EA CEO Andrew Wilson made some interesting comments about the Switch 2.
Of course, Nintendo’s next platform may not be called the Switch 2. This is a nickname that the fans have dubbed for the platform, following rumors that it would be an iteration of the hybrid platform idea.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Andrew was actually asked about this potential console in a recent EA earnings call. This is what he had to say:
“I can absolutely not comment on anything that has not been announced, or acknowledge it in any way.
What I would say however is, to the extent that platforms over the course of the last 20 years [have] offered improved CPU, GPU, memory, battery life, screen resolution…
to the extent that those things have happened, where we’re able to deliver more immersion for our players, particularly around our biggest franchises like FC, like Madden, like Apex, like Battlefield… that has typically been very good for our business.
Our players’ ability to really experience our games at the highest level has typically worked out very well for us.
So without commenting at all about anything around Nintendo or Switch, I would just say new platforms are good for us, and when new improvements offer improved [power], that is typically a plus for our portfolio of games and the communities that play them.”
What makes Andrew’s comments interesting is the studio’s history with Mario’s home company. EA has generally been all business with Nintendo, only bringing over the sports games they are sure to make money, but not their marquee titles.
In the early 2010s, Satoru Iwata did manage to sign EA to a deal via their then president John Riccitiello, to mixed results. The Wii U had the most EA games of any Nintendo platform at launch, but they were mostly older versions of their sports games. A year into the Wii U’s lifetime, EA reneged on that deal, and stopped providing games for Nintendo for some time.
But as we know, that would backfire on EA for much of the Switch era, as EA missed out on what could have been their best sales on the platform, during its peak years. EA’s belated return of EA Sports FC and their other games to Nintendo was a poor decision, and they knew it.
So, as elusive as Andrew Wilson’s statement is, it suggests something else is afoot. If Andrew wanted to speculate broadly on a console he hadn’t seen, Nintendo wouldn’t really be able to do anything about it.
But Andrew is probably keeping quiet because he does know Nintendo’s future hardware plans. In fact, they may have already had a deal in place for some time, and this next console might be launching with EA’s games. It might not just be the sports games this time, as that next platform is rumored to have quite the spec sheet that EA could utilize.
This is all speculation for now, but it would certainly be exciting if Andrew proves all of this is well founded on launch day.
