Burning Up

It's been two years since Electronic Arts acquired UK studio Criterion, picking up the RenderWare platform as part of the deal. EA also got the rights to PC and console shooter Black, which was a hit with gamers and critics alike when released earlier this year, and the hugely successful Burnout series.

Earlier this week, Criterion announced that a fifth instalment in the series is in development for PS3 and Xbox 360. Or perhaps that should be 'confirmed' - as Alex Ward puts it in this GI.biz interview, "Do you honestly think we'd NOT do Burnout on the PS3?"

Read on to find out more about Burnout 5, life at Criterion since the EA acquisition and the studio's future plans.

Alex Ward: What we mean is that we're starting again and building a next-generation game from scratch. People expect a lot from the new hardware. I know I do.

Last time around, it took Criterion until Burnout 2 to really tap into the power of the PS2. Will it take a similar amount of time before you can really begin to explore the true potential of 360 and PS3? In the case of the 360, has the Revenge port given you a chance to really hit the ground running?

Port is such a dirty word to us. Whenever we bring our games to a new format we always try and do something different or unique for that hardware. Looking across the 360 library so far, we don't see Revenge 360 as a port. We spent significant time developing the âLive Revenge' feature as well as working on visuals and adding new content. I think it's still largely a misunderstood feature in the eyes of the specialist press. In fact, we just explored this topic on our website. We're enjoying the hardware a lot so expect something special.

Can we expect a greater emphasis on the online element this time?

Yes. I think all games are moving towards heavy online gameplay. We've certainly got some great ideas for that area.

How's life at Criterion since the EA acquisition? How has the company culture changed?

The culture of the company hasn't changed at all. We're still Criterion. Always have been. Always will be.

With Fiona Sperry taking over as EA UK Studio's general manager recently, is there a sense that Criterion has taken over EA's UK development - rather than vice versa?

I can't speak for Fiona. You'd have to ask her that one. I just make games.

EA gets accused of not producing enough original IP, and of churning out sequels. How concerned are you about being tarred with the same brush now that you're onto your fifth Burnout?

Not concerned one bit. Burnout was an original game started by myself and my team. Same with Black. They have all been incredibly successful. It's been a great generation of gaming for us and we're excited to move forward into another one.

Do you honestly think we'd NOT do Burnout on the PS3? Our critics forget that games like Burnout, Black, Army of Two - which is really incredible, by the way - Need for Speed, The Sims and Medal of Honour - these are all original properties that are 100 per cent owned by Electronic Arts. That's quite a line-up.

How hard is it for a company like EA to hang on to talented staff? Is the rate of staff turnover high, and does that present a problem for your projects?

To be at Criterion, you have to be exceptionally talented. Across the company, the whole of EA, we have some of the best game makers I have ever met.

Is your focus entirely on Burnout at the moment, or are you working on other IP as well? A Black sequel perhaps?

I am working on about six or seven projects right now.

The Black Team are overseas at the moment. I occasionally receive postcards from them from time to time.The last one came from a location marked â2900 E.Trop.' They are a mysterious bunch.

Is Criterion now an exclusively next-gen developer? Do you think there's any life left in PS2 and Xbox?

We work on anything that is interesting to us.

Were you surprised by the level of success that Burnout Legends on the PSP had? It stuck to a much older model of gameplay than Burnout: Revenge had, but seemed to go down better with both critics and consumers...

Not really. It did really really well. The team did a good job. The design was very deliberate.

The DS version was less well received. Why do you think that was? Are you likely to do further Burnout games for DS?

Probably because it was not developed by us. We might do something, you will have to wait and see.

EA Mobile has had success with bringing Need For Speed to mobile phones. Could we see Burnout on mobiles one day? Is mobile gaming something Criterion is interested in?

Right now it's not something we are doing. But that may change in the future.