Poor pre-production is the reason for bad games, says Riccitiello
Lack of clarity results in late, over budget and substandard games
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has said that the main reason why games turn out to be of poor quality is the lack of pre-production.
Speaking in a Q&A on the AIAS site, Riccitiello said that poor planning is the biggest problem in game development.
"I'd have teams work to get to far greater design clarity before they begin full-scale production," he said. "Lack of clarity up front is probably the number one reason why games are late, over budget or, in some cases, not that good."
Riccitiello also stated that he believes that combining good business and strong creativity in equal measures is the main issue that all publishers face if they hope to be successful.
"This is a business and much of our success will be measured with a calculator – sales, revenue, profit and improving shareholder value. There is also a qualitative aspect of our industry. Making games we can be proud of. Pushing boundaries. I believe the quantitative and the qualitative measures go well together," said the CEO.