[casual_games] EA Casual Entertainment news just hit an hour ago!

Todd Sawicki todd at sawickipedia.com
Wed Jun 6 20:08:04 EDT 2007


And I think appropriately so. Having worked in the media business at large, Casual Entertainment by its name implies a larger mandate then the traditional casual games market would likely be defined as. And from an entertainment perspective, Wii and family entertainment absolutely falls under that definition.



Todd



Todd Sawicki

Sawickipedia LLC

Founder, FoggyGames.com

Advisor, Casual Games Association



________________________________

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Ben Lewis
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 8:54 AM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] EA Casual Entertainment news just hit an hour ago!



Looks like this division's definition of casual is a bit different from Pogo:

"The common denominator is casual fun. Whether it will be playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the Wii with the family or downloading Madden NFL 08 on a phone, quick-to-the-fun games are bringing new players and new demographics to interactive entertainment."

Putting a licensed game on the Wii or a phone doesn't make it casual IMO, and neither of those two franchises is synonymous with casual. Maybe that's exactly what this division is setting out to change.



Ben Lewis
Yatec Games
Marketing and Sales
(225)274-1550 Ext. 155
www.yatecgames.com <http://www.yatecgames.com/>





________________________________

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Olmert, Shaul
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 9:14 AM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] EA Casual Entertainment news just hit an hourago!



Does any one have information regarding the exact scope of responsibilities of the newly formed division? It will be interesting to see what does EA define as "casual", how is it differentiated from other division's mandate, etc.



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From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of E. D. Bass
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 10:11 AM
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] EA Casual Entertainment news just hit an hour ago!



It doesn't matter... its all to the good. Great Indie content will always shine through, and another source for those who want to work for the "man".

There will always be upheaval in an industry like this, we just have to realize what we are and what we want, and sod the rest.

More power to EA, and even more POWER TO THE PEEPLES!

Pedro Honório Silva wrote:

What I think must be valued is the fact that EA has put a woman in charge.

And you always have to give credit to that.



After all, we all speak of women being the prime consumer of casual games and if we look around almost all the game developers are men.



Even "worse": almost all casual game publishers/distributors decision-makers are men! :O



Being a man, I always appreciate having women around/amongst us because their vision of games/gameplay/graphics/market/whatever is so much different from the male point of view. Even from those men who have the ability to perceive what women like in games...



Pedro Honório Silva

Chief Financial Officer



Ignite Games

Rua Cova da Moura, nº 2 - 2º Dto.

1350-117 Lisboa, Portugal

T: +351 212 427 695 - M: +351 933 465 985

pedro.silva at ignite-games.com

www.ignite-games.com



From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Bill Bishop
Sent: quarta-feira, 6 de Junho de 2007 11:56
To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [casual_games] EA Casual Entertainment news just hit an hour ago!



and ea pays well

http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070606/erts8-k.html <http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070606/erts8-k.html>

Compensatory Arrangements with Ms. Vrabeck



A copy of the Offer Letter is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. The following summary of the Offer Letter does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the attached agreement.



The material terms of the Offer Letter are as follows:



* Ms. Vrabeck's annual base salary will be $550,000 and her discretionary target bonus percentage will be 75% of her annual base salary.



* EA has agreed to grant Ms. Vrabeck a stock option to purchase 315,000 shares of the company's common stock pursuant to EA's 2000 Equity Incentive Plan. The stock option will vest as to 24% of the shares one year from the grant date, and will then vest in additional 2% increments each month thereafter for the following 38 months.



* EA has agreed to grant Ms. Vrabeck 45,000 restricted stock units, which vest as to 100% of the shares on the four-year anniversary of the grant date.



In accordance with EA's standard equity grant policies, Ms. Vrabeck's stock option and restricted stock units are scheduled to be granted on June 18, 2007, the first regularly-scheduled date following Ms. Vrabeck's start date for which EA's Compensation Committee will approve equity grants.



Ms. Vrabeck will participate in the compensation and benefit programs available to EA's executive officers.



On Jun 6, 2007, at 9:58 AM, Lennard Feddersen wrote:






High end budgets just went up.



Lennard Feddersen
CEO, Rusty Axe Games, Inc.
www.RustyAxe.com <http://www.RustyAxe.com>

Lennard at RustyAxe.com <mailto:Lennard at RustyAxe.com>
P. 250-635-7623 F. 1-309-422-2466
P. July & August 518-863-2317
5014 Walsh, Terrace, BC, Canada, V8G-4H2



spocilujko at comcast.net wrote:

EA Enlists Former Activision Exec To Head Casual Division
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14211 <http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14211>

Officials from major publisher and developer Electronic Arts have announced the creation of EA Casual Entertainment, a new division focused on developing and publishing casual titles for consoles, PCs, handheld devices and mobile phones.

EA has yet to announce any games or license agreements for the new division, and it's unclear how the division will interact with existing Electronic Arts-owned casual entities such as Pogo.com, other than its scope being broader.

The group will be headed up by former Activision Publishing president Kathy Vrabeck, where she worked for over six years and was regarded as one of the most prominent women in the game publishing industry before resigning in 2005. Prior to her work for Activision, she worked for ConAgra Foods where she was senior vice president/general manager of the company's snack food division.

Interestingly, the announcement follows similar posturing within the casual space by rival Ubisoft, which announced the formation of a new casual division in May, which will focus on the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms.

"All over the world, consumers are playing games that don't require hours of intense concentration," said Kathy Vrabeck, President of EA Casual Entertainment. "The common denominator is casual fun. Whether it will be playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the Wii with the family or downloading Madden NFL 08 on a phone, quick-to-the-fun games are bringing new players and new demographics to interactive entertainment."









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