This past holiday season, we’ve seen a few new pieces of IP come out of EA. I think EA is tired of being called a treadmill and want to show that they can create games as well as release roster updates.

Of course, both of the new titles, while doing well critically, did poorly at the checkout counter. The new Prince of Persia tried a few new things, moving away from the hardcore market, and as far as I can tell, they are being punished for it. Would it have sold better as a direct offspring of the existing franchise? Those have to be the questions that are being asked right now for the sequel. It is better for the gamer if the industry introduced new things (think Guitar Hero or Wii, both are interesting ideas that entertained millions)

Of course, if the companies aren’t rewarded with profits, that kills their motivation to introduce new concepts. As much as I am a fan of sequels, there has to be an exhaustion point where we when the audience wants something new, the industry can’t deliver it to them. (I think the Japanese developers have suffered from something similar. They have become accustomed to developing a certain genre or series, and now that the rest of the industry has shifted, they are having a difficult time keeping up in terms of technology).

This isn’t a call to arms or anything like that, it’s just an observation that even though gamers say that they want innovation, the majority of gamers are perfectly content with the status quo.