EA exec admits games are ‘too hard’

What are all these buttons for?

Video games are an interesting medium. On one side of the spectrum, you have hardcore gamers that thrive on a challenge and feast upon the complexities of any given title. And on the other, you have casuals that want to do nothing but poke a mobile or tablet all day.

The idea of continuing to branch out to a wider audience seems like it may be a huge focus for Electronic Arts (if it’s not already). And really, can you blame them? EA’s chief creative officer Richard Hilleman had this to say during the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas:

“Our games are actually still too hard to learn. The average player probably spends two hours to learn how to play the most basic game. … And asking for two hours of somebody’s time — most of our customers, between their normal family lives … to find two contiguous hours to concentrate on learning how to play a video game is a big ask.”

We’re at an interesting crossroads. Will we continue to see a trend of dumbed-down AAA titles to appeal to the masses? Will hardcore gamers be forced to rely on indie titles to get their fix? Or have video games truly become too complicated for our own good? The future is a scary place, man.

EA Exec: “Our Games Are Too Hard To Learn” [GameSpot]