EA - The salvation for FMV in games.

Electronic Arts have been criticized heavily by almost everyone for being the Microsoft of the gaming industry.The fact is though that EA have been the torch carriers for a number of key gaming issues that have been left in the dust by the new, upcoming developers and publishers.

One example of this is the long running idea of full motion video (aka cutscenes) in games. If you take a look at any of the big games from the last few years published by companies other than EA chances are you won’t find any FMV sequences as it’s all gone the way of CGI’d efforts. While CGI can display more and depending on the way it’s produced is cheaper there is a lot to be said in favor of the old style Command & Conquer efforts made famous by the game series. If you take the last few years of Need for Speed, all but Pro Street included FMV and while not to be taken seriously the games probably made sales just based in the inclusion of real actors over CGI efforts and voice-overs.

Electronic Arts is not the bad guy or the corporate monster it’s made out to be, it’s just a company that has been catering the most users without taking risks for decades. Some would consider that a bad thing but on occasion it’s nice to know that when you pick up a racing game it’s not going to have any hidden surprises. FMV should continue being used long into the future and if EA decide not to use it in C&C or NFS in the future a long running example of quality will no longer exist. Image from Need for Speed: Most Wanted.