic ArtsEA
CFO Blake Jorgensen has confirmed that, contrary to the previous comments from company spokesperson Jeff Brown (and a
barrage of negative tweets
from an EA engineer), the company
is
developing games for
Nintendo'sNTDOY
console.
According to
IGN
, Jorgensen made the announcement at the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media and Communications Conference. "You know, I think Nintendo's business was more [an] extension of their last console," said Jorgensen, as quoted by IGN. "I think what the consumer will find is a lot more powerful gameplay with the new boxes that are coming out, and a lot of excitement, but it'll remain to be seen as to the services associated with those as to how consumers decide which direction they might want to go." This announcement comes after Nintendo -- and most of all its newest console -- endured a week of negative press. The company suffered a Wii U sales decline of
more than 85 percent
last quarter, painting a very bleak picture for the console's future. Jorgensen did not say which games would be developed for Nintendo's ailing machine, but he did reportedly confirm that EA is developing
more
games for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This was evident during
Microsoft'sMSFT
press conference yesterday when EA announced that a special version of
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FIFA 14
would come exclusively to the third-generation Xbox. While EA has pledged its support for
Sony'sSNE
new console, the company was
mysteriously absent
from the first PlayStation 4 event last February. This indicated that the company would be a big part of the Xbox One event, mirroring the company's strategy in promoting Xbox 360. In addition to EA's game development news, the company is also making headlines this week for getting in trouble with former Rutgers University quarterback Ryan Hart. EA reportedly used Hart's likeness in the
NCAA Football
series without his permission. According to
The Wall Street Journal
, a federal appeals court has ruled that Hart can attempt to collect some of the profits that EA made from 2004 through 2006 for using his likeness. Hart's lawyer, Michael Rubin, told The Wall Street Journal that he is going to ask a federal judge to certify the suit as a class action. "We know now where to draw the line between expression protected by the First Amendment and the commercial exploitation of an individual's marketable image," he said.
Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ
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Posted In: NewsLegalTechEAelectronic artsMichael RubinMicrosoftNCAA FootballNintendoPlayStation 4Ryan HartSonyStifel NicolausWii UXbox One
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